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

A TV Personality’s Memoir Enters Nonfiction at No. 11

With best wishes for a happy new lunar year, we offer you our look today at January’s China bestsellers—overall fiction and nonfiction, plus the same for books by authors outside China.

As each month, our rankings here are provided by Beijing’s OpenBook and the US-based distribution and import specialists Trajectory. OpenBook in China is similar to Nielsen in the UK or NPD in the United States, providing research and analysis on the evolving Chinese publishing industry.

Our colleague Rainy Liu points out this month that with the winter vacation weeks that surround the new year holidays, there’s often a trend toward sales in classical literature, both Chinese and international—especially among students who are getting through some extra reading requirements from primary and secondary school classes.

This is part of what’s behind the 10 classical works found in our January Top 30 titles in fiction.

Among those, for example, are the 1932 Russian social-realist novel How the Steel Was Tempered by Nikolai Ostrovsky and the 1932 Rickshaw Boy by China’s Lao She.

We’re also seeing a return in January to some comics in the Top 10, including the high-ranking (No. 3) The Cat Emperor and His Friends by Bai Cha. Two of the characters from the comic—a fat cat called Wuhuang and a black dog named Bazhahei—are nationally popular cartoons.

And Bai Cha’s comics series originally appeared on the social network Weibo.

What kind of readership is behind such a successful comic? There are said to three million readers of Bai Cha’s material online alone.

And January saw the arrival of a new graphic title, as well, Douluo Continent III: Legend of the Dragon King by Tang Jia Shao.

In nonfiction, with several new titles from Chinese authors entering the Top 30, one of them is written by a famous Chinese news anchor.

Chen Luyu has hosted several television programs and wrote her first autobiography 15 years ago.

Her new work, Encounter With Chen Luyu, looks at her various interviews with people and draws lessons from them, gathering messages about love, sadness, and confusion.

Below are OpenBook’s overall lists from January of bestsellers in fiction and nonfiction, followed by its lists of bestselling fiction and nonfiction in China by authors from outside the country, which are of interest, of course, to those who are looking to sell rights into the huge Chinese market.

OpenBook’s Fiction Bestsellers in China, January 2018

Dec ’17 Rank	Jan ’18 Rank	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
1	1	9787544270878	Apr-14	Miracles of the Namiya General Store	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
2	2	9787020123728	Apr-17	Fang Hua	Yan Geling	People’s Literature Publishing House
28	3	9787505742338	Dec-17	The Cat Emperor and His Friends (3)	Bai Cha	China Friendship Publishing Company
7	4	9787208061644	Apr-06	The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	Shanghai People’s Publishing House
4	5	9787550024212	Sep-17	Trespassers	Claire McFall	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
Not Ranked	6	9787544760874	Oct-16	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	Jules Verne	Yilin Press
Not Ranked	7	9787544246279	Apr-10	Rickshaw Boy	Lao She	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
5	8	9787544291163	Aug-17	Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Version)	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	9	9787530217559	Nov-17	The Murder in Mansion Masquerade	Higashino Keigo	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
8	10	9787544267618	Jun-14	The Devotion of Suspect X	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	11	9787556232994	Jan-18	Douluo Continent III: Legend of the Dragon King(23)	Tang Jia San Shao	Hunan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
16	12	9787500601593	Aug-05	Red Crag	Luo Guangbin, Yang Yiyan	China Youth Press
6	13	9787550013247	May-15	Ferryman	Claire McFall	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
10	14	9787530215593	Jun-17	To Live	Yu hua	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
Not Ranked	15	9787544762519	Dec-16	How the Steel Was Tempered	Nikolai Ostrovsky	Yilin Press
13	16	9787530216781	Jun-17	Ordinary World (3 Volumns)	Lu Yao	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
11	17	9787536692930	Jan-08	The Three-Body Problem	Liu Cixin	Chongqing Publishing House
12	18	9787544285148	Oct-16	Malice	Higashino Keigo	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
14	19	9787540455958	Jun-12	The Shadow Thief	Marc Levy	Hunan Literature & Art Press
20	20	9787544291170	Aug-17	One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition)	Gabriel García Márquez	Nan Hai Publishing Co.

OpenBook’s Nonfiction Bestsellers in China, January 2018

Dec ’17 Rank	Jan ’18 Rank	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
1	1	9787503561634	Aug-17	Xi Jinping’s Seven Years as an Educated Youth	Party School of the Central Committee of C.P.C	Central Party School Press
2	2	9787540482190	Aug-17	I Won’t	Da Bing	Hunan Literature & Art Press
6	3	9787549550173	Jan-14	Seeing Off	Long Yingtai	Guangxi Normal University Press
3	4	9787508660752	Feb-17	Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind	Yuval Noah Harari	CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd
5	5	9787550263932	Nov-15	Genius on the Left, Lunatic on the Right (Full Version)	Gao Ming	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
4	6	9787508672069	Jan-17	Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow	Yuval Noah Harari	CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd
Not Ranked	7	9787544763981	Jun-16	Fu Lei’s Letters for Home (Revised Edition)	Fu Lei	Yilin Press
Not Ranked	8	9787544765176	Aug-16	Fu Lei’s Letters for Home	Fu Lei	Yilin Press
7	9	9787108042453	Sep-12	We Three	Yang Jiang	SDX Joint Publishing Company
8	10	9787539999883	Mar-17	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon	Er Hunzi	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
Not Ranked	11	9787530217856	Dec-17	Encounter of Chen Luyu	Chen Luyu	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
24	12	9787530214787	Apr-17	The Stories of the Sahara	Echo Chan	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
Not Ranked	13	9787508682624	Oct-17	The Decade of Surge with Big Fishes and Flooding Water	Wu Xiaobo	CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd
10	14	9787508671505	Dec-16	Speak Well: Fresh and Interesting Speaking Skills	Ma Weiwei, Huang Zhizhong, Zhou Xuanyi	CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd
12	15	9787549564125	Apr-15	Dear Andrea	Long Yingtai	Guangxi Normal University Press
9	16	9787549550159	Jan-14	My Child, Just Take Your Time	Long Yingtai	Guangxi Normal University Press
14	17	9787020130702	Aug-17	The Reader (Vol.1)	Dong Qing	People’s Literature Publishing House
15	18	9787535447340	Feb-14	The Poignant Culture Traveling	Yu Qiuyu	Changjiang Literature & Art Press Co., Ltd.
17	19	9787540476892	Jul-16	Goodwill	Da Bing	Hunan Literature & Art Press
Not Ranked	20	9787533951092	Dec-17	What is EQ?	Li Xiaoyi	Zhejiang Literature & Art Press

Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers in China, January 2018

Dec ’17 Rank	Jan ’18 Rank	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Author nationality	Chinese Publisher
1	1	9787544270878	Apr-14	Miracles of the Namiya General Store	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
2	2	9787020123728	Apr-17	Fang Hua	Yan Geling	United States of America	People’s Literature Publishing House
6	3	9787208061644	Apr-06	The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	United States of America	Shanghai People’s Publishing House
3	4	9787550024212	Sep-17	Trespassers	Claire McFall	Britain	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
Not Ranked	5	9787544760874	Oct-16	20,000 Leagues Under the Sea	Jules Verne	France	Yilin Press
4	6	9787544291163	Aug-17	Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Version)	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	7	9787530217559	Nov-17	The Murder in Mansion Masquerade	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
7	8	9787544267618	Jun-14	The Devotion of Suspect X	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
5	9	9787550013247	May-15	Ferryman	Claire McFall	Britain	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
Not Ranked	10	9787544762519	Dec-16	How the Steel Was Tempered	Nikolai Ostrovsky	Union of Soviet Socialist Republics	Yilin Press
8	11	9787544285148	Oct-16	Malice	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
9	12	9787540455958	Jun-12	The Shadow Thief	Marc Levy	France	Hunan Literature & Art Press
12	13	9787544291170	Aug-17	One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition)	Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez	Colombia	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
11	14	9787544258210	Oct-17	Naoko	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
18	15	9787544291224	Aug-17	After School (2017 Version)	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
16	16	9787544285643	Dec-16	Salvation of a Saint	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
13	17	9787539971810	Apr-15	The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry	Gabrielle Zevin	United States of America	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
14	18	9787544277617	Jun-15	Love in the Time of Cholera	Gabriel Garc’a M‡rquez	Colombia	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	19	9787544760843	Aug-16	Jane Eyre	Charlotte Bronte	Britain	Yilin Press
19	20	9787544277723	Jun-15	Tokio	Higashino Keigo	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.

Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers in China, January 2018

Dec ’17 Rank	Jan ’18 Rank	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Author nationality	Chinese Publisher
1	1	9787508660752	Feb-17	Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind	Yuval Noah Harari	Israel	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
2	2	9787508672069	Jan-17	Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow	Yuval Noah Harari	Israel	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
3	3	9787020116133	Jun-16	Red Star Over China	Edgar Snow	United States of America	People’s Literature Publishing House
4	4	9787514208788	Jul-13	The Willpower Instinct (Hardcover)	Kelly McGonigal	United States of America	Cultural Development Publishing House
Not Ranked	5	9787544760850	Jan-17	Michelangelo / Tolstoy / Beethoven	Romain Rolland	France	Yilin Press
8	6	9787301109489	Oct-06	A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century (Vol.1)	L.S.Stavrianos	United States of America	Peking University Press
7	7	9787535732309	Nov-01	A Brief History of Time	Stephen William Hawking	Britain	Hunan Science & Technology Press
13	8	9787301110522	Oct-06	A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century (Vol.2)	L.S.Stavrianos	United States of America	Peking University Press
16	9	9787508673158	Mar-17	Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind + Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow	Yuval Noah Harari	Israel	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
10	10	9787544762885	Apr-16	84, Charing Cross Road	Helene Hanff	United States of America	Yilin Press
6	11	9787544768559	Jul-17	Souvenirs Entomologiques	Jean Henri Fabre	France	Yilin Press
5	12	9787308161459	Aug-16	The Silk Roads: A New History of the World	Peter Frankopan	Britain	Zhejiang Eniversity Press Co.,Ltd
17	13	9787508650890	May-15	Who Moved My Cheese?	Spencer Johnson	United States of America	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
9	14	9787513903509	Nov-14	Jerusalem: The Biography	Simon Sebag Montefiore	Britain	Democracy and Construction Press
14	15	9787300126210	Sep-10	Mao: A Biography	Ross Terrill	United States of America	China Renmin University Press
Not Ranked	16	9787510855832	Sep-17	100 Basics of Work & Life	Matsuura Yataro	Japan	Jiuzhou Press
Not Ranked	17	9787544768511	Jun-17	Three Days to See (New Edition)	Helen Keller	United States of America	Yilin Press
Not Ranked	18	9787220102912	Sep-17	Rich Dad, Poor Dad	Robert T. Kiyosaki	United States of America	Sichuan People’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	19	9787508086156	Nov-15	Nonviolent Communication	Marshall B. Rosenberg PhD	United States of America	Huaxia Publishing House
18	20	9787514219203	Sep-17	The Willpower Instinct (New Edition)	Kelly McGonigal	United States of America	Cultural Development Publishing House

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Notes on the Charts

OpenBook is a privately owned industry-data research firm based in Beijing. It functions somewhat as Nielsen and NDP do from the West, and Nielsen Book Research International has worked with OpenBook in Asian operations.

Trajectory, based near Boston, is an importer of Western-language ebooks and audiobooks into China. Trajectory is also helping China’s largest publishers export their books and audiobooks through a proprietary global ebook distribution network that includes hundreds of retailers as well as library and school distributors.

This data is estimated by OpenBook to represent some 30 to 40 percent of the total sales activity in China. OpenBooks draws 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 is described as a marketplace of companies that create storefronts online to sell products including books)
• Ten independent online bookselling retailers

China has some 500 or more publishers in operation today. Most of them, Trajectory CEO James Bryant clarifies, 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.

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More charts and rankings from Publishing Perspectives’ China bestsellers can be found here.