When Feng Bangning heard what Yao Hongmo said, he quickly replied: "How can a small bookstore born late in life do that? The boss is exaggerating."
Yao Hongmo took out a book from a pile of books on the big case. It was thin, only sixteen pages in size, and the binding was of poor quality. He threw it on the ground and said, "Is this "The Biography of Yue Fei" printed by your family?"
Feng Bangning bent down to pick it up, took a look at it and replied: "Sir, this is the sixteenth volume of "The Biography of Yue Fei". It was printed by a small bookstore. It does not dare to teach lewdness or robberies. It is all serious text."
Yao Hongmo sneered and said: "Nowadays, there is a lot of noise among scholars, and there are a lot of posts. They say that your printing shop tramples on elegance. I bought it and took a look. It is indeed a good comment."
It turns out that the Qingliu Printing and Publishing House, which opened last year, does engraving and prints collections of classics and history, examination papers, poetry collections, etc., but it is only used for appearance.
The main business turned out to be pocket books printed with movable type. Feng Bangning recruited a group of Dongbao who had no food in Nanjing City, gave an outline and gist, and specially wrote comments for storytellers.
Storytellers are also called Bojun people, which means Bojun smiles. This profession originated in the Song Dynasty and is an oral storytelling performing art form. At the beginning, storytellers from all over the country told stories in their own regional dialects, mostly using gods and ghosts.
There are short stories about filial sons and virtuous grandchildren, chaste and martyr wives, etc. that encourage people to do good, mixed with singing songs. There are very few long stories.
When the middle and late Ming Dynasty developed, there were already professional storytellers in various places, and they no longer sang songs. However, the content of storytellers was still mostly short stories and novellas. Even those who talked about "Three Points" (Three Kingdoms) and "Journey to the West" mostly excerpted a paragraph
, there is no long-form interpretation. The formation of long-form storytelling was roughly in the late Ming Dynasty, and its completion should be in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.
After the opening of the Qingliu Printing Bookshop, some people were organized to write a bunch of "Yang Family Generals", "Yue Fei's Biography", "Ming Heroes" and more than a dozen full-length commentaries in a short period of time - starting with half a sentence of poems and songs.
No, it was all written in vernacular, with dozens of thin pages and only five or six chapters. It was given to storytellers in Nanjing for free.
As a result, within a few days, the whole city of Nanjing was in a sensation. Every storyteller was filled with tears. This Qingliu Yin Shufang was really the living ancestor of our storytellers. These comments were so popular! Restaurants and tea shops were opening one after another with high wages. Then,
Rewarding money is like rain hitting lotus flowers, and the storyteller's income in one day is as much as five or six days in the past.
The readers of this book have also become a sensation. The plots of these commentaries are intense and exciting, and most of them reach a climax. Unlike the popular novels, poems, and stories on the market, they are generally tepid and painless, and they are full of useless rhetoric, poetry, and practical information.
It’s not as showy as the author. All in all, it’s a big four crosses - it’s so cool, I can’t stop listening to it!
Some of them had listened to the first five or six episodes several times, and they all wanted to know the next episode. After asking each other, they found out that Qingliuyin Bookstore had a sequel for sale. Everyone came in and almost crowded the bookstore.
Feng Bangning followed Feng Bao's instructions and followed the path of small profits but quick turnover. Although there were not many typos in the printed comments, the paper was very poor and the smell of ink was overwhelming, not to mention the binding of the cover.
Although it is very different from the ones printed by mainstream printing houses, it is cheap! A copy of the second volume of "The Legend of Yue Fei" costs five cents, and ten cents for an illustrated loose leaf. Although there are not many words and limited chapters, Luoyang paper is still expensive.
It even spawned the first batch of scalpers in the Ming Dynasty. Some people actually gave a penny of silver to buy the sequel from the scalpers just to get a sneak peek.
Qingliu Book Printing House became an instant hit, and all book printing houses were enthused and could not help but make small calculations. Around the Spring Festival, pirated books appeared on the market. What’s funny is that the printing quality of this pirated book is much higher than the original version, even though the price
It is more expensive, but gentlemen are still willing to buy pirated clean books - referred to as "clean books" - instead of the original "mao books".
Unfortunately, just a few days after the pirated editions came out, these bookstores suffered the same fate. They were either shut down by the police for selling pornographic books, or they were harassed by gangsters, and some even caused fires. All of them suffered heavy losses.
Now everyone in the southern publishing industry of the Ming Dynasty knew that Qingliu Printing Bookstore was a big deal and could not be offended. They could only look at it with greed and dare not reach out.
Nanjing was the southern hub of the empire, the economic, cultural and political center. This printing house took root in Nanjing, but through someone’s guidance, it spread its sales channels all over the country within two months, with the furthest ones reaching Guangxi and Fujian.
Waiting for a while, Yao Hongmo heard that Mr. Feng’s family moved money to and from the house every day.
This printing house takes a different path from the mainstream printing houses. Although those printing houses are jealous, they do not harm the fundamentals. After the comments came out, it ruined the jobs of many scholars in Nanjing. These people could not succeed in their careers and were engaged in weddings and funerals.
Qingke, the master of ceremonies, earns some extra money by writing lyrics and novels for book printing houses to make a profit. This market has been wiped out by Qingliu printing houses, and who still reads those so-called works with elegant words and arrogant sentences.
Various bookstores were intimidated by Qingliu Bookstore's methods and did not dare to resist. However, these scholars had no scruples and could not help but attract friends and regard Qingliu Bookstore as their enemy.
First, he criticized them heavily at various cultural meetings, saying that the books printed by Qingliu Bookshop were "degrading to the gentlemen, full of smelly paper, and should only be sold to peddlers and lackeys, and the likes of people who lead carts and sell pulp" and so on.
As time went by, several so-called "leaders" of the students in Nanjing who were seeking fame and cultivating friends began to notice this matter. They found Feng Bangning, all with their nostrils turned upward, and asked Qingliu Bookstore to sponsor some "literary society" funds. Feng Bangning
How can I take them seriously and almost throw them out?
In fact, Feng Bangning was used to being flattered in the past, and he really didn't know how powerful these scholars were. In the middle and late Ming Dynasty, a large number of scholars had turned into "literary hooligans". They attracted friends and became party members; they fabricated songs and litigated poetry.
He boasts that he can help the world with his outspoken words, but only talks in vain to win reputation; he threatens the county magistrate by rushing to discuss slander. Within the public gate and among the scholars, a huge force has been formed.
Because they control school management and scholar evaluation, and "culture and education" is a very high-ranking criterion in local officials' assessment, officials dare not offend them easily, lest they make them notorious - the result is a vicious circle, and some small places are even
These people have taken control of local political power, and local officials either act as puppets or collude with them.
When these people saw that the bookstore didn't take them seriously, how could they let them off lightly? They couldn't help but agitate for the Qing Dynasty. Those who were incompetent would post the disclosures everywhere, and those who were capable would throw films and papers everywhere. First, Yingtianfu, and then Chasi
, were all held down by Feng Bao.
Yao Hongmo has a lot of contacts with scholars in the south, and he has heard a lot of rumors recently. He prides himself on being a clean figure and pays more attention to printing and cultural industries. He is considered to be the most senior official in Nanjing who has had the most contact with this group of people. Therefore, he has received
Many people asked him to help clean up Qingliu Bookstore.
But he was in Taichang Temple at that time, and the publishing industry was not under his control. He scolded Qingliu Bookstore on different occasions, but it had no effect. Later, for some reason, he was found guilty of minor offenses, participated in a book, and was demoted.
He has reached half a level - at this time, he still doesn't know who is going to deal with him.
After he arrived at the Imperial College, things had developed to the point where many of the leaders of the Imperial College students were clamoring for trouble and wanted the local government to close down Qingliu Bookshop. Ying Tianfu sent a letter to him, asking him to strictly control it and not allow students to harass the local government, and to entrust official matters.
When Yao Hongmo saw Yi Wen, he was almost furious. He went to Yingtian Mansion to argue, intending to give some advice to the Imperial Academy students. Yang Cheng, Yin of Yingtian Mansion, was originally the chief envoy of Guangxi. He didn't think highly of him, so he just gave him a few boos.
Yao Hongmo had no idea and could only sulk. As a result, within a few days, Li Xiushan's letter arrived. He said very politely that he asked Feng Bangning to come to see him and asked him to spare some time to meet him. Only then did Yao Hongmo know about Qingliu Bookstore.
It was Li Xiushan who was covering him, and when he heard about his downgrade, he felt cold.
Yao Hongmo wanted to go to Li Xiushan himself to explain. Firstly, Li Xiushan might not meet him; secondly, if someone saw him befriending a middle-ranking eunuch, his clear face would be gone. He had no choice but to see Feng Bangning as a fourth-rank official.
I took the opportunity to give him a few words and turn over my previous article about suppressing Qingliu Bookstore.
Feng Bangning knew that this group of people was powerful, and he was scolded by Feng Bao a few times, so he kept his attitude very low. Not to mention the kowtow, Yao Hongmo just threw the book on the ground in a show of pretentiousness, which made him suffer.
At this time, hearing Yao Hongmo's comment that "The Biography of Yue Fei" was insulting to elegance, Feng Bangning laughed dryly and said: "My lord's comment. I haven't read for a few days. I just like to hear and see things about pleasure and enmity, so this book is a bit vulgar."
"
After Yao Hongmo heard the words "happy grudges", he quickly put away all the sourness and airs in his body. Half-leaning forward, he said with a warm smile: "What a 'happy grudges', Feng Dongjia said it very well. This is
Although the official is a scholar, I am also very fascinated by the man who is a chivalrous and righteous man, a generous and tragic man. Haha!"