Linking Publishing

Linking Publishing is a Taiwanese publishing house established in Taipei on May 4, 1974. It was created during a period of rapid economic growth in Taiwan by Wang Tiwu, founder of the United Daily News Group, and Liu Changping, then president of the United Daily News. The founders believed that economic development needed to be accompanied by stronger cultural and intellectual development, and established Linking to support the publication and circulation of serious academic work. The company became the third business entity of the United Daily News Group. Its Chinese name, Lian Jing, was formed from the first characters of the United Daily News and the Economic Daily News, two newspapers associated with the group. The choice of May 4 as the company's founding date referred to the May Fourth Movement and expressed an institutional association with intellectual inquiry, cultural renewal, and scholarship. Linking's editorial identity has historically centered on humanities and social sciences. Its catalogue includes academic monographs, research-oriented books, and works of reference, while also extending into natural sciences, literature, business and management, self-help and spirituality, travel, and children's publishing. This combination gives the company both a specialist academic profile and the range of a general trade publisher. The breadth of its backlist reflects an effort to connect scholarly and public audiences rather than limiting the company to a single narrow subject area. The publisher has maintained a role in Taiwan's intellectual and cultural life by making room for works that may have limited commercial potential but lasting academic or social value. This orientation has been associated with a willingness to consider specialized research and serious nonfiction. Historian Yu Ying-shih publicly praised Linking's serious and accommodating attitude toward unprofitable academic works, describing it as an important reason researchers could submit specialized studies to the company. In addition to publishing, Linking operates physical bookstores in Taipei and Taichung and maintains an internet bookstore. These retail channels give the company direct points of contact with readers and support the distribution of its own publications and other books. The company is therefore not only a publisher but also a book-retailing and cultural-distribution business within the United Daily News Group. Linking's principal identity remains that of an active Taiwanese publisher with a long-running humanities and social-sciences list. Publicly available reference material does not establish a current chief executive, detailed ownership structure beyond its association with the United Daily News Group, financial results, or a comprehensive account of recent publishing programs. Those fields are consequently left unspecified here.

Linking Publishing was founded in Taipei on May 4, 1974, against the background of Taiwan's economic expansion in the 1970s. Wang Tiwu, who founded the United Daily News Group, and Liu Changping, president of the United Daily News, considered cultural and intellectual development to have been insufficiently supported and decided to create a publishing company with a particular commitment to academic works. The new company became the third business entity of the United Daily News Group. Its name was derived from the first characters of the United Daily News and the Economic Daily News, linking the publisher symbolically to the newspaper group from which it emerged. The May 4 founding date was selected in reference to the May Fourth Movement and its associations with cultural change, learning, and intellectual engagement. From its origins, Linking developed a catalogue focused on humanities and social sciences. The company also published natural-science and reference works, later maintaining titles in literature, business and management, self-help and spirituality, travel, and children's books. Its backlist consequently spans both specialist research and broader trade publishing. The company has been characterized by its willingness to publish serious academic work even when the immediate commercial market is limited. Yu Ying-shih's favorable comment on the publisher highlighted this role and its importance to scholars submitting specialized research. Linking subsequently expanded its contact with readers through retail operations. Reference material identifies two physical bookstores, located in Taipei and Taichung, as well as an internet bookstore. These outlets complement the publishing business by providing direct distribution and retail access for books. Linking remains associated with the United Daily News Group and continues to be identified as a Taiwanese publisher of humanities and social sciences. Public reference material does not provide sufficient information to document all changes in management, detailed corporate ownership, annual financial performance, or individual publication milestones. Such matters are therefore not inferred in this dossier.

• 1974

  Linking Publishing is established

  [1]Linking Publishingen.wikipedia.org

  Wang Tiwu and Liu Changping establish Linking Publishing in Taipei on May 4 to support academic and cultural publishing.

• 1974

  The Linking name is adopted

  [1]Linking Publishingen.wikipedia.org

  The Chinese name is formed from the first characters of the United Daily News and the Economic Daily News, reflecting the company's connection with the United Daily News Group.

• Retail network documented

  [1]Linking Publishingen.wikipedia.org

  Linking operates bookstores in Taipei and Taichung and an internet bookstore in addition to its publishing operations.

A serious, culturally oriented Taiwanese publisher that combines academic and humanities publishing with a broad general-interest catalogue and direct book-retailing channels.

• Academic and scholarly publishing · 1974

  Humanities and social sciences publications

  Linking's core publishing identity is built around humanities and social sciences. The list includes scholarly and research-oriented works intended for academics, students, and readers interested in history, society, culture, and related fields. This area reflects the company's founding purpose of supporting academic publishing in Taiwan.

• Academic and reference publishing · 1974

  Academic and reference books

  The publisher's catalogue includes specialized research works and reference books. These publications serve as durable resources rather than solely short-cycle commercial products and are consistent with Linking's stated willingness to support works with scholarly value even where their immediate market may be limited.

• Trade publishing

  General-interest catalogue

  Beyond academic titles, Linking publishes literature, natural-science books, business and management works, self-help and spirituality titles, travel books, and children's books. This broader list allows the company to address general readers while retaining its established intellectual and cultural orientation.

• Book retail

  Linking bookstores and internet bookstore

  Linking's retail operations include two physical bookstores, one in Taipei and one in Taichung, together with an online bookstore. These channels provide direct reader access and extend the company beyond editorial production into book distribution and retail.

1. 1Linking Publishingen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Linking Publishing official websitelinkingbooks.com.tw