Trace Foundation's Publishing and Reading Project supports local publishing houses to print and distribute literature, reference materials, and children's books, in order to improve learning skills and foster the joy of reading among adults and children alike.

By making written materials in minority nationality languages more widely available, the foundation hopes to cultivate reading and stimulate creativity. In order to achieve these goals, we cooperate with publishing houses, individuals, and local education bureaus to print and distribute books and implement a series of related projects at the primary school level. A few publishing projects preserve and propagate traditional texts, but most provide access to modern resources.

The development and publication of educational materials is an important part of the foundation's educational projects and is closely linked to our Publishing and Reading work.

Recent Grants in Publishing and Reading

Beijing Nationalities Publishing House
Beijing Municipality

To publish a collection of texts on the Tibetan language and its scholarly tradition, as well as to publish translated texts of Gitanjali and The Origin of the Species. Beijing Nationalities Publishing House was responsible for all management and administration costs, estimated at $5,158.

Amount of Support: $34,389

Beijing Nationalities Publishing House
Beijing Municipality

To publish and distribute a collection of books including: Chinese Folk Tales in the Kazakh and Mongolian languages, World-Famous Stories in Uighur, and The Concise English-Chinese-Korean Dictionary. Beijing Nationalities Publishing House was responsible for all management and administration costs, estimated at $9,524.

Amount of Support: $63,483

Beijing Nationalities Publishing House
Beijing Municipality

To publish and distribute six sets of Tibetan language children's books to schools: 21st Century Cultural and Educational Book Series for Preschool Children, Mysterious Code – World of Communication, Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, Marvelous Electronic Instruments, Tales of Animals, Stories of the Little Detectives, Knowledge of World History, Children's Encyclopedia, A Flower with Seven Colors, Wandering About the Science World, Ten Famous World Entrepreneurs and A journey to the World of Science. Beijing Nationalities Publishing House was responsible for all management and administration costs, estimated at $15,346.

Amount of Support: $179,371

Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House
Kunming, Yunnan Province

To publish 2,000 copies of the book, An Economic History of Tibet. This project was jointly funded by Trace Foundation and Yunnan Nationalities Publishing House, which contributed matching funds of $1,220.

Amount of Support: $1,220

Tianzhu County Publishing House
Tianzhu (Bari) County, Gannan (Ganlho) Prefecture, Gansu Province

To publish 1,000 copies of the book, Bari Tibetan history. Tianzhu County Publishing House was responsible for all management and administration costs.

Amount of Support: $1,829

Drangchar Magazine
Xining (Siling), Qinghai (Tsong'on) Province

To provide computers, software, and training to staff. Drangchar Magazine arranged for six staff members to receive two months of training and appropriate certification in basic computer operations and applications of Tibetan software on Windows (Huaguang) and DOS (Beida Fangzhen) at the Qinghai Tibetan Computer Training School, and scanner machine and Photoshop software training for one person at the Huanguang Limited Corporation in Shandong Province.

Amount of Support: $17,839 and $7,233

Ganggen Youth Newspaper
Xining (Siling) Municipality, Qinghai (Tsong'on) Province

To provide computers, Tibetan software, and training for staff. Ganggen Youth Newspaper selected seven staff members to receive two months of training and appropriate certification in basic computer operations and applications of Tibetan software on DOS (Huaguang), Windows 95 and 98, and Microsoft Office Word and Excel at the Qinghai Tibetan Computer Training School, and scanner machine and Photoshop software training for one person at the Huaguang Limited Corporation in Shandong Province.

Amount of Support: $21,422

Beijing Nationalities Publishing House
Beijing Municipality

For the publication of Ancient Law of Tibet, Children's Encyclopedia (11 volume set), Jonang Buddhist Catalogue, Bunko Tso Tibetan Medicine and History of Nyingma in Rebkhong.

Amount of Support: $81,093

Beijing Nationalities Publishing House
Beijing Municipality

For the publication of the Greater Tibetan-English Dictionary (Volume I).

Amount of Support: $19,639