Historical Observations on Text Pricing

(Original article published in Functional Words·Intangible )

Text | Kong Dewei

The distance between "writer" and "writer"

Purely historical question: How long is the history of the "fee system" that we are familiar with today, in which publishers, journals and newspapers "sell paper" in exchange for money and then distribute it to authors? Taking the Chinese World as an example, it is speculated that "author fees" will probably not appear in private publications such as newspapers, tabloids, cheat sheets, and public publications. However, the non-institutional exchange of "words" for "money" has a long history. (Otherwise, what would literati eat?) Sima Xiangru (about 179 BC - 117 BC) exchanged "Nagato Fu" for a hundred gold after his death. It has both literary value and market value. He can be said to be a "word seller" ” ideal. But literati probably haven’t read much about Adam. Adam Smith (1723-1790) proposed as early as "The Wealth of Nations" that "literary value" or other intrinsic value has no connection with market value, or even contradicts each other:

"The word value has two meanings: it sometimes means the utility of a specific item, and sometimes it means the price of possessing an item. The former is "use value" and the latter is "exchange value." Items with great "use value" , often have a very small or even zero "exchange value"; conversely, items with a large "exchange value" often have a very small or even zero "use value". For example, water has great uses, but we You cannot buy anything with water, nor will you exchange anything with water. On the contrary, although diamonds have almost no "use value" at all, they must be exchanged for a large number of other goods. (Note 1) "

The gap between the two values ​​will of course easily arouse the dissatisfaction of the "writers" who are regarded as the "writers". As early as the 15th century, Sang Yue (1447-1503), who compared himself to Mencius (372-289 BC), was regarded as a daily joke by his fellow countryman Li Xu (1506-1593) in "Jie'an Old Man's Writings" and recorded the story of his struggle for royalties. "Sang Sixuan of Changshu was once asked for writing. He asked for it because of his intimacy, but without polishing his pen. Sixuan said: "I have never written in vain in my life, and I am most unlucky. You can temporarily put a silver ingot, four or five taels, in front of me. When it is finished, I will return it to you." (Note 2)" In addition to "write-by-order" and "selling words", the business of authors printing personal collections and poetry collections and selling books was also popular as early as the 10th century. Printers were divided into There are three categories: official engraving, private engraving and workshop engraving. However, booksellers at that time often did not pay royalties to authors, and most publications were self-financed by authors. Copying and pirated copies of books were also very common in China today. Literary writing and bookseller publishing are independent of each other, and there is basically no connection in terms of interests. It is also similar to today's unknown "writers" who publish their own collections but ask readers to read them, and rarely care about whether they can get the original copies back. In the Song Dynasty, where Confucianism was prevalent, some literati were even ashamed of handing it over to retailers to sell and profit on their behalf (Note 3). Ye Dehui (1864-1927), a 19th-century bibliography and publishing history researcher who invented the idea of ​​placing erotic paintings in books to prevent fires, has long been aware of the problem of piracy since the 10th century: "It is therefore unreasonable to estimate that copying other people's books is harmful. Yu Shilin. In the Song Dynasty, the literary guidelines were very broad, so official writings were not banned. As the world became more popular, rare books were all turned over and carved, so it was no surprise that the engravers had to take more strict precautions. (Note 4) "

In the 15th century, when Sang Yue claimed that he had "never written in vain", business practices were much more common than in the 10th century. People in Confucianism also evolved ethics to accept business practices, and the distance between "writers" and "sellers" naturally narrowed (note 5). The market dominates, and pure literature is still as difficult to obtain royalties as it was 500 years ago. What really led to the cooperation between booksellers and literati in the 15th century were practical books such as anthologies of poems and essays for examinations (examination heavenly books) with a certain readership, novels about gifted scholars and beauties, Zhanghui novels, and official documents. It was common practice at that time for booksellers to pay royalties in advance for manuscripts, or for wealthy authors to run a publishing business concurrently. At the beginning of the 17th century, when Chen Renxi (1581-1636) compiled "Ming Wen Qi Appreciation" (the Tianqi engraved version), he published "Zheng Qi" and said, "Those who are willing to submit to the Zheng will either be sent by letter or face-to-face, and must go to Changmen, Suzhou. We asked the bookstore Youyoutang Chen Longshan, and delivered it in person." Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty was a commercial bookstore jointly run by brothers Lu Yunlong (1587-1666) and Lu Renlong (?-?) who were poor in Hangzhou Zhengxiao Hall and Qiantang. 4. In the call for papers, the content and bibliography required by the publisher are listed in more detail, hoping to be provided by the author (Note 6).

The Lu brothers, who run the publishing industry, can be said to be a typical example of the rise of the publishing industry in South China since the end of the 15th century. After observing the development of the publishing industry in imperial China during the period, Chow Kai-wing of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign pointed out that the increase in the literacy rate at that time led to an increase in the supply of intellectuals and reduced the supply of intellectuals. The success rate of scientific examinations. The traditional form of educational investment return based on imperial examinations had entered the stage of diminishing marginal income at that time. In order to maintain a long scientific examination career, it became the norm at that time for intellectuals to participate in education or publishing work in order to earn income. Since the purpose of publishing is to make a living, manuscript fees, book prices, and dividends have naturally become issues that must be weighed against each other (Note 7). Sang Yue's "I have never written in vain" is probably understandable under this historical situation. Under the guidance of the market, the free hand quickly promoted a mature economic activity model: authors spend their efforts to manage their own "brands", publishers spend heavily to solicit manuscripts from potential authors to increase production, and booksellers use the talents of famous scribes to increase production. Famous books (such as Jin Shengtan's (1608-1661) "College Preface and Postscript"). At that time, in order to protect property rights, we would also develop methods to combat piracy and try to introduce public litigation.

The form of written communication leads to changes in the social form of public opinion

Market orientation has affected the ecology of production and also changed the types and structures of publications. Remuneration, as today, was influenced by the content of the publication. Best-selling novels, solutions to scientific examination questions, and works by celebrities that are truly profitable will naturally require generous royalties; while literary works such as poetry collections and anthologies collected through public solicitation may be works by unknown "writers" seeking fame. It's probably a free feed of Gaofengliangjie. Of course, if the bookseller really lacks confidence in the manuscript, but the "writer" has enough financial resources to bear the cost of engraving, self-financed printing using the "negative manuscript fee" method, which is similar to the "negative interest rate", is also a feasible method of "buying a name." "Buying fame" with poems and essays is not a new phenomenon after the publishing industry became popular. In the 8th century, Bai Juyi (772-846) wrote poems and essays to Gu Kuang (? - about 814) and was ridiculed: "Everything in Chang'an is expensive, and living in a big city is not easy." ”; In the 14th century, the youngest son of Luo Xilin (?-?), who was preparing to compile and publish a collection of poems by modern people, could stop the “writer” who came with poems to “submit” them and examine them before passing them on his behalf (Note 8) . Bai Juyi's writing was for taking the exam to become an official, but the poet who visited Luo Xilin's home was just for publication. This is just a reflection of the change of "public" to "private" in "literary title". However, this kind of "private" "literary name" also has certain limitations. Liu Yuqing, who also observed the "authorship fee system" in modern China, believes that "at this time, there were businessmen who sold books and made money, but there were almost no literati who made a living exclusively by selling manuscripts to booksellers. Seeking official positions through the imperial examination was still the right way for scholars. ( Note 9)" This actually reflects the view that "writers" after the 15th century still regarded "entering officialdom" as the "right path." This phenomenon confirms the high degree of social mobility in modern China presented by He Bingli (1917-2012) based on a large number of historical materials such as the imperial examination records of Ming and Qing dynasties, the resumes of three generations of Jinshi, the dental records of the same year of Jinshi, and the resumes of three generations of Juren and Gongsheng. Among the 40,000 cases analyzed quantitatively by He, more than 40% of the people whose ancestors were ordinary people for three generations were elected officials and Jinshi (Note 10). Since you can make a fortune by becoming an official, the small fortune you make from publishing is just a small income to survive on the road to success. Obviously, the income of "letter sellers" in modern China was probably amateur level before the 20th century. On the contrary, booksellers with huge investments are willing to take the risk of printing and publishing with a long negative return period, which reflects that the income and returns of booksellers are generally relatively stable. Just like today the publishing house will be happy because of signing J. K. Rowling (1965-?) or Ni Kuang (1935-2022) became rich through the copyright of their novels. Best-selling novels were also the ultimate way for booksellers to make a fortune after the 16th century. However, the "literary value" and "market value" of this type of "writer" are both unstable figures. Booksellers who pay their employees fixed monthly salaries naturally need a more stable income. The examination books introduced by Zhou Qirong are actually the same as Hong Kong's local publishing houses Hong Kong Joint-Us Press Limited and Original Press (Asia) Ltd.. The former publishes reference answers to previous test questions related to Hong Kong public examinations every year. , the latter is famous for its "Last Minute Series" before the exam. Examination books have been popular for many years, bringing stable income to publishers, and the high-leverage popular literary works coincidentally disperse the risks of publishing investment (Note 11).

Transforming a "writer" into a full-time "writer" obviously requires a more stable income. After the Sino-Japanese War (1894), the popularity of new/Western-style newspapers changed the operational logic of writing and public opinion carriers. Wang Fansen (1958-?) had long noticed that the form of written communication led to a complete change in the social form of modern public opinion. Due to the regular publication of large-scale new newspapers and periodicals, "writers" from different classes have relatively equal access to the policy discussion platform. The results of scientific examinations and "official recruitment" have limited impact on the spread of writing in the media. Kang Youwei (1858-1927) and Liang Qichao (1873-1929), the promoters of reforms in the late Qing Empire, were both civilians without official status when they became famous. Compared with the era before the 19th century when intellectuals dominated public opinion, in the 20th century the "public" replaced the "government" as the object of social demands. The identity of the "elite" is no longer determined by scientific examinations, which makes "horizontal" and The "impersonalize" market and readers determine which "word seller" has a higher "value". By the time of the May Fourth Movement and the New Culture Movement in the 1920s, different political and business figures became increasingly aware of the function and influence of newspapers, and realized that standards of right and wrong had shifted to the masses. The “value” referred to here therefore includes political and social influence and market value (Note 12). New media has become the darling of the times and has become an information channel that society is willing to spend money to purchase. Authors' royalties have naturally increased. For specific figures, please refer to "Anecdotes of Modern Chinese Figures" compiled by Huang Gongwei (1908-?):

A certain magazine in the city stipulated a manuscript fee of two dollars per thousand white rice, which was a feat in the publishing industry. However, some people pointed out that the fee for some specially commissioned manuscripts in the United States is US$1 per word, which is not unusual. However, Churchill's Memoirs was published by First Publishing Company of New York, and the single publication fee was US$1 million, with a 100% royalty for each volume in the future. Twenty-seven. The royalties of one dollar per word are indeed enviable. However, we cannot ignore the longevity prefaces and inscriptions of a few ancient Chinese writers, which are more polished than those of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (1874-1965). The current preface by Zhang Shizhao (1881-1973) is generally two long pieces. If it is too long, it will be discussed. Zhang wrote the longevity prefaces of Wu Tiecheng (1888-1953), Yu Youren (1879-1964), and Du Yuesheng (1888-1951). They are all worth less than a thousand yuan, which is more than one dollar per word. The largest royalties in history were the 50th birthday couplet given by Kang Youwei to Wu Peifu (1874-1939). The sentence goes: "The eagle in Makino is soaring, and it takes only half a lifetime to achieve fame at the age of 100; the tiger is in Luoyang, and the wind and rain from all directions meet in Zhongzhou." Kang Youwei was in embarrassment, and Wu rewarded him with a reward of 400,000 yuan. At that time, 400,000 yuan was equivalent to 300 billion today, so each word was worth 14 billion. (Calculation of legal currency at the beginning of the 37th year of the Republic of China/Note 13)

In the Chinese world, do you “sell words” to make a living?

The "polished writing" of Kang Youwei and Zhang Shizhao is not a "fee" for new media. Rather, it is similar to the remuneration for writing in the late imperial period. However, the reason why the "polished writing" of Kang Youwei and Zhang Shizhao is worth thousands of dollars is because of the literary reputation developed in the media. . If Kang Youwei still actively participated in politics, Zhang Shizhao simply gained status in society as an active political commentator or chief writer of Su Daily, Minxu Daily, Minli Daily, and Jiayin ( Note 14). In fact, before World War II, "writers" did not make a full-time living by "selling letters." Chen Mingyuan's book "What to Make a Living: The Economic Background of Cultural Celebrities" examines the economic status of famous intellectuals such as Lu Xun (1881-1936), Zhang Taiyan (1868-1936), Lu Feikui (1886-1941), and finds that almost all Cultural celebrities all have official jobs other than "selling letters", but Rou Shi (1902-1931), who really worked as a "freelance writer", was unfortunately buried alive by the Nationalist government at the age of 29. We have no excuse. Find out whether the income of "freelance writers" before the war was "sustainable" (Note 15). However, probably by the end of the 20th century, it was not easy to make a living by selling words in the Chinese-speaking world. Shen Xicheng (1948-?) once wrote that Jin Yong’s (1924-2018) royalties for Ming Pao were “not as good as ideal” in Hong Kong, the richest city in the Chinese world at the time. In the 1980s, a group of well-known Hong Kong literati worked together to bid for Ming Pao, but in the end they were gently dismissed by Mr. Cha, who represented the employer:

Lin Yanni (1943-2018) asked Jin Yong to increase his manuscript fee. Jin Yong smiled and said: "You love to spend money so much, you spend it again and again." Yi Shu (1946-?) also made a fuss, still smiling and said: "You don't even want to spend money." You spend money, what’s the point of adding the manuscript fee?” Yi was relieved, but when he scolded Jin Yong in the column, he still smiled: “You can scold, but the manuscript will be published, and the manuscript fee will not be added at all. (Note 16)”

The conversion rate of "literary value" to "market value" is limited. Do you want a gentleman to remain poor? This is actually no longer extreme. Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072)'s "Preface to the Collected Poems of Mei Shengyu" states that "poems are poor before work", which is simply the "the poorer the more glorious" in the 1960s (Note 17). From this point of view, in order to obtain a manuscript fee of 50 cents per word, writing a free book with ten thousand words to practice writing is actually nothing.

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孔德維香港人，1991年出生，香港中文大學宗教研究學士及哲學碩士，香港大學中國研究博士。現任費薩爾國王學術及伊斯蘭研究中心研究員，曾任訪問學人於中央研究院，並參與歐洲、海灣地區及東亞不同學術會議。

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