This is a story about preserving and promoting China’s outstanding traditional culture. The Grand Canal, woodblock-printed books, and more have helped Chinese civilization endure through the ages. This novel aims to tell the story of the booksellers who worked in the woodblock printing and publishing trade during the Ming and Qing dynasties, and who made enormous contributions to spreading Chinese civilization. Yet in feudal society, where scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants were ranked in that order, booksellers held an extremely low status. Their difficult struggles to build businesses were often forgotten.
For generations, the Li family had been farmers. They were known as the “Qinglian Clan,” descendants of Li Bai, and lived in Li Family Village in Xuzhen. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, talented members of the Li family ran the Longxi Hall bookstore in Xuzhen for many years. Li Weiqing was a juren, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations. Influenced by feudal beliefs such as “all pursuits are inferior, only scholarship is noble,” he repeatedly traveled to the capital by way of the Grand Canal to sit the examinations, but never passed the jinshi examination. He saw through the flaws of the imperial examination system and, in a fit of anger, resolutely abandoned the exams to go into business.
As a scholar who loved books more than life, he was destined to spend his life among them. He stayed in Beijing, setting up bookstalls and opening bookstores while continually breaking into new markets. After returning to Xuzhen, Li Weiqing overhauled the family bookstore. He faced difficult battles to defend the copyright of their printed books, diversified the business, and took part in public welfare projects, among other ventures. Woodblock book printing gave the Li family a competitive edge, while Xuzhen and Beijing flourished through their north-south trade. At Beijing’s Liulichang, the Li family relied on their superb craftsmanship and hard work. They overcame one challenge after another, including a shipwreck that destroyed their books and a fire caused by a drunken mishap. After defeating all their competitors, they finally monopolized the capital’s book market.
