Youzheng Bookstore was founded by Di Pingzi
Di Pingzi (1872-about 1942) was originally from Liyang, Jiangsu. His original name was Baoxian, also known as Chu Qing and Chu Qing, and also nicknamed Pingqing Jushi and Pingqingke. His room names were Baoxian'an and Pingpingge, who were good at calligraphy, painting and ancient painting appraisal. Later he founded the Times, Minbao and Youzheng Bookstore in Shanghai, pioneering the production of high-quality photocopies. He devoted all his efforts to running this large-scale publishing house. In order to make the printing excellent, two Japanese technicians were hired at high salaries to be responsible for the printing of ancient paintings and to teach several artistic apprentices. Youzheng Bookstore was the first to use collotype printing of famous paintings and inscriptions from the Han, Wei and Six Dynasties. It carefully structured and did not hesitate to collect and print from famous calligraphy and painting collectors. Many treasures have been published, especially the high-quality photocopies that are almost as authentic as the real ones. Di Pingzi's calligraphy was vigorous and elegant, and he was well-known for his calligraphy. Most of the cover titles of calligraphy and painting albums published by Youzheng Bookstore were written by him. "Pingzi's landscapes are not very outstanding, but his two brushstrokes of ink and bamboo are quite charming." This is what the late painting critic Zhu Shengzhai said about him. "Six Roots of Pure and Pure Heart" is Di's work in memory of his deceased wife. It can be said that the layout is meticulous, the composition is precise, the momentum is vivid, and the charm is meaningful. What is particularly eye-catching is the inscription three times in succession. Every word is full of love, and every word contains the most sincere feelings. The Buddhist Zen theory of nature. "Love the House and the Crow", the number of various poems, books, calligraphy and paintings published by Youzheng Bookstore is breathtaking. The profits from this are huge, which will go a long way in making up for the losses of The Times. Publishing houses such as the Commercial Press, Wenming Bookstore, Shenzhou Guoguang Society, and Yiyuan Collection Society followed suit and began photocopying calligraphy and paintings. Youzheng Bookstore has published a variety of rare ancient books, historical masterpieces, literary studies, and Buddhist monographs. There are no less than 600 well-documented couplets, calligraphy scrolls, painting scrolls, and painting screens, about 300 kinds of famous books, and about 200 rare books and inscriptions. The "Collection of Chinese Famous Paintings" alone has been published in 38 series, and the bookstore has also collected Many ancient books published are either unique or out of print, such as the 80-chapter "A Dream of Red Mansions" and so on. Pingzi also opened a "folk photo studio" opposite the Nanjing Road Racing Hall. Its original intention was to serve the "Novel Times" and "Women's Times", and also to photocopy ancient calligraphy and painting famous inscriptions. Due to the excellent photography and printing, It attracted countless gentry, businessmen, celebrities, handsome men and beautiful women, especially the women in Huajian. The bookstore printed it with the best copper plate and published it on a brocade cover. Once the single volume "Jinghong Yanying" was released, it won people's love and rushed to buy it.