The First National Preceptor of the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 31

Printed books are naturally not cheap; sometimes they are even cheaper than handwritten ones.

He continued, "I have some knowledge of Buddhist scriptures. After all, there are many people in the world who love Buddhist scriptures and are willing to pay money to buy them, so Buddhist scriptures are easier to sell. However, only a small percentage of people read books, and even fewer read classical Chinese texts."

The saying goes, "Highbrow art is often appreciated by few." The reason classics are considered classics is that they are difficult for even the most talented scholars to understand.

"Furthermore, there are only a few types of Buddhist scriptures commonly found among the people, and they are not very long, so printing them seems relatively easy. However, there are many kinds of scriptures, and those who want to study them must read no less than a hundred kinds, often with tens of thousands of words or even hundreds of thousands of words, so printing them is naturally extremely difficult."

Even if it were printed, it would be incredibly expensive, and ordinary people still wouldn't be able to afford it.

Xu Tian nodded when he heard Zheng Xie's idea: "Indeed, I also think that high costs are an important reason why books are expensive. Only by lowering the price of books can ordinary people afford them easily."

As for how to reduce costs, that's an issue that needs to be considered.

Currently, almost all books still need to be copied by hand, but human resources are limited, and this is by no means a permanent solution.

I didn't explain the concept of productivity to him; I just talked about costs.

"If this method doesn't change, even if the price of paper decreases, the price of books will probably still be very expensive."

I believe the ultimate solution lies in printing technology. Only by reducing printing costs can books be produced on a large scale, making them affordable for ordinary people.

After thinking carefully for a moment, Zheng Zhuangyuan's eyes flashed, and he said, "Then how can we reduce the printing cost? Do you have a way?"

"I already have some initial ideas, but they still need to be tested and improved. This is one of the reasons why I wanted to build the factory."

Once I find the right way, I can reduce the cost of printing to a fraction of, or even less than, one-tenth.

Brother Zheng, think about it, the price of books will drop to at least half of what it is now, and in the long run, it wouldn't be surprising if it even drops to one-tenth.

By then, ordinary students will be able to afford to study; wouldn't that be a momentous event that changes the course of history?

Zheng Zhuangyuan questioned, "I am but a scholar and I do not know much about matters related to book printing. If you can reduce the cost so that poor families can also afford to buy books, it would indeed be a great act of kindness."

However, looking back now, this was no easy task; otherwise, wouldn't those booksellers have accomplished it long ago? Why are books still so expensive today?

"Yes, it is indeed not easy. This brings us back to the previous question: researching and developing a new technology requires a lot of money and energy, and it also requires talented people in the field of creation to keep thinking and experimenting in order to speed up the process."

This task is actually extremely arduous, and carries a huge risk of failure. Most businesses only focus on immediate profits and are naturally unwilling to invest too much. That's why I'm willing to do it; now that I have a plan, who else but me can handle it?

Xu Tian spoke with a tragic air, as if on the banks of the Yi River, the wind howled and the water was cold, and the hero went forth never to return.

Zheng Xie finally nodded: "Excellent. After careful consideration, what you said is true. I misunderstood you before. I believe in your talent. If this matter succeeds, the merit will be even more significant than that of the 'Three Character Classic' and other works."