Spring Night Musings

Author: Huang Chang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: Historically, China did not pay much attention to what is known as intellectual property issues. The laws of each dynasty did not include corresponding articles, and there were no records of anyone going to court for copyright or publishing rights. Occasionally, one might see similar notices like "Copyright Reserved, Unauthorized Reproduction Prohibited" in books published by bookshops during the Song and Ming dynasties. This was naturally an inevitable phenomenon as publishing began to commercialize. In the past, when scholars had works, they would go to great lengths to arrange for their publication, of course without any financial motive—there were no royalties or at that time. It was all for the "reputation" of the scholars. Naturally, there were also scholars like Bai Juyi who copied their complete works into several copies and hid them in temples in different places to ensure their legacy. However, in the end, it was still for the sake of reputation. Thus, authors who did not seek fame were particularly rare and highly respected. Of course, those who used pen names or aliases for various reasons were not included in this category. As everyone knows, early in his life, Lu Xun spent a lot of effort compiling and editing "The Collected Works of the Ancient Books of the Jieshi Commandery," publishing it under the name of Zhou Zuoren. He also intentionally published "Research on Ancient Fiction" under the name of Zhou Zuoren. Such a scholarly attitude that seeks no fame but is driven purely by personal passion is rare. I only know one other example, Xu Lian. Many years ago, I came across a handwritten letter from Xu Shanlin to Ding Jianqing, discussing the publication of "The Collected Works of Zhang Jizhai." At the end of the letter, it said: "Attached are ten copies of 'On Currency,' for those who are interested, please distribute them. The one signed 'Brother Xu' is actually my own work, correct it." This lets us know that the work titled "On Currency" by "Hai Chang Xu Mei" is actually the work of Xu Shanlin. In the past, many works had authors listed who were not the actual writers, and the situation was quite complex. During the Qing Dynasty, there were many noble officials who "presided over cultural affairs," such as Bi Yuan and Ruan Yuan, who gathered many scholars and literati to help compile and publish books, often using the names of their patrons. Wealthy publishers who loved fame also had many books published for others, often including their own names as "co-authors." Those listed as "collaborators" in the publication were even more numerous, most of whom were contributors who funded the printing. There are many examples of this. Ruan Yuan's "Seal Inscriptions from the Jiuguizhai Collection" mostly contained annotations by Ruan Yuan's student Zhu Weibei. In Volume 13 of Ye Changchi's "Diary of Yuandu Studio," on the sixth day of the sixth month of the Dingwei year of the Guangxu era, it is recorded: "Also, three copies of the manuscript of 'Seal Inscriptions from the Jiuguizhai Collection,' one set of clamps. This book originated from the late Vice Minister Zhu Jiaotang, originally titled 'Gold and Stone Annotations by Niu Jingtang.' Ruan Taifu borrowed it for publication, renaming it 'Seal Inscriptions from the Jiuguizhai Collection (Continued)," later removing the word 'continued,' and making revisions and additions—all in Zhu Wen Da's handwriting. Lian Fang, the late Vice Minister, being the grandson of the late Vice Minister, had the manuscript printed in stone. The old saying that Guo Xiang's commentary on the Zhuangzi originated from Xiang Xiu is now believed to be true after seeing this manuscript."
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