Four Chinese printers who received funds from the American Presbyterian Mission Press after they resigned from it founded the Commercial Press, the first Chinese modern publishing house, in 1897.

Despite the broad changes that have taken place over the past century, the Commercial Press's core mission to "promulgate the spirit of education and enlighten the thoughts of the public" has never been washed away by the tide of modern history.

Hanfen Lou Bookstore, funded by the Commercial Press, is a three-story building in downtown Beijing that serves as living proof of the publishing house's century-old principle.

Decorated with pieces of calligraphy and porcelain handicrafts, the bookstore holds numerous intellectual texts exploring the spirits, values, rules and social order of people and the world.

These include "The Annual of the School of Zhu Xi", an analysis of the famous ancient Chinese scholar Zhu Xi, whose thought has exerted an enduring influence over East Asia; "Reincarnation and Rebirth" on the revival of Chinese culture; and "Global Justice: A Cosmopolitan Account," which unfolds a different view of the western universalism generally represented by freedom and democracy.

"When reading a book, you need to make sure that you understand each line with your eyes, with your hands and with your heart," said Zhao, who manages the bookshop. According to him, that was the traditional approach to reading adopted by the Chinese.

"Bookstores do not simply sell books. They actually provide space for face-to-face communication among people," Zhao said.

"Our staff members make an overall effort to provide bookstore visitors with a human environment, he explained."

Despite their meager salaries, staff members at the bookstore are quite devoted to their jobs. Each of them is responsible for maintaining knowledge of a particular category of books that he or she is interested in and familiar with and introducing this genre to customers.

Wang Yue, a staff member at the bookstore echoes the theory of Le Daiyun, the female author of the book "Reincarnation and Rebirth," when she says, "I just think the friendship among people is more important than anything else."

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