By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson

OpenBook and Trajectory Statistics

We’re pleased to bring you a new feature here at Publishing Perspectives. With the assistance of OpenBook in China and Trajectory in the United States, we plan to bring you monthly bestseller lists from China of two kinds:

• The Top 20 fiction and nonfiction titles in the overall Chinese market
• The Top 20 fiction and nonfiction titles by non-Chinese authors

In operation since 1998, Beijing-based OpenBook provides point-of-sale data for the Chinese book market. OpenBook  announced signing a new agreement with Nielsen in the spring of 2015.

Trajectory, based near Boston in the US, describes itself as a network of ebook distributors and provides “natural language processing” to extract valuable metadata from ebooks. Publishing Perspectives has reported at several points on Trajectory’s expansion over the years in the Chinese market in particular.

Thanks to OpenBooks’ general manager Yanping Jiang (who is one of three owners of OpenBooks) and Trajectory CEO James Bryant, we’re able to offer some interesting statistics on the Chinese market.

In physical bookstores, OpenBooks receives point-of-sale data from a total 3,115 stores located in 1,247 cities. These stores include:

• Traditional bookstores
• Supermarkets
• Campus bookstores
• “Professional” stores, which are said to be small stores with a specific industrial or trade focus
• Airport stores

In addition, OpenBook is drawing data from online bookstores of two main types:

• The “Tmall” stores, of Alibaba (Tmall described as a marketplace of companies that create storefronts online to sell products including books)
• Ten independent online bookselling retailers

This data represents some 30 to 40 percent of the total sales activity in China today. In 2016, OpenBook tracked sales of 1.68 million individual titles.

As for publishers, China has some 500 or more publishers in operation today. Most of them, Bryant clarifies for us, are government-owned. Private publishers are required to purchase ISBNs for their titles from a publishing company that is government-owned—which, in other words, creates a system in which all ISBNs are in one way or another registered through government channels.

The government approves each book published in China.

OpenBook’s Overall Fiction Bestsellers in China, June 2017

We have more information on several selected titles below.

May 2017 Rank	June 2017 Rank	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
2	1	9787544270878	Apr 2014	Miracles of the Namiya General Store	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing
3	2	9787544258609	Jan 2013	Journey Under the Midnight Sun	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing
1	3	9787530216194	Jan 2017	In the Name of People	Zhou Mei Sen	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
4	4	9787544267618	Jun 2014	The Devotion of Suspect X	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing
6	5	9787208061644	Apr 2006	Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	Shanghai People’s Publishing House
5	6	9787550013247	May 2015	Ferryman	Claire McFall	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
	7	9787540475741	May 2016	Rush to the Dead Summer	Guo Jing Ming	Hunan Literature & Art Press
13	8	9787020090297	Sep 2012	White Deer Plain	Chen Zhong Shi	People’s Literature Publishing House
8	9	9787544253994	May 2011	One Hundred Years of Solitude	Gabriel Garcia Marquez	Nan Hai Publishing
7	10	9787500601593	Aug 2005	Red Crag	Luo Guang Fu, Yang Yi Yan	China Youth Press
10	11	9787530212004	Feb 2012	Ordinary World	Lu Yao	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
	12	9787556231935	May 2017	The Land of Douluo	Tang Jia San Shao	Hunan Juvenile and ChildrenÕs Publishing House
15	13	9787536692930	Jan 2008	The Three-Body Problem	Liu Ci Xin	Chongqing Publishing House
11	14	9787506365437	Jun 2010	To Live	Yu Hua	The WriterÕs Publishing House
	15	9787559603340	May 2017	Sleeping Mermaid’s House	Higashino Keigo	Beijing Union Publishing
14	16	9787540458027	Oct 2013	Going Cross Your Whole World	Zhang Jia jia	Hunan Literature & Art Press
17	17	9787530211267	Sep 2011	Ordinary World (Universal Copy)	Lu Yao	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
22	18	9787506394840	Apr 2017	Sky Set	Jiao Jian	The WriterÕs Publishing House
25	19	9787020098095	Jun 2013	Fortress Besieged	Qian Zhong Shu	People’s Literature Publishing House
19	20	9787540455958	Jun 2012	The Shadow Thief	Marc Levy	Hunan Literature & Art Press

 

Fiction Bestseller Focus: In the Name of the People (No. 3 in June), by Zhou Mei Sen (Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House)

“A project head in the national ministry,” reads promotional material for this novel, “is reported to have accepted tens of millions of yuan in bribes.

“And yet, when Hou Liangping, chief of the investigation  department of the anti-corruption bureau of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, arrives to investigate, he sees an honest-looking man in simple clothing, looking like an old farmer, eating noodles with soybean paste in a shabby old apartment.”

The central narrative of this novel is the investigation, which ends up as Hou Liangping’s responsibility when he must take over for a colleague and friend.

By contrast to the 1978 Red Crag, Zhou Mei Sen’s In the Name of the People is a new novel, released in January.

Fiction Bestseller Focus: Red Crag (No. 10 in June), by Luo Guang Fu, Yang Yi Yan (China Youth Press)

Originally published in 1978 in the city then known as Peking, the novel was said by its publisher to be “written by two former inmates of the US/Chaing Kai-shek secret-service concentration camps in Chung-king, Szechuan Province.”

Set in 1949, the book, according to its promotional material, “focuses on the actual life-and-death struggles inside the camps on the eve of the city’s liberation.

“The story extols the revolutionary martyrs whose unfailing optimism, fortitude and resourcefulness enable them to overcome the ordeals of torture, hunger and truth drugs. They finally establish contact with the party underground outside the prison, strengthening the overall revolutionary struggle.”

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OpenBook’s Overall Nonfiction Bestsellers in China, June 2017

May 2017 Rank	June 2017 Rank	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
	1	9787540480837	May 2017	A Journey Through Time with Antony	Antony	Hunan Literature & Art Press
1	2	9787508672069	Jan 2017	A Brief History of Tomorrow: From Human to God	Yuval Noah Harari	CITIC Publishing House
4	3	9787550263932	Nov 2015	Genius On The Left, Crazies On The Right	Gao Ming	Beijing Union Publishing
3	4	9787508660752	Feb 2017	A Brief History of Humankind: From Animal to God	Yuval Noah Harari	CITIC Publishing House
9	5	9787549550173	Jan 2014	Watched (Illustrated version)	Long Yingtai	Guangxi Normal University Press
6	6	9787108042453	Sep 2012	Our Three	Yang Jiang	SDX Joint Publishing Company
2	7	9787503560620	Mar 2017	Going After	Ding Jie	Central Party School Press
8	8	9787508671505	Dec 2016	Good Talk: Interesting Speech Technique	Ma Weiwei,Huang Zhizhong, Zhou Xuanyi	CITIC Publishing House
5	9	9787101117479	Feb 2017	Chinese Poetry Collection Part 1	CCTV	Zhonghua Book Company
7	10	9787101117721	Feb 2017	Chinese Poetry Collection Part 2	CCTV	Zhonghua Book Company
14	11	9787549550159	Jan 2014	Take Your Time Kid (Illustrated version)	Long Yingtai	Guangxi Normal University Press
19	12	9787549564125	Apr 2015	Dear Andreas	Long Yingtai,Andreas	Guangxi Normal University Press
18	13	9787540476892	Jul 2016	OkOk	Da Bing	Hunan Literature & Art Press
12	14	9787535488473	May 2016	Free: Going Along, the World of Jia Ping Ao	Jia Ping Ao	Changjiang Literature & Art Press
	15	9787544710817	Jun 2010	The Insect World of J. Henri Fabre	J. Henri Fabre	Yilin Press
15	16	9787213046339	Nov 2011	The Things of Ming Dynasty	Dang Nian Ming Yue	Zhejiang People’s Publishing House
25	17	9787535447340	Feb 2014	The Bitter Trip Of Culture	Yu Qiu Yu	Changjiang Literature & Art Press
24	18	9787530211113	Jul 2011	Complete Collection of San Mao	San Mao	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
	19	9787506379236	May 2015	The Glorious Suffering	Jin Yi Nan	The WriterÕs Publishing House
	20	9787300205434	Mar 2015	Big Road: Chinese Communist Party and Chinese Communism	Yan Yi Long, Bai Gang, Zhang Yong Le	China Renmin University Press

Nonfiction Bestseller Focus: Homo Deus (No. 2 in June), by Yuval Noah Harari (CITIC Publishing)

The writer holding both the No. 2 and No. 4 spots on the nonfiction list in June, Israeli author Yuval Noah Harari in Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow From Human to God “explores the projects, dreams, and nightmares,” according to the publisher CITIC’s material, “that will shape the 21st century, from overcoming death to creating the artificial life.”

Popular in many parts of the world, Harari’s other key title is Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind of 2015.

Homo Deus includes the Earth’s status in Harari’s speculations–”how will we protect this fragile world from our own destructive powers?” asks his Chinese publisher–and envisions a time in which “war is obsolete.” In the next stage of evolution, says Yuval Noah Harari, “you are more likely to commit suicide than be killed in conflict, and more at risk of obesity than starvation.

“Death is just a technical problem,” according to promotional copy for the book. “Equality is out but immortality is in.”

Nonfiction Bestseller Focus: Genius on the Left, Crazies on the Right (No. 3 in June), by Gao Ming (Beijing Union Publishing)

Author Gao Ming spent four years interviewing and studying “extraordinary people” for this book that takes in looks at psychological, philosophical, biological and religious “perspectives of abnormal human beings,” according to promotional material.

Said to be the first book in the Chinese marketplace to feature recorded interviews with mental patients and other “marginal people,” Genius on the Left, Lunatic on the Right has risen from fourth place in May to third in June on the nonfiction list.

The book has been out since November 2015.

Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers in China, June 2017

June 2017 Rank	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Author nationality	Chinese Publisher
1	9787544270878	Apr 2014	Miracles of the Namiya General Store	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
2	9787544258609	Jan 2013	Journey Under the Midnight Sun	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
3	9787544267618	Jun 2014	Yung Suspect X Full devotion	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
4	9787208061644	Apr 2006	The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	United States of America	Shanghai People’s Publishing House
5	9787550013247	May 2015	Ferryman	Claire McFall	Britain	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
6	9787544253994	May 2011	One Hundred Years of Solitude	Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez	Colombia	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
7	9787559603340	May 2017	Home of the Sleeping Mermaid	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
8	9787540455958	Jun 2012	The Shadow Thief	Marc Levy	France	Hunan Literature & Art Press
9	9787201116693	May 2017	My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry	Fredrik Backman	Sweden	Tianjin People’s Publishing House
10	9787539971810	Apr 2015	The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry	Gabrielle Zevin	United States of America	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
11	9787544285148	Oct 2016	Malice	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
12	9787544285643	Dec 2016	Salvation of a Saint	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
13	9787544266222	Oct 2013	After School	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
14	9787550293151	Dec 2016	Laplace’s Witch	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
15	9787544244190	Mar 2009	The Alchemist	Paulo Coelho	Brazil	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
16	9787544277617	Jun 2015	Love in the Time of Cholera	Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez	Colombia	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
17	9787544277723	Jun 2015	Tokio	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
18	9787514357042	Feb 2017	Chase in the Snow	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Morden Press
19	9787544266239	Sep 2013	Mysterious Night	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
20	9787020111893	Dec 2015	Different Seasons	Stephen King	United States of America	People’s Literature Publishing House

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Foreign Author Bestseller Fiction Focus: The Kite Runner (No. 4 in June) by Khaled Hosseini (Shanghai People’s Publishing House)

The enduring novel by Afghani-American author Khaled Hosseini reportedly has been translated into 38 languages. The novel, originally published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, is said to have been sold in more than 70 countries.

The Kite Runner and Hosseini’s second book, A Thousand Splendid Suns, reportedly have sold more than 38 million copies.

In its Chinese publishers’ promotional copy for The Kite Runner, we read copy that parallels that of the English-language sales material, “A powerful story of friendship, it’s also about the power of reading, the price of betrayal, and the possibility of redemption; and an exploration of the power of fathers over sons–their love, their sacrifices, their lies.

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Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers in China, June 2017

June 2017 Rank	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Author nationality	Chinese Publisher
1	9787508672069	Jan 2017	Homo Deu: A Brief History of Tomorrow	Yuval Noah Harari	Israel	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
2	9787508660752	Feb 2017	Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind	Yuval Noah Harari	Israel	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
3	9787544710817	Jun 2010	Souvenirs Entomologiques	Jean-Henri Fabre	France	Yilin Press
4	9787514208788	Jul 2013	The Willpower Instinct	Kelly McGonigal	United States of America	Cultural Development Publishing House
5	9787308161459	Aug 2016	The Silk Roads: A New History of the World	Peter Frankopan	Britain	Zhejiang Eniversity Press Co.,Ltd
6	9787544762885	Apr 2016	84, Charing Cross Road	Helene Hanff	United States of America	Yilin Press
7	9787535732309	Nov 2001	A Brief History of Time	Stephen William Hawking	Britain	Hunan Science & Technology Press
8	9787101054491	Feb 2007	1587, a Year of No Significance	Ray Huang	United States of America	Zhonghua Book Company
9	9787301109489	Oct 2006	A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century	L.S.Stavrianos	United States of America	Peking University Press
10	9787301110522	Oct 2006	A Global History	L.S.Stavrianos	United States of America	Peking University Press
11	9787544711623	Mar 2011	Francis Bacon’s Essays	Francis Bacon	Britain	Yilin Press
12	9787513903509	Nov 2014	Jerusalem: The Biography	Simon Sebag Montefiore	Britain	Democracy and Construction Press
13	9787508673158	Mar 2017	Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind	Yuval Noah Harari	Israel	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
14	9787508650890	May 2015	Who Moved My Cheese?	Spencer Johnson	United States of America	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
15	9787530209073	Feb 2009	Walden	Henry David Thoreau	United States of America	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
16	9787544760850	Jan 2017	The Life of Beethoven	Romain Rolland	France	Yilin Press
17	9787544289146	May 2017	The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor	Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez	Colombia	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
18	9787550274402	Apr 2016	Haruki Murakami Journey	Kelly McGonigal	Japan	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
19	9787550252585	May 2015	Secret Garden	Johanna Basford	Britain	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
20	9787514205039	Jul 2012	The Willpower Instinct: How Self-control Works, Why It Matters, and What You Can Do to Get More of It	Kelly McGonigal	United States of America	Cultural Development Publishing House

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An updated note on the Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers list: You’ll notice a couple of instances in which entries in the Top 20 are duplicative.  OpenBook has provided us with the following disambiguation:

• At No. 2, the book listed as Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (more on it below, the white cover) is a single volume.
• At No. 13, the entry is for both of Yuval Noah Harari’s bestsellers, Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind and Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow from Human to God (more on that one is above, the green and black cover). This is a two-book set, in other words, titled for the purposes of this listing with the title of the first single book, Sapiens.
• At No. 4, the listing is for the most recent edition of The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal, published in 2013 by Cultural Development Publishing House.
• At No. 20, you see an older edition of the same Kelly McGonigal book, The Willpower Instinct, from 2012, priced at a slightly lower price than the newer one.

Foreign Author Bestseller Nonfiction Focus: Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind (No. 2 in June) by Yuval Noah Harari (CITIC Publishing)

As seen at No. 4 in the overall nonfiction listings, Israeli author Yuval Harari’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind has the No. 2 spot on the nonfiction foreign author list, behind Harari’s No. 1 position with Homo Deus.

The Chinese publisher’s descriptive material about the book closely follows the original English editions’ sales copy, reading, in part, “Dr. Hariri compels us to look ahead because over the last few decades, humans have begun to bend laws of natural selection that have governed life for the past four billion years. We are acquiring the ability to design not only the world around us but also ourselves.”