The history of Nanjing University Press

The history of Nanjing University PressInheriting the purpose of “starting the press with academic publishing and flourishing it with public praises”, the Nanjing University Press devotes itself into culture accumulation and new knowledge spreading. For over 30 years, the press insists on publishing books with high level and high quality, forming the unique publishing characteristics in areas of teaching materials for universities, academic monographs with high taste, the translation and introduction to the academic masterpieces of both domestic and overseas, and the introduction of traditional thoughts and cultures. It is now a leading university presses in China.Focusing on high-end academicsWith the persistence in publishing high-quality academic books and the core of using the advanced academic resources, the press has published abundant academic boutiques. After the success of “The book series of Chinese Thinkers”, including 200 original books summarizing the Chinese thoughts for over 2000 years and being named after “the greatest project in the field of Chinese traditional thoughts” in the turn of the century, the pressstarted to publish “the book series of Chinese celebrities of culture in component” (100 books). More than 10 books in the series such as Critical Biography of Tian Han and Critical Biography of Zhang Henshui have been published. The “Critical Biography of Jiangsu Celebrities of Arts” is un der publishing together with the “Nanjing University Celebrities of Academics” series, introducing the academician and professors who are over seventy years old.With the accumulation of the items published, the arrangement and publishing of literatures has gradually become the distinguishing feature of the press. To regard history as a mirror, discarding the fake and remaining the real, Nanjing University Press is now compiling a huge cultural project Poetries in the Qing Dynasty, which is the largest anthology of poetry in different times. Now the “Supplement Anthology of the Works in Shunzhi and Kangxi Eras” (4 volumes), “Anthology of Works in Yongzheng and Qianlong Eras” (16 volumes),” Anthology of Works in Jiaqing and Daoguang Eras”(20 volumes) will all be published in 2015. Meanwhile, the press has signed the agreement with Renmin University of China to edit and publish Traditional Opera in the Qing Dynasty (120 volumes). The huge humanitarian and social scienceproject of the Ministry of Education The Anthology of Buddhism Classics for the Recent 100 Years(100 volumes) was published in 2014. Nanjing University is one of the most important places to research the history, especially the history of Republic of China. As the old saying goes “The capital of the Republic of China was in Nanjing, the research of the history is in Nanjing University”, the academic position is approved both in the country and overseas. Relying on the academic strength of the university, the Nanjing University Press focuses on the literature of ROC period, published The Judicial Communique of ROC Government (60 volumes) in 2012, and The Judicial Communique of Wang Jingwei Para-Government will be published in 2014 with 100 volumes each of the Central V olume and Local V olume. In recent years, the press has developed its focuses on math and science, and interdisciplinary areas. The Press has started lots of meaningful academic topics in accordance with the important national development strategy. For example, the Research in the Exploitation of Coastal Marine Space Resources and Ecological Protection of the Nation which involves with marine development strategy; the Research on the Development of African Resources and the Resource Cooperation Strategy between China and Africa which involveswith African strategy; the Research on South China Sea Territory and the Digital South China Sea which are led by Professor Wang Yin and involve with the South China Sea issue. Among these works, the Research in the Exploitation of Coastal Marine Space Resources and Ecological Protection of the Nation was selected into the “Philosophy of the Social Sciences Innovation Project”. There are only 60 items selected into this project, and those selected represent the first-class published items of the nation. The book is the only one selected in Jiangsu Province.Insisting on diversified educational publicationEducational book is one of main focuses of the Nanjing University Press. Relying on the huge advantage of the research-based Nanjing University, the Press has broken the mold of traditional patterns to compile teaching materials and introduced the idea from the first-class universities in European countries and America. By this means, the Press started the project of “the Teaching Material for the Research-based Courses of University”. The books about Ch inese Language and Literature and History have already been published. Professors from more than ten universities such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, and Fudan University comment highly ofthe novel compiling thoughts of these books. What’s mor e, the Press positively develops those specialized teaching materials of minority subjects with strong professionalization while maintaining the teaching materials of basic subjects. Those minority subjects include “Normal Materials for Primary School Teac hing”, and Technique of Behavior Change, Diagnose and Assessment to the Special Children Education, Math Courses and Teaching Theory for the Deaf Schools etc., which are mainly focusing on normal students whose majors are special child education.In the recent years, the Nanjing University Press has subdivided the teaching material market of Jiangsu. While developing the teaching materials for the undergraduate courses of the first class and the second class, they also involve into the teaching materials for the higher vocational colleges. The Press has established the strategy alliances system of “University (College) Based Agency”, to cooperate with the universities and research collectives in Jiangsu area, published a series of teaching materials with great pertinence, for example Study Encouraging: the Economic Series and Innovation and Knowledge Management Series. Improvingmarket-oriented publicationRepresentatives academic books of the press include the “Library of the Classics”and “Humanization of the Cities”series of the P ress. The “Library of the Classics” series is the collection of the masterpieces of the famous scholars domestically and overseas. The authors and their masterpieces that have been selected have gone through the test of readers in several generations, every author is famous, and lots of those books are selected as the best-sellers of the year. The aim of the “Humanization of Cities” series is to make a series of books for the human culture of the cities. Except the People of Nanjing, People of Wuhan, and People of Nanchang already published, People of Beijing, People of Suzhou, People of Harbin etc. will continue to be published in 2014.The Nanjing University Press is publishing the books with local characteristics of Jiangsu and can reflect various Jiangsu cultures. Those prog ressing are the “The Melody of Chinese Jiangsu: Jiangsu Culture” series, the “Jiangsu Culture series: The Name card of Jiangsu” series, “Series of Jiangsu Celebrities of Art” and so on. What’s more, the Press has published a series of books which are easy to be understood but with abundant culture contents whose aim readers are the youth and children, such as, Abridged Edition of Critical Biography for ChineseScholars (50 books), Abridged Edition of Chinese Traditional Culture (13 books), and “Book Series for the Common Knowledge of Humanity and Social Science” (20 books) .Successful experiences of going globalThe Nanjing University Press uses varieties of ways to push the books to “go global”. For example, the Press introduces books to the universities and research institutions overseas initiatively. The press also cooperates with institutes such as National Office of Chinese Popularization, German Goethe Opera, France Fuhlen Foundation, Japan Hokuriku University Press and Japan International Exchange Foundation that will help the books “go global”, Since 2005, the press exported 40 kinds of books to Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Turkey and Taiwan and Hong Kong and have gone on the way to the international market.The Street that Will Never Be BroadenedChen Danyan | Nanjing University Press | August 2014 | ISBN 978-7-305-13486-9Editor’s Choice: It chooses 20 streets that will not be broadened out of 64 ones, and describes the iconic people, affairs and things happening there. Book Introduction: The author Chen Danyan is a seeker and recorder ofShanghai’s memory. She creates a series of pieces about Shanghai in non-fictitious writing. She regards the phrase “Street that will not be broadened”as something poetry as time goes by. With her special view, she picks 20 streets out of 64 which will never be broadened, to describe the iconic people, affairs and things happening there in details and to remain a more interesting side of these streets with characters.The 20 stories in the book happened from the Tao-tai and missionaries of Shanghai in 1880s to the public memorials to the dead in the fire of Jiaozhou Road on November 15, 2010, all the stories are marked with history. Among them, some of thest ories are the essence of the “Trilogy of Shanghai” and the “Trilogy of the Bund”, they are just connected with a certain street to highlight the historical cultures and characteristics with literature, and is worthy of reading.A Story Told on Ghost DayMeng Hui | Nanjing University Press | April 2014 | ISBN 978-7-305-09606-8Editor’s Choice: A Story Told on Ghost Day, written by Meng Hui, tells about a soul-striking battle within the Palace during the region of Empress Wu Zetian.Book Introduction:A Story Told on Ghost Day tells about a soul-striking battle within the Palace during the region of Empress Wu Zetian. Empress Wu Zetian is not the main character of the book, but an authority shadow exists everywhere, and is the cause of the story. The author’s interest is to imagine the rel ationship between people in that period of time: relationship maintained by ethic, politics and lust. Relatives, princes and princesses, generals and clergies, malicious ministers and male bestows, and numerousof attendants, they intrigued against each other and formed a complex relationship network.People of SuzhouFan Xiaoqing | Nanjing University Press | June 2014 | ISBN 978-7-305-10301-8Editor’s Choice: Fan Xiaoqing uses a special means of writing to compile the book. She avoids all the clichés and narrates softly with real emotions, and presents readers a tasteful but unknown Suzhou.Book Introduction:The five parts of the book sketch Suzhou vividly from its historical architectures, culture and traditions, stories, lifestyles, and th e towns nearby. The entire book “seems to tell different stories but centre on the same topic”, using the specialexpressions and language style, shows the distinct urban characteristics of Suzhou, picturing a dim, quietly elegant Suzhou. Lonely Heart Club of Taoist Priest Wang Wang Ao | Nanjing University Press | August 2013 | ISBN 978-7-305- 11133-4Editor’s Choice: The book is a collection of the poetries of Wang Ao. It responds to the deep understandings of the contemporary poets to the classical poetry and classical imagination, and also combines with the modernization of poetry writing. Book Introduction:Wang Ao is a genius poet and his poetries remarkably stand out. Among the contemporary poets, lots of them are following the pattern from misty poetry to the third-generation poetry and then the 1990s poetry and finally end up with the 21st-century poetry. However, Wang Ao’s poetry shows huge difference in aesthetics from the very beginning. His creativity disturbs people from distinguishing the rights order of modern poetry development. What’s more precious is that he becomes a new source and tradition of modern poetry just by his own strength. The new source and the new tradition respond to the deep understandings to the classical poetry and classical imagination, but also combine with the modernization of poetry writing. Hisexcellent performance on poetry is a mysterious reward from the Chinese language.。