On July 15, 2020, a parent was shopping for a book for her child at the Xixifu Bookstore in Caiyue City, Hexi District, Tianjin. Xinhua News Agency (Photo by Sun Fanyue)
Tianjin, April 24 (Xinhua) -- On World Book Day on April 23, although the Library of Tianjin Binhai New Area has not yet reopened due to the epidemic, Li Pingle, a citizen living nearby, has found a book he wants to read on his official website and plans to read it when the library opens.
"I wanted to see the original English version of "You Fly Like a Bird to Your Mountain", and last year I watched the Chinese edition and saw that there was an original version in the collection, so I was ready to read it again." Li Pingle, 28, said that American female writer Tara Westover used her story to tell readers that "being educated" can bring infinite possibilities to life, which touched her a lot.
"We should spend our whole lives to continuously study and read books in order to forge a strong heart while broadening our horizons." Li Pingle said that she was fortunate to be born in the contemporary era, and the convenient channel allowed her to read the latest developments in the world at any time on the "Chinese bookshelf".
Synchronize the world
"When You Fly Like a Bird to Your Mountain" is an autobiographical novel published in the United States in 2018, the author tells the story of himself from the age of 17, who never received formal education, to the age of 28 to obtain a doctorate in history from cambridge university, and once launched, it became a global hit. According to the "International Publishing Industry Development Report (2020 Edition)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Report") released by the China Press and Publication Research Institute, in 2019, the book also ranked in the top 5 of the best-seller list counted by authoritative institutions in the United States, Canada and other countries.
In October 2019, the book was published Chinese edition and topped amazon's China Kindle annual paid e-book bestseller list in 2020. In 2021, the original English version of the book still ranked eighth in Amazon's China Kindle annual imported e-book bestseller list. Around the reporter, many Chinese readers, like Li Pingle, read the original version after reading Chinese edition and savoring the differences between language and culture.
Similarly, "Becoming", "Auschwitz's Tattooist", "Harry Potter", "Kite Chaser" and other best-selling new and old books in the United States, Britain, and Canada are also popular with Chinese readers.
Citizens buy books at a foreign bookstore in Tianjin (photo taken on March 10). Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Runjian
"In recent years, we have clearly felt in our work that with the increasing convenience of accessing information channels and the continuous improvement of national quality, the reading preferences of Chinese readers and overseas readers are very synchronized." Lu Nan, director of the International Network Marketing Center of China International Book Trading Group Co., Ltd., which operates Amazon's "China Bookstore," said.
It is worth mentioning that Japanese books have continued to sell well in China in recent years, such as "Don't Think Too Much", "Letter", "The Courage to Be Hated", "Nameless Town", etc., all of which are on the 2021 Amazon China Kindle annual list. According to reports, in 2017, Japanese writer Keigo Higashino's "Relief Grocery Store" sold 10 million copies worldwide, and ranked second in the annual book best-seller list of Dangdang.com in China that year, and the first place "Human Disqualification" was also the work of Japanese writers.
Think about China
The popularity of foreign books in China reflects the increasing connection of Chinese readers to the world. Lu Fei, a senior researcher at the Jingdong Institute of Consumption and Industrial Development, said that Chinese readers are increasingly fond of books that can make them think and improve their social cognition, and from the perspective of JD.com's sales, books on society, the country, history and culture are becoming increasingly popular.
The 2022 JD Reading Report shows that since 2021, "carbon neutral" and "metacosm" have become the new faces in the top 10 economic book sales. In particular, the number of young consumers who bought "meta-universe" related books in the first quarter of 2022 increased by 180 times and the number of "carbon neutral" related books increased by 12 times compared with the same period last year.
Among them, Bill Gates's "Climate Economy and the Future of Mankind" ranked first in the sales of JD.com's "carbon neutral" books, and American writer Gabriel René's "Smart Space" ranked fifth in the sales of JD.com's "metaverse" books.
"Reading new works abroad can make people understand the latest developments in the world, and due to the different stages of development, reading the works of developed countries for a period of time can give us a better understanding of the current situation of Chinese society." Wang Qi, a 32-year-old civil servant in Tianjin, said.
Liu Qing, a professor at the Department of Political Science of East China Normal University, said that in the era of information explosion, it is more necessary to think deeply, and by reading the crystallization of the wisdom of people in various countries, you can expand your horizons, better understand the world, and reflect on yourself.
A clerk at a Xinhua bookstore in Tianjin sorts out books on March 10. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zhou Runjian
Contribute wisdom
Following the online holding in 2020 and attracting about 1,400 exhibitors from 97 countries and regions to participate in the online exhibition, in September 2021, the 28th Beijing International Book Fair opened in Beijing, with about 2,200 exhibitors from 105 countries and regions participating, including 57 countries and regions along the "Belt and Road", exhibiting 300,000 kinds of global fine books.
According to the study of the "2020-2021 China Publishing Industry Development Report", the Beijing International Book Fair has become the second largest book fair in the world and an important platform for bringing together all kinds of high-quality book resources in the world.
While building a worldwide platform, in 2020, the Central Propaganda Department officially launched the "Asian Classics Translation And Mutual Translation Program" to "accurately interact" with the cultural achievements of Asian countries. At present, memorandums of understanding have been signed with Singapore, Pakistan, South Korea, Iran, Armenia and other countries.
Now, on the official website of the National Library of China, searching for "World" as the right title keyword can get 27542 book results; searching for "world" as the right title keyword can get 52063 book results. These works include both imported foreign works and works written Chinese.
While absorbing and integrating the outstanding achievements of human civilization, Chinese are also working hard to study global issues and contribute to all mankind. For example, theme books such as "On Persisting in Promoting the Construction of a Community with a Shared Future for Mankind" and "How the Communist Party of China Solves the Problem of Poverty", and economic books such as "The Third Wave of Globalization" and "The Road to Global Carbon Neutrality" have all appeared on the "bookshelf" of China and the world at the same time, providing Chinese wisdom for world development.