A Life for a Book (with flaws on the spine or cover)

Author: (Russian) Sui Qing / Ye Dongxin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-15
Features: You can read it as a novel, telling the life and career of a strange capitalist, describing how he was attracted by the magical power of books and periodicals and the noble ideas of education. You can also read it as a historical document, recording the barbaric, ignorant, and cruel system of aristocratic and bureaucratic oligarchy, narrating how the authorities used means of "obstruction," "punishment," and persecution against books and education under this system: a whaling ship captain could be the editor of a political magazine, but a writer, journalist, or politician could not; the Petrograd religious censorship agency believed that the depiction of the wings of angels of different ranks in a picture did not comply with religious regulations, so they banned the publication of the picture; the government could blame the 1905 revolution on a publishing house that published literacy textbooks and teaching materials, send firefighters to burn the factory of the publishing house with gasoline, and send armed soldiers to drive away workers who came to put out the fire—everything seemed absurd, ignorant, and terrifying! But it actually happened. This book is the memoirs of the most famous publisher in Russian publishing history, Sui Qing, vividly recreating how he transformed from a farmer and apprentice into an outstanding publisher in a legendary journey; the language is beautiful, the narration is vivid, or it can be read as a thrilling novel, and it is highly favored by famous book critics like Ye Lingfeng. The Tsarist era was a relatively backward and barbaric period in Russian history, where any publication in the form of text or illustration had to undergo double strict censorship—on one hand by feudal church organizations, and on the other by barbaric government agencies. Sui Qing, with his publishing philosophy of serving the entire Russian people, his bold and superb publishing wisdom, and his publishing spirit of "never give up! achieve the goal!", engaged in a battle of wits and courage with the ruling elite, jealous peers, and ignorant grassroots, enduring various publishing dangers and difficulties. His life dedicated to books brilliantly proved how powerful this exceptionally talented Russian was!