晚清同文書局的興衰起落與經營方略

The Development and Business Strategies of Tongwen Press in the Late Qing Dynasty

同文書局是粵人徐潤（1838-1911）堂兄弟以其超人的膽量與識見，打破英商美查（Ernest Major, 1841-1908）在上海創辦點石齋壟斷石印業的局面，效法西方採用石印術進行商業性圖書生產活動的先鋒。同文書局援用石印術的優勢，生產了林林總總、數量可觀的出版物如楹聯、碑帖、墨寶、畫幅的複製品、工具書、古籍、舉業用書、小說、筆記等，來滿足各階層人們的需求。他們也智慧與充分地把握新的機遇與條件來促銷宣傳圖書。除採用派發圖書目錄、傳單等規模較小的促銷方式外，也將注意力轉移到日趨重要的全國性報章，像在《申報》刊登新書預告、出售啟事來宣傳促銷圖書，提升警覺度，以將業績推向一個新的高度。其圖書銷售並不局限在本埠的固定店面，其發行的覆蓋面還延伸到全國各地書局、分局以及代售處等。在短暫的十六年的營業時間裏，同文書局經歷了跌宕起伏，沉浮興衰的發展歷程。隨著石印書局的大量湧現，石印業競爭邁入白熱化，各種各樣的石印出版物層出不窮，車載斗量，使得同文書局在早期建立起來的優勢逐漸縮小，印書銷量不暢，積壓漸多，加上遭受祝融打擊，使其陷入財政危機，只得宣布停業。其存在時間雖短暫，但它對中國圖書出版事業的貢獻尤其是股份制的開創與出版物質量的講究是值得肯定的。

Tongwen Press同文書局, the first Chinese-owned and operated lithographic press, was founded in 1882 by Cantonese cousins Xu Hongfu徐宏甫, Xu Qiuqi徐秋畦and Xu Run徐潤(1838-1911) in Shanghai. The latter was one of the wealthiest compradors of the time in Shanghai. In its sixteen years in business, the firm took full advantage of the lithographic technique to produce a significant number of high quality lithographic-printed materials, such as old and rare books, reference materials, examination aids, novels, calligraphy and painting manuals. To sell its publications, it utilized both traditional and innovative marketing strategies, such as distributing book catalogues, advertising in newspapers, subscriptions for multi-volume titles, selling publications through retail outlets and consignment shops. This paper examines the development and business strategies of Tongwen Press during the late Qing dynasty. Section one outlines the establishment and growth of the company. Section two discusses the types of lithographic-printed materials it produced and its marketing strategies. Section three examines the decline of the business, and the concluding section assesses the position of Tongwen Press in the history of Chinese publication.