Shijie Shuju (上海世界書局)

Shijie Shuju (上海世界書局; 1916 - present), whose name translates to 'World Bookstore,' was a bookseller and commercial publisher based in Shanghai in the Republican era (1912 - 1949). Founded in 1916 by Shen Zhifang (沈知方, 1882 - 1939), a former assistant manager at the Zhonghua Book Company (中華書局), Shijie Shuju found rapid success among the growing middle classes of Shanghai, publishing a range of works from classical literature to modern popular romantic novels, deeds of martial arts héros (wuxia), and translations of foreign works. In 1921, the company was reorganized as a joint stock corporation and continued to grow thereafter. The company suffered serious setbacks during the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937 - 1945), including the bombing of one of its printshops, but survived the war and set up a branch in Taipei in 1948. After Shanghai was captured by the People's Liberation Army in 1949, as with other private enterprises in Shanghai the company was transitioned to a public-private partnership and eventually nationalized, with the printing arm of the company merging with the printshop of Zhonghua Book Company and continuing as the Zhonghua Printing Factory (中華印刷廠, now 上海中华印刷有限公司). After 1949, the company has continued to be a prominent player on the publishing and bookselling scene in Taiwan, taking on more of a focus on historical and classical works. In 1985, Shijie Shuju collaborated with the National Palace Museum to print a portion of the massive Qing-era encyclopedia and compendium (totaling some 36,000 volumes) Siku Quanshu (四庫全書), with the published selection titled 四庫全書薈要.