论明初的皇权统治与出版

明代出版被普遍认为是中国古代出版的巅峰，但事实上明代各个阶段的出版活动呈现出较大差异。在明初的洪武至宣德时期，出版活动陷入了一个低谷，活跃程度和整体态势甚至不及元末，其主要原因在于该时期的出版受到皇权专制统治思想的制约，主要表现为:明初统治者对图书出版的重视在一定程度上囿于制书出版，对民间出版基本上一致表现为严控与压制，其目的在于进行思想教化，维护专制统治。另外，明初文人在专制统治的政治背景下被皇权集体压制，致使他们的社会地位不高，命运悲惨，这也使私人出版行为受到严重打击。从宏观形态来看，明初的出版事实上成为皇权统治的工具，体现了当时的一种统治思想。

The Ruling of Imperial Power and Publishing Industry in Early Ming Dynasty

The publication in Ming Dynasty is considered in the highest position of ancient China. However, it varied in different periods and maintained at a lower level from Hongwu to Xuande, even less active than late Yuan Dynasty. Such a decline is mainly attributed to the restriction of autocracy. It is mainly embodied in such aspects: the ruling classes'' focus was limited to imperial publication to some extent; non-governmental publication was basically suppressed and strictly controlled, which was aimed at moral cultivation and the maintenance of autocracy. In addition, intellectuals were oppressed as a whole in the tyrannical background of early Ming Dynasty, with lower social status and bitter life, which was a severe blow on individual publication activity. Generally, the publishing industry in early Ming Dynasty turned to be a ruling tool of imperial power, representing the ruling ideas at that time.