Abstract:

During the Jiajing and Wan-li Periods of the Ming Dynasty, private bookstores in the south of
Changjiang River were booming and its prosperity mainly displayed in the following three aspects:（ 1） there
were a number of bookstores and they printed various kinds and a large number of books;（ 2） the bookstores
appeared during a relative close time;（ 3）the south of Changjiang River had replaced Jianyang of Fujian to be
the center of book-printing industry. The booming of the private bookstores reflected that the relation between
the scholar and the businessman had been changed and that the social status of businessman had improved.
It accelerated the shift of the original and single function of edification of book-publishing of Ming Dynasty
to the diversification of its practical and recreational function in the later period. It also created a platform to
spread popular culture and enlightenment of Ming Dynasty. Private bookstores and their publishing activities
had become one of the important forces that influenced the culture and society of Ming Dynasty.