How did a new reading culture bloom in China?
Answer:
- By 17th century, print was no longer used just by scholar officials. Merchants used print in their everyday life, as they collected trade information.
- Reading increasingly became a leisure activity.
- The new readership preferred fictional narratives, poetry, autobiographies, anthologies of literary masterpieces and romantic plays.
- Rich women began to read and many women began publishing their poetry and plays. Wives of scholar-officials published their works and courtesans wrote about their lives.