As government policies have pursued a more liberal and international path, people have suddenly found themselves awash with information. Beyond the expansion in number and size of newspapers allowed since the first of January last year, and a strengthening local magazine market, imports of printed materials have soared.
The result has been a frenetic upgrading of the reader's marketplace. Books, magazines, journals, special-interest periodicals, and research materials all saturate a market once focused for the most part inwardly. Now the viewpoint is aggressively international.
Chaotic changes in publishing, printing, and marketing have been the rule and not the exception. Local publishers face greater competition, and people are shifting their reading habits and expectations of the printed word. The process—described in the following article and accompanying features in this section—is now underway in earnest. It presents a fascinating case study in social transformation.
For centuries Chinese have believed that "in books one can find splendid mansions, and in books one can see beautiful ladies." The proverb, illustrating traditional Chinese attitudes toward the benefits of scholarship, encouraged generations of students to prepare for the government exams that were the means of determining who gained official posts. With an official rank one was already within the reach of a magnificent home and of marrying a gorgeous young lady. Unlike the prevalent view in the West, where it is believed possession of a skill can lead naturally to a decent living, the Chinese have always considered "reading" or "studying" the only means of attaining high positions and handsome salaries.
Although Chinese traditionally consider themselves one of the few peoples in the world that love words profoundly, a recent survey in Taiwan reveals disappointing results: people on the island spend an average of but 22 minutes each day reading books, magazines, or newspapers. Other statistics augment the concerns of scholars and educators about local reading habits. With the per capita income approaching US$6,000, individuals spend no more than US$30 per year for books, and only 13.82 percent of the island's households subscribe to magazines.
After four decades of hard work, people on Taiwan are now able to enjoy a standard of living that is unprecedented in Chinese history. Yet there is a growing doubt about the quality of that life, especially the part that refines the mind through reading. Many observers blame the poor general reading mood on the educational system.
Under the intense pressure of competing to enter high schools and universities, a great majority of local students read only those textbooks deemed necessary for the various entrance examinations. Outside readings are generally neglected. And whether students pass or fail in the examination marathon, their attitudes toward reading are corrupted by pressures to memorize rather than think and evaluate. Reading is thus often equated with pain. Educators, recognizing the utilitarian advantages of the examination system, worry the situation will only become worse.
Daniel J. Boorstin, the Librarian of Congress, expressed similar concerns in a 1983 report to the U.S. Congress: "What we do about books and reading in the next decades will crucially affect our citizens' opportunities for enlightenment and self-improvement, their ability to share in the wisdom and delights of civilization, and their capacity for intelligent self-government."
There has been no slackening of worry about this issue in the U.S. since then, considering the plethora of books, professional journals, and magazine articles published in the vein of "Can Johnny Read?" Although people in Taiwan are proud of the island's high literacy rate, Boorstin's appeal for quantitative and qualitative reading habits has relevance as much to Taipei and Kaohsiung as it does to New York and Los Angeles.
In 1953 there were only 140 publishing houses in Taiwan, and these were for the most part simple cottage industries. The number increased to 3,000 in 1987, and in the same year they published a total of 12,000 titles. The number of printing companies increased rapidly as well, expanding from 15 in 1950 to the present 5,500. Despite these quantitative increases, the publishing industry still lags behind the U.S. and Japan in terms of quality products. When comparing publishing experience and size of markets, this fact is perhaps not surprising.
In Taiwan, a publishing house usually considers a book successful if it sells over 2,000 copies. Magazine sales are similarly limited. Even the economics and business monthly Commonwealth, which is considered to have a high circulation, sells no more than 80,000 copies a month. Large publishing houses, such as Sungkang, Wuling, and Scholars, each published around 400 titles in 1987, while smaller ones like Crown, Linking, Sanmin, and Yuanliou published no more than 200.
Taiwan's publishing industry suffers from many shortcomings that have long been locked into place. One is a reluctance to separate production from marketing, which cuts down on the evolution of specialized skills. This can cut down on competitiveness, especially in the international marketplace. Another problem concerns structure. When a publishing house decides to retrench on expenses, it is common to cut staff first. Since many operations are family-owned, this means that non-family members are the first to go, even though they may have greater expertise. In both cases, clear methods and goals for the business are absent.
Throughout the industry another trend has hurt the market. If a press draws solid profits from translating and printing certain books, others follow immediately with the same titles but different (and usually substandard) translations. Quality is left behind, and readers are ultimately disappointed if not insulted. Other problems, such as unauthorized and inept translations of foreign texts, vicious price-cutting competition between publishers, and emphasis on sensational works all suggest the local industry needs a thorough house cleaning.
T.S. Eliot, once describing the relationship between an author and a publishing house, said: "Between the idea and the reality, between the notion and the act, falls the shadow." For writers in Taiwan, waiting for books to be accepted for publication is only one of many problems they have to face. Underpayment, which is even more true of translators, has been a constant and painful topic of debate. In the past few years there have been signs of improvement, but high unit costs of publications and a limited market reduce royalties—and discourage the local cultivation of professional writers and translators.
Despite the problems, since 1985 a new and dynamic atmosphere has swept publishers, editors and designers, and even book stores. Several large chain book stores, such as Kingstone and Kwang Toong, have in recent years changed public thinking about the reading marketplace. They have made book shopping a pleasure. Compared with the old style dark, cramped, and jumbled book stores common on the island for decades, the chain stores are brightly lighted, neatly arranged, play popular music, and even have children's sections and coffee shops.
Just as Taiwan's snack shops are upgrading appearances to compete with MacDonald's and Hardee's, local bookstores are responding to the challenges presented by the local bookstore chains that are stealing away former customers. Both the expectations and satisfactions of readers have increased as a result.
Marketing is only one area of improvement. The publishers are making encouraging progress by publishing books (most are translations) that introduce new knowledge, improving the quality of book design, and renovating printing facilities. As a result, readers can easily find publications on computer science, business administration, marketing and management, investments, travel, English language, and a host of other subjects formerly slighted by local shops. "Books of practicality" are overwhelmingly popular, and the phenomenon reflects a major social change as readers focus on self growth and career development rather than more traditional literary concerns.
A recent major event in local publishing history was the legalization of reprinted works by mainland Chinese writers (the rights for publication were arranged through a third country). Four decades without direct contact has come to an end, and Chinese on both sides of the Taiwan Straits are now able to know each other through the written word as well as through visits, which have also been made possible during the past year. Works by mainland writers have already become popular among Taiwan's young readers, especially published collections of short stories and medium-length novels.
An unrelated but equally popular trend is also a welcome change. For years the children's book market has been neglected, but publishing houses—in some respects copying successful Japanese and U.S. publications—have begun producing high-quality children's books on a broader variety of subjects. The market's sophistication has been substantially aided by domestic family planning programs over the past few decades. Today's young parents have better educational backgrounds and more sophisticated international viewpoints. Coupled with better income, they are becoming more involved in their children's education, and pay especially close attention to supplementary reading materials.
High quality imported books for children have stimulated local publishers to produce better titles in order to share a promising market. The Hsin-i Foundation, established five years ago, has contributed greatly in directing public attention to the importance of selecting appropriate readings for children. The foundation's own publications, although limited in number, have won praise for their high quality. And if parents want to pay a little extra, they can purchase the meticulously designed and expensive sets of children's books by Echo Publishing Company for their children. Buying the books has even become somewhat of a status symbol for parents in Taiwan.
Children's books are rich in variety, ranging from Western and Chinese fairy tales to historical biographies and scientific topics. These are supplemented by magazines, especially those dealing with science. Little Newton and Science Eyes are excellent examples, and enjoy high circulations. In addition, primary school students can subscribe to two daily newspapers especially for themselves, The Mandarin Daily News and Children's Daily News.
For adults, novels, prose, and short stories have always been favorite diversions. Short stories have in particular been considered an indication of Taiwan's steady literary development over the past four decades. Well-known writers, such as Yang Ching-chu and Yao Chia-wen are noted for their perceptive works on the transformation of society in Taiwan. The numbers of writers finding publishers has increased steadily as the market expands, and the number of local topics explored has diversified as well. A good example is the collection of stories on local aboriginal tribes, written by Tuo Pa-ssu, entitled The Last Hunters. Of 1,500 literary publications in 1987, prose writings accounted for 40 percent, novels for 27 percent, reviews and critical works for 14 percent, and poetry for 11 percent. The remaining 8 percent were biographies.
The percentage of poetry sales is an indication of new priorities in reading. For centuries Chinese have been enchanted by ancient poetry, noted for its exquisite styles and profound meaning. The contemporary emphasis on practical and pragmatic reading matter has shoved poetic works to the side. Publication opportunities are rare, especially for new and young poets, as presses normally consider modern poetry to be "poison" to sales totals.
Other contemporary trends are just gaining a foothold in the local market. Books-on-tape, for example, have reaped handsome profits in the U.S. for several years as freeway drivers discovered a better way to pass their time. The production of books-on-tape in Taiwan is still in an embryonic stage, with Commonwealth magazine the first to enter the business. Books-on-tape in the U.S. include all forms of popular fiction and non-fiction, but locally only a few books have thus far been considered appropriate for audio form. Of these, San Mao's Storytelling, Ghost Stories by Ssu-ma Chung-Yuan, Interviews with Famous Public Figures by Ling Chen, Notes of the Earth, and Modern Poetry by Hsiang Yang are representative examples. As the titles indicate, they can be listened to in shorter bursts than novels, perhaps in part a recognition of driving distances on the island.
For centuries in China, the acts of buying, reading, and collecting books have symbolized deep respect for culture and tradition. The dynamism of Taiwan's publishing industry and the rapid pace of change in everything from book design to bookstores illustrate a society charged with growing respect for the challenges of the present as well. The result is a public enriched by a diversity of reading material never before enjoyed in Chinese history.