The Zhang family proudly carries the heritage of a publishing icon
Print Edition
RETIRED math teacher Zhang Renfeng has continued a heritage started by his forebears.
In the late 1980s, he and his father started to collect archive material about his grandfather Zhang Yuanji.
“Though Zhang Yuanji wasn’t the founder of The Commercial Press, he was its soul,” said Zhang, 77.
At age 25, his grandfather received jinshi, the highest degree in the imperial examination. That ensured him a prominent position in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) government.
In 1902, he surprised everyone by joining The Commercial Press when it was still just a small printing workshop in three rooms.
Why?
“My grandfather said education was our serious responsibility,” Zhang explained. “At that time, most Chinese were illiterate, and he hoped to give the whole nation access to knowledge.”
Two years after Zhang joined the publishing house, the company came out with China’s first modern school textbook. It sold out in days. For the first time, Chinese children heard about George Washington’s cherry tree and Aesop’s Fables.
Later, the textbook line was expanded to a wide array of educational material for primary and secondary schools, including math, geography and natural sciences.
Zhang was a lucky recipient of all the newly accessible knowledge.
“I had a textbook published in 1933,” he recalled. “I remember there were so many interesting stories in the book. What impressed me most was the story of a clever boy who was captured by Japanese invaders and ordered to lead them out of heavy fog. He led them straight to our army.”
When his grandfather was in his 80s, he was chairman of The Commercial Press, still taking an active part in the company.
“I remember a rider surnamed Wang would come to our home every morning and evening, carrying files for my grandfather to review and taking back the edited copies,” Zhang said.
He lived with his grandfather for 19 years, often retreating to his grandfather’s study to read books.
“My grandfather loved books,” he said. “His study was a treasure trove to me. I remember once being so obsessed with a colorful world map that my grandfather bought me many maps and taught me to recognize countries. That was my first awareness of the wider world.”
In his mind, Zhang Yuanji was more than a scholar.
“My grandfather was always at the vanguard of trends,” he said. “When he was a Qing Dynasty official, he studied vanguard management concepts and later introduced printing technology from the West.”
Zhang said his forebear never hesitated to spend money on modern machinery. That made The Commercial Press grow strong in just 30 years.
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