Shanghai foxue shuju 上海佛學書局

Revision as of 03:53, 7 January 2010

Shanghai Buddhist Books: Shànghǎi Fóxué shūjú 上海佛學書局

The largest and most important Buddhist publishing house in China during the mid 20th century.

• 1929 or 1930 - 1966; 1991 - Present
• Location(s): Various Locations (see below) in Shànghǎi 上海

Founded by Wáng Yìtíng 王一亭 and Lǐ Jīngwěi 李經緯 in 1929 or 1930 in Shànghǎi 上海 to publish Buddhist books. Fàn Gǔnóng 范古農 served as general editor from the beginning until at least 1937. Initially it was located in the Zháběi district 閘北區 on Bǎoshān road 寶山路 but it was later moved to the intersection of Jiāozhōu road 膠州路 and 愚園路 Yúyuán road. The publisher had four departments: Circulation 流通部, Printing 出版部, Reproduction 翻印部, and Management 代辦部. By 1934 it had 8 branch offices and more than 100 resellers. Also in that year they began to publish woodblock editions of texts collected by Yáng Wénhuì 楊文會.

From 1935 they also produced a set of 5 phonograph records, and produced a second set of 6 in 1936. These contained recordings of Buddhist chants, including "In Praise of Amitabha 彌陀贊", "In Praise of Moral Discipline and Concentration 戒定贊", "The Dhāraṇī of Great Compassion 大悲咒", "The Three Refuges 三皈依", and "The Heart Sūtra 心經". From March of 1933 they broadcast chantings of Buddhist sutras on the Shanghai Yongsheng Broadcasting Station 上海永生電台, and in 1936 they established their own Buddhist radio station, called the Shanghai Huaguang Broadcasting Station 上海華光電台.^[1]

Shanghai Buddhist Books was a publicly traded company whose share price was fixed at 10 yuán 元. Wáng Yìtíng was the chair of the board of directors, which included Dí Chǔqīng 狄楚青, Dīng Fúbǎo 丁福保, Zhū Guǎngchéng 諸廣成, Zhū Shísēng 朱石僧, and Lǐ Jīngwěi.

The press continued operation until 1966. In 1991 it was resurrected by the Shanghai Buddhist Association 上海佛教協會 at 418 Chángdé road 常德路, two blocks away from its old location.

Gregory Adam Scott

Important Books Published

• 太虛叢書
• 圓瑛法匯
• 諦閑講錄
• 佛學小叢書 (book series)
• 佛學半月刊 (periodical)
• 海潮音 (periodical)

Notes

1. ↑ See pp. 97-129 in part 2 of Francesca Tarocco, The Cultural Practices of Modern Chinese Buddhism: Attuning the Dharma (New York: Routledge, 2007) for more on sound, recording and broadcasting in Modern Chinese Buddhism.

References:

• 覺醒. "舊上海佛教文化發達史"