Memorial service for publishing pioneer Kuo Chung-hsing held in Huashan with posthumous presidential citation

Taiwan's publishing industry today held a large-scale, deeply nostalgic and respectful memorial service at the artistic hub of Taipei's Huashan Creative Park. Kuo Chong-hsing, founder and president of the Book Republic Publishing Group and founder of Kuo Yi-mei Bookstore, a well-known landmark in Dadaocheng, passed away peacefully recently. His family and figures from the cultural community gathered today to hold a solemn and grand memorial service for this cultural promoter who dedicated his entire life to Taiwan's publishing industry. This memorial was not only a farewell to an outstanding publisher, but also an important moment for Taiwan's publishing community to jointly review an era and gather the strength to move forward.

During the solemn ceremony, Minister of Culture Li Yuan personally attended and presented a presidential commendation on behalf of the nation, honoring Kuo Chong-hsing's extraordinary contributions to Taiwan's cultural enterprises and freedom of publication during his lifetime. The commendation was accepted on behalf of the family by Kuo's eldest daughter, Kuo Cheng-jung. In his speech at the site, Li expressed his sorrow and admiration for his old friend and industry peer, recounting the profound footprints Kuo Chong-hsing left in the history of Taiwan's publishing. This national honor is not only the highest personal recognition for Kuo Chong-hsing, but also symbolizes Taiwanese society's high regard for the value of publishing culture.

Looking back at Kuo Chong-hsing's life, he can be described as one of the most legendary and pioneering figures in contemporary Taiwanese publishing history. Having deeply cultivated the publishing industry for decades, his most celebrated achievement was founding the large-scale and diverse "Book Republic Publishing Group." Under his leadership, the group nurtured numerous independent publishing houses with distinct styles, each focusing on different specialized fields through a unique clustered and supportive management model. This operational approach, which broke away from the unitary management of traditional large conglomerates, provided fertile ground for Taiwan's diverse publishing ecosystem. It allowed many niche, serious, and culturally invaluable books to be published, enriching the spiritual world of Taiwanese readers.

Beyond operating a behind-the-scenes publishing group, in his later years Kuo demonstrated a deep affection for physical bookstores and a sense of cultural mission. He chose to return to the historically rich neighborhood of Dadaocheng in Taipei to establish the "Kuo Yi-mei Bookstore." This independent bookstore, combining historic architecture with modern book selection principles, quickly became a new cultural landmark in Dadaocheng, lighting a beacon for the gradually declining physical bookstore sector. The existence of Kuo Yi-mei Bookstore is not merely a place to sell books, but a public space where local residents and visitors from afar can engage in deep cultural dialogue, attend lectures, and view exhibitions, fully demonstrating Kuo's dedication and vision for promoting reading.

The departure of Kuo Chong-hsing is undoubtedly a heavy blow and an irreparable loss for Taiwan's cultural community and publishing peers. However, just like the countless seeds of knowledge he sowed in the publishing industry through the group and bookstore he founded, these spirits will continue to take root and sprout in Taiwanese society. At the memorial service, many publishing peers, authors, and cultural figures attended to pay their respects. Beyond expressing condolences, they exchanged views on how to inherit his legacy and continue safeguarding Taiwan's publishing freedom and reading culture amidst the tide of digitization and changing reading habits. This memorial was not just a sorrowful farewell, but a profound reflection and spiritual inheritance regarding the future direction of Taiwan's publishing.