Chapter 112: I Want the Copyright to “Romance of the Three Kingdoms”…

Zhu Yuanzhang’s ban on such orders may seem absurd and difficult to understand, but there were underlying reasons for it.

The primary reason was that Zhu Yuanzhang, coming from humble origins, was extremely suspicious and often doubted whether officials were genuinely working for him. When he was in a bad mood, he would indulge in acts of literary persecution.

For instance, when the Hanlin Compiler Gao Qi composed a poem that went, “A little dog barks at shadows beyond the wall, who comes to the palace late at night?” Zhu Yuanzhang interpreted it as an insult, suggesting he was being called a dog. Consequently, Gao Qi was executed.

Similarly, when the central secretariat, Zhan Xiyuan, inscribed the plaque for the Imperial Academy with the characters “太学门” (meaning “Gate of the Imperial Academy”), he omitted the final stroke in the character “门” (meaning “gate”) because he believed it looked more aesthetically pleasing.

However, Zhu Yuanzhang saw it, what word did you write?

Gate is not Gate?

Wouldn’t it hinder me from recruiting talented people?

execute him!

You see, artistic creation can also involve taking risks.

For example, Zhao Boning, an instructor at the Beiping Prefectural School, included the phrase “垂子孙而作则(May you live long and set an example for your descendants)” in ‘Longevity Eulogy’, Lin Bojing, an instructor at the Fuzhou Prefectural School, wrote “仪则天下(May you exemplify virtue throughout the world.)” in Winter Congratulation text. There was also Jiang Zhi, Instructor of Guilin Prefecture School, who wrote in his “New Year Congratulations,” “建中作则(May you create standards in the world).”. Because the character “则” (zé) sounded like “贼” (zéi), which means “thief,” Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang believed that these individuals were insulting and cursing him, so he had them all executed..

Even for those who had already passed away, Zhu Yuanzhang did not spare them from his actions.

In the second year of the Hongwu era, he ordered the removal of the tablet for Mencius from the Confucian Temple.

In the twenty-seventh year of the Hongwu era, Zhu Yuanzhang ordered the deletion and revision of the works of Mencius. Phrases such as “The people are the most important, followed by the state, and the ruler is the least important” and “If the ruler treats his ministers like dirt, the ministers will treat him as an enemy” were considered disrespectful to the emperor and were all removed or altered.

After the deletions, Good, the books were reduced by one-third, you scholars can memorize and study little easier.

While Zhu Yuanzhang restricted the thoughts of intellectuals, he also didn’t relax his control over popular beliefs. That’s why he implemented prohibitions such as “cut off the tongue of anyone found learning to sing” and similar measures.

The thoughts of the literati are not active, and the thoughts of the common people dare not move. The market demand was weak, and selling books was not easy, so the development of private bookstores was very slow.

In fact, in the early Ming Dynasty, the most developed bookstores were not in the capital. Places like the Imperial Academy, the Imperial Medical Academy, and the Bureau of Translators, among others, primarily produced educational materials for the imperial government or official purposes, and they were not of large scale.

Specifically, in Fujian’s Jianning Prefecture, within the jurisdiction of Jianyang County, at the foot of the Wuyi Mountains in northern Fujian, that was the real “printing center” of the early Ming Dynasty.

As for the content printed by the bookstores in Jianyang, apart from official works, they also produced texts like the “Grand Compilation” (《大诰》) and the “Great Ming Code” (《大明律》). However, when it came to novels and miscellaneous writings, they often required thorough examination, and no one dared to publish them lightly.

If there happened to be words like “生” or “则”, or if the content criticized the royal family or propagated social instability, the authors might risk losing their heads. Of course, the authors were not alone; the printers who assisted in publishing would also face the same fate.

In desperation, Luo Guanzhong had gone to Jianyang for inquiries, but they didn’t provide the books he sought. Upon leaving, they gifted him a few bamboo stalks, indicating that while they owned the bookstore, they couldn’t meddle in such matters.

With an empty stomach and no options left, Luo Guanzhong felt utterly powerless.

Luo Guanzhong, unwilling to give up, heard that the Emperor had issued a prosperous declaration and introduced a series of new policies aimed at benefiting the nation and its people. It seemed that a wave of relaxation regarding literary restrictions was emerging in the capital. With renewed hope, Luo Guanzhong traveled a long distance to the capital in search of his last glimmer of hope.

However, even after scouring the capital, he found no one willing to publish his manuscript.

When Zhu Yunwen saw the forlorn and aged Luo Guanzhong, he said, “Since no one is willing to publish your book, I will do it for you.”

Luo Guanzhong looked at Zhu Yunwen in astonishment and delight, asking, “Is what you say true? Can you really have ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ printed and spread to the world?”

Zhu Yunwen nodded earnestly.

“But you haven’t even seen my manuscript…”

“I have seen it, and I’m quite familiar with it…”

“What?”

“Uh, well, I mean, I’ve seen that you have great talent, and you are well-acquainted with the owner of the bookshop. So, I’ve decided to sponsor the printing of your book! However, Mr. Luo, we need to discuss the matter of expenses…”

Zhu Yunwen wiped his brow.

He couldn’t contain his excitement in front of such a renowned figure in the world of novels. Luo Guanzhong was leagues ahead of those modern writers who type away on keyboards.

“As long as ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’ can be printed, even if I have to spend all my family fortune, I will spare no expense!”

Luo Guanzhong firmly declared.

“Spend all your family fortune?”

Zhu Yunwen shook his head repeatedly and said, “Mr. Luo, I will print your manuscript and then sell it to make a big profit. Why should you contribute funds? I propose that you sell me the copyright of this manuscript for 2,000 taels of silver. How does that sound?”

“What is a copyright?”

Luo Guanzhong was somewhat puzzled, as if he hadn’t quite understood the concept.

Zhu Yunwen was frustrated because there was no such thing as a copyright in ancient times. If you wanted to publish a book, you had to foot the bill, and it wasn’t cheap.

For example, let’s say your book uses 150 sheets of paper, which would cost you 30 wen.

Thirty wen?

That sounds cheap!

Hold on, there’s also the cost of ink, which totals 240 wen, the cost of the waxing process, totaling 215 wen, and the materials and labor for mounting and binding with blue paper, totaling 280 wen…

If you add it all up, it’s at least 700 wen to publish a single book.

Since you’re publishing a book, you can’t just publish one, right?

You’re a well-educated man, so getting a whole cartload of books should be no problem, right?

One cartload with a hundred books would be seven to eight taels of silver at least.

For ordinary families, who could afford so much money for printing? Most people couldn’t even afford to buy books.

Take Zhu Biao’s teacher, Song Lian, for example. He was a model of integrity but had no means to acquire books for reading, so he copied them by hand from borrowed books. He used handwritten copies.

This also explains why Cao Xueqin couldn’t afford to print ‘Dream of the Red Chamber’ during the Qing Dynasty. For a long time, it existed only in the form of handwritten copies. Of course, this is just one factor.

These days, running a bookshop is quite costly, but it’s also very profitable…

Even the cheapest books cost several hundred wen, and typical books cost one or two silver taels. Some books are even more expensive, costing three taels or more…

It’s more profitable than selling grain or pork.

“The so-called copyright means that you would own this book, and I would need your permission to print it. If I buy the copyright for two thousand taels of silver, you would receive that sum, and in the future, even if this book is sold to places like Ryukyu or Korea, you wouldn’t be able to demand money from me.”

Zhu Yunwen explained.

Luo Guanzhong was getting irritated. This person must be trying to trick him.

Where had he ever heard of a bookshop paying for someone else’s printing?

He had never heard of such a thing, and it was a staggering two thousand taels.

Is this young master in front of him some kind of scammer? But this scammer seems a bit, well, not very clever…

Luo Guanzhong’s face darkened, and he said, “If you can truly have this manuscript printed, Luo is not asking for a single coin. Even if you manage to sell it to the ends of the earth, it will be your achievement.”

“Uh, is there such a good deal? Haha, well, let’s not argue. I won’t take too much advantage of you. Do any of you have silver on you?”

Zhu Yunwen looked at Xie Jin, Xu Huizu, and Xu Miaojin.

Xie Jin took out ten taels of broken silver and twenty taels of silver notes, while Xu Huizu was a miser, and who knows where he had hidden his money? He managed to take out only five taels of silver.

As for Xu Miaojin…

Forget it, her money was all used for buying food, and no one could touch it.

Ah, isn’t that Liu Changge who stays hidden there?

Why are you hiding? Come over here.

Sure enough, as the commander of the Security Bureau, he had over two hundred taels of silver on him. He wasn’t afraid of it weighing him down.

Zhu Yunwen bundled up all the silver and handed it to Luo Guanzhong, saying, “Mr. Luo, though it may not be much, please accept it.”

“What are you doing? I only hope to witness the birth of this book with my own eyes. What use is money to me?”

Luo Guanzhong stepped back and refused.

Zhu Yunwen pushed the silver into Luo Guanzhong’s hands and said, “What I’ve given you, you must accept! If you want to see this book come to life, that’s no problem. However, I want to write a poem as the opening words for this ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’.

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