# Publishing industry in China

Chinese publishing and printing industry have a long history. The first printed book sold commercially was sold in the markets of the Tang dynasty in 762, while printed paper receipts used for business transactions and tax payments can be dated to 782. The publishing industry in the People's Republic of China continues to grow in modern times. In 2004, China published 25.77 billion copies of national-level and provincial-level newspapers, 2.69 billion magazines, and 6.44 billion books.

## History
### Pre-modern

* ~250 BCE - Writing on silk begins; previously writing on bamboo was the usual method.
* ~150 BCE - Hemp papermaking begins.
* 868 CE - Block-printed Buddhist Diamond Sutra published.
* 1041 CE - Book printing from moveable type begins.

### People's Republic of China

From the late 1950s to the 1970s, publishing was organized without profit motivation and on the basis of the state's interests.$^{:31}$
"How-to" manuals on practical topics were popular by the Republican period, but publishing of such manuals expanded rapidly during the 1950s as part of the Communist Party's position that scientific knowledge should be widely spread and available to the people.
In 1964, Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung (the Little Red Book) was first issued. During the 1960s, the book was the single most visible icon in China.
Western fictional works published for public audiences focused on literature deemed as addressing the miseries of capitalism, such as works by Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, and Leo Tolstoy.$^{:31}$ A broader range of Western works were produced as "White Cover Books" for restricted internal publishing and were not available in bookstores.$^{:31}$ Beginning in 1976, publishers increasingly produced translated Western fiction, including both works deemed classic or artistically serious, as well as fiction for the popular market.$^{:32}$ Since the 1980s, the norm for popular fiction translating and publication in China is the use multiple translators in the interest of rapid publication.$^{:25}$

## Books and periodicals

The Chinese book industry is the second largest in the world, after the United States. Receipts in 2013 totaled $8 billion from 400,000 titles.
As of 2015, there were about 580 state-controlled publishing houses and 292 audio-video publishers in China. The state has also planned key book publication projects and established prizes for books, promoting the development of the publishing industry.
Publishers must have a license from the government in order to issue ISBNs.$^{:32}$ Publishing companies without this license can partner with publishing companies that do in order to obtain ISBNs for their books.$^{:32}$

## Foreign-language publishing

The China International Publishing Group (CIPG, Chinese: 中国国际出版集团) undertakes the publication, printing and distribution of foreign-language books and periodicals, playing a unique role in publishing, cultural exchange and cooperation. It consists of four print magazines and several websites in many languages including English, French, Spanish, Arabic, Japanese, Esperanto and Chinese.
The four magazines are Beijing Review, China Today, China Pictorial, and People's China. It also has seven publishing houses, including Foreign Languages Press and New World Press, publishing nearly 1,000 titles annually, covering a wide range of subjects in more than 20 foreign languages. The books are distributed to some 190 countries and regions, presenting China to all countries and promoting cultural exchange. The China International Book Trading Corporation, a member of the CIPG, distributes foreign-language books and periodicals to 80-odd countries and regions, and holds exhibition of Chinese books abroad.