Editor-in-Chief's Random Thoughts (Speech Memorandum Notes)

Author: Chen Youzhu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-04-01
Features: When I first entered the publishing industry, I was very naive and immature—I intuitively believed that as long as Life Publishing House had one Zou Taofen, it could take off. I initially joined Xinzhi Publishing House before transferring to Life Publishing House; when I worked at Life Publishing House, Zou Taofen had already passed away. In fact, I had never met him, but I admired him and even idolized him. After working there for twenty years, I realized that if Life Publishing House had only Zou Taofen, it couldn’t take off—it also needed Xu Boxin. Zou and Xu together were what made the business flourish. But even then, I hadn’t yet realized that even if Zou and Xu worked tirelessly, Life Publishing House could only be considered a "small tree" among the "forest of books," and could never become a "giant tree." Another twenty years passed before I faintly sensed that behind these two dedicated individuals, there was another figure unseen in the official records—Hu Yuzhi. It wasn’t until Hu Yuzhi passed away that I suddenly realized that the "takeoff" of Life Publishing House was actually due to Zou, Xu, and Hu. Hu Yuzhi once told me personally that he had no official position or title at Life Publishing House, yet many things had his "tracks"—such as transforming Life Publishing House into a cooperative-style people’s cultural institution, for which the articles of association were drafted by him. However, turning this vision into reality involved both Zou and Xu. This invisible figure at Life Publishing House was Hu Yuzhi. "Hu Yuzhi" could refer to a real person, or it could mean a group of people—this group being advanced thinkers who were either loosely or tightly organized, depending on the circumstances. In any case, there needed to be such a person or group of people to "navigate." The actual (or abstract) Hu Yuzhi was the navigation tower, while Zou Taofen was the pilot (and the crew), and Xu Boxin was the ground crew. "Navigation—crew—ground crew" is, of course, an imprecise analogy, but I wanted to use such an easily understandable one to explain the simple truth I only grasped after forty years of work. This principle holds true for the Commercial Press, which had a significant impact on modern Chinese culture and education. At one point, I believed that the Commercial Press could only grow from nothing into a vibrant and successful enterprise because of Zhang Yuanji. As long as there was a Zhang Yuanji, a Commercial Press could be created. Just as ordinary people who haven’t lived through the first three decades of this century might think that the Commercial Press is Wang Yunwu, and Wang Yunwu is the Commercial Press. The Commercial Press became what it is because of Wang Yunwu: as long as there was a Wang Yunwu, a Commercial Press could be created. It wasn’t until the early 1980s that few people knew that the Commercial Press had weathered the difficult early years only with the help of Zhang Yuanji. Let’s leave that aside for now. What I’m saying is that the belief that as long as there was a Zhang Yuanji (or, as some people say, a Wang Yunwu), the Commercial Press could take off was merely a superficial understanding of the actual situation, or rather, a superficial understanding of real-life realities. In recent years, people have become aware of Zhang Yuanji, but they have forgotten Xia Cuifang, who worked in perfect harmony with him. Zhang Yuanji once said that Xia "brought" him to the Commercial Press, and they collaborated for twelve years (1902–1914). In Zhang Yuanji’s words, they were "deeply connected," truly like water and milk—A Zhang Yuanji, combined with a Xia Cuifang, laid the foundation for the Commercial Press.