Schoolchildren in Beijing on a day trip to the Forbidden City. Image – iStockphoto: Ani To Photo
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
National Day Is October1
Again in August, we saw how responsive the bestseller lists in China are to the educational year.
‘Life Is Like an Ocean’
As teachers’ summer-reading lists are exhausted, the cyclical two-month demand for the classics on those lists eases.
What surfaces instead? It’s that familiar and durable class of storytelling that’s described by researchers at Beijing OpenBook as “light fiction.” As the dictates of the curriculum reading instructions subside, a return to more reading for pleasure returns, and that means, in the Chinese market, some prominent rankings for that light fiction, including:
- Zhang Jiajia’s Moments We Shared, up 14 places this time, from 23 in July to the No. 9 in August
- Higashino Keigo’s Miracles of the Namiya General Store and Journey Under the Midnight Sun rose by 10 and 12 places, respectively
- Other popular fiction moving up in the rankings includes Life is Like an Ocean by Ma Jia; Ran Freely by Wu Zhe; and the two volumes of 24 Hours in Chang’an and Ferryman by Claire McFall
And with “light fiction” moving down, those classics losing ground include Red Crag by Luo Guangbin and Yang Yiyan, and Dream of the Red Chamber, each dropping 10 or more spots in the rankings.
Still, the Chinese lists are never places of rapid churn and even less of contemporary surprises. Sharp-eyed readers will note that the top three slots in fiction haven’t changed since July:
- To Live by Yu Hua, ranked No. 1
- Go Go Squid by Mo Bao Fei Bao, ranked No. 2
- The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin, ranked No. 3
‘Danshiri’
In nonfiction in August, we see two books entirely new to the list:
- Danshari by Yamashita Eiko, ranked No. 17
- The Tough Brilliance (Revised Edition) by Jin Yinan, ranked No. 28
Note that Danshari, published in January, got two major boosts in August when author Yamashita Eiko signed books at stores in Xi’an and Hangzhou. And what is the book about? Clutter. Yes, this is another in the decluttering trend popularized by Japan’s Marie Kondo.
And before you laugh, remember that in January, Newsweek’s Libby Sander was reporting that New York charity groups that collect donations of cast-off goods were seeing a 38-percent rise, year over year, in donated items, as the drive to dump the clutter powered on in the West.
But more importantly, we take note of Tuesday (October 1) and its impact on nonfiction in China. On that day, the 70th anniversary of “New China,” the People’s Republic of China, will be observed and that’s giving new life to the reliable standbys of the regime.
‘CPC Ninety Years’
In addition to Red Star Over China and Xi Jinping in Zhengding, two titles that have been hot in the past turned up on our nonfiction August bestsellers chart in August: CPC Ninety Years (three volumes) and The Tough Brilliance in a revised edition.
Indeed, CPC Ninety Years is at a strong No. 3. Its three volumes focus on the “New Democratic Period,” the “Socialist Revolution and Construction Period,” and the “Reform and Opening Up: The Socialist Modernization New Period.”
Below, then, are Beijing OpenBook’s overall lists from August of bestsellers in fiction and nonfiction, followed by its lists of bestselling fiction and nonfiction in China by authors from outside the country.
At the end of our article, as always, you’ll find notes on how the lists are constructed.
OpenBook’s Fiction Bestsellers in China, August 2019
| July 2019 Ranking | August 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787506365437 | 2010-06 | To Live | Yu hua | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 2 | 2 | 9787559431240 | 2019-02 | Go Go Squid | Mo Bao Fei Bao | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 3 | 3 | 9787536692930 | 2008-01 | The Three-Body Problem | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 6 | 4 | 9787530216781 | 2017-06 | Ordinary Word (3 Volumes) | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 4 | 5 | 9787536693968 | 2008-05 | The Dark Forest | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 5 | 6 | 9787229030933 | 2010-11 | Death’s End | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 7 | 7 | 9787208061644 | 2006-04 | The Kite Runner (2018 Edition) | Khaled Hosseini | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 18 | 8 | 9787544270878 | 2014-04 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 23 | 9 | 9787540487645 | 2018-06 | Moments We Shared | Zhang Jiajia | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 13 | 10 | 9787540478315 | 2016-12 | 24 Hours in Chang’an (vol.1) | Ma Boyong | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 14 | 11 | 9787540478339 | 2016-12 | 24 Hours in Chang’an (vol.2) | Ma Boyong | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 24 | 12 | 9787544291163 | 2017-08 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 15 | 13 | 9787020008735 | 1998-07 | Journey to the West | Wu Cheng’en | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 10 | 14 | 9787020090006 | 2012-07 | Fortress Besieged | Qian Zhongshu | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 21 | 15 | 9787530219218 | 2019-02 | Life is Like Ocean | Mai Jia | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 11 | 16 | 9787506394864 | 2017-09 | Sophie’s World (New Edition) | Jostein Gaarder | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 17 | 9787530217054 | 2017-12 | The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 8 | 18 | 9787500601593 | 2005-08 | Red Crag | Luo Guangbin,Yang Yiyan | China Youth Press |
| 9 | 19 | 9787541151736 | 2018-12 | Uninhibited | Mo Xiang Tong Xiu | Sichuan Literature & Art Press |
| 22 | 20 | 9787530215593 | 2017-06 | To Live | Yu hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 29 | 21 | 9787559620187 | 2018-10 | Ran Freely | Wu Zhe | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 20 | 22 | 9787550032125 | 2019-02 | Outcasts | Claire McFall | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 23 | 9787544285148 | 2016-10 | Malice | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 24 | 9787544291170 | 2017-08 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 26 | 25 | 9787221150639 | 2019-02 | Ran Freely (2) | Wu Zhe | Guizhou People’s Publishing House |
| 28 | 26 | 9787550013247 | 2015-05 | Ferryman | Claire McFall | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 27 | 9787544267618 | 2014-06 | The Devotion of Suspect X | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 28 | 9787506365680 | 2012-12 | Chronicle of a Blood Merchant | Yu hua | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 19 | 29 | 9787530216774 | 2017-07 | Ordinary Word | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 17 | 30 | 9787020002207 | 1998-07 | Dream of the Red Chamber | Cao Xueqin | People’s Literature Publishing House |
OpenBook’s Nonfiction Bestsellers in China, August 2019
| July 2019 Ranking | August 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 5 | 1 | 9787550268517 | 2016-07 | Positive Discipline | Jane Nelsen | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 2 | 2 | 9787540492380 | 2019-06 | The Kids | Da Bing | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 3 | 9787509837412 | 2016-06 | CPC Ninety Years (3 volumes) | Party History Research Center of the CPC Central Committee | Chinese Communist Party History Publishing House |
| 12 | 4 | 9787201094014 | 2015-09 | Six Records of a Floating Life | Shen Fu | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 4 | 5 | 9787559436184 | 2019-05 | 30 Minutes of Tang Poetry in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 7 | 6 | 9787539999883 | 2017-03 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 1 | 7 | 9787020116133 | 2016-06 | Red Star Over China | Edgar Snow | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 8 | 8 | 9787544382052 | 2018-05 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (3) | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| 9 | 9 | 9787559418111 | 2018-04 | 30 Minutes of World History in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 10 | 10 | 9787544382045 | 2018-05 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (2) | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| 11 | 11 | 9787559620125 | 2018-05 | Genius on the Left, Lunatic on the Right (Full Version)(New Edition) | Gao Ming | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 12 | 9787508660752 | 2017-02 | Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Noah Harari | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 19 | 13 | 9787508095226 | 2018-09 | Nonviolent Communication | Marshall B.Rosenberg | Huaxia Publishing House |
| 3 | 14 | 9787549550173 | 2014-01 | Seeing Off | Long Yingtai | Guangxi Normal University Press |
| 17 | 15 | 9787201088822 | 2014-09 | How to Win Friends & Influence People | Dale Carnegie | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 16 | 9787514365641 | 2017-11 | I Know What I Want, I Know How to Get it, and Do It Now. That’s All | Yang’s Owl | Morden Press |
| Not Ranked | 17 | 9787540489304 | 2019-01 | Danshari | Yamashita Eiko | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 16 | 18 | 9787201088945 | 2014-12 | No More Than Skins | Cai Chongda | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 19 | 9787101127867 | 2017-09 | Translation and Annotation of the Analects of Confucius | Yang Bojun | Zhonghua Book Company |
| 6 | 20 | 9787540484880 | 2018-01 | The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su Tungpo (Commemorative Edition) | Lin Yutang | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 21 | 9787514219203 | 2017-09 | The Willpower Instinct (New Edition) | Kelly McGonigal | Cultural Development Publishing House |
| 24 | 22 | 9787108063106 | 2018-06 | We Three (Third Edition) | Yang Jiang | SDX Joint Publishing Company |
| 14 | 23 | 9787530214787 | 2017-04 | The Stories of the Sahara | Echo | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 18 | 24 | 9787503565397 | 2019-02 | Xi Jinping in Zhengding | Party School of the Central Committee of C.P.C | Central Party School Press |
| 22 | 25 | 9787521702415 | 2019-02 | The American Trap | Frederic Pierucci,Matthieu Aron | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| Not Ranked | 26 | 9787508684031 | 201712 | Principles | Ray Dalio | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 15 | 27 | 9787535447340 | 2014-02 | The Poignant Culture Traveling | Yu Qiuyu | Changjiang Literature & Art Press Co.,Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 28 | 9787506379236 | 2015-05 | The Tough Brilliance (Revised Edition) | Jin Yinan | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 21 | 29 | 9787535732309 | 2001-11 | A Brief History of Time | Stephen W.Hawking | Hunan Science & Technology Press |
| Not Ranked | 30 | 9787540467784 | 2014-06 | The Art of Speaking of Kevin Tsai | Kevin Tsai | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers in China, August 2019
| July 2019 Ranking | August 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787208061644 | 201802 | The Kite Runner (2018 Edition) | Khaled Hosseini | United States of America | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 3 | 2 | 9787544270878 | 201404 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 5 | 3 | 9787544291163 | 201708 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 2 | 4 | 9787506394864 | 201709 | Sophie’s World (New Edition) | Jostein Gaarder | Norway | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 16 | 5 | 9787530217054 | 201712 | The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | Brazil | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 4 | 6 | 9787550032125 | 201902 | Outcasts | Claire McFall | Britain | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 8 | 7 | 9787544285148 | 201610 | Malice | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 9 | 8 | 9787544291170 | 201708 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 6 | 9 | 9787550013247 | 201505 | Ferryman | Claire McFall | Britain | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 10 | 10 | 9787544267618 | 201406 | The Devotion of Suspect X | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 13 | 11 | 9787532776771 | 201803 | Norwegian Wood (30th Anniversary Edition) | Haruki Murakami | Japan | Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
| 12 | 12 | 9787559427434 | 201902 | The Outsider | Albert Camus | France | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 18 | 13 | 9787544277617 | 201506 | Love in the Time of Cholera | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 14 | 14 | 9787550024212 | 201709 | Trespassers | Claire McFall | Britain | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 15 | 15 | 9787544291224 | 201708 | After School (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 19 | 16 | 9787544281102 | 201601 | Newcomer | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 20 | 17 | 9787544384636 | 201809 | The Long Goodbye | Raymond Chandler | United States of America | Hainan Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 18 | 9787539971810 | 201504 | The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry | Gabrielle Zevin | United States of America | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 19 | 9787544766500 | 201701 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | United States of America | Yilin Press |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787544258210 | 201710 | Naoko | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers in China, August 2019
| July 2019 Ranking | August 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 2 | 1 | 9787550268517 | 2016-07 | Positive Discipline | Jane Nelsen | United States of America | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 1 | 2 | 9787020116133 | 2017-06 | Red Star Over China | Edgar Snow | United States of America | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 10 | 3 | 9787508660752 | 2017-02 | Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 5 | 4 | 9787508095226 | 2018-09 | Nonviolent Communication | Marshall B.Rosenberg | United States of America | Huaxia Publishing House |
| 4 | 5 | 9787201088822 | 2014-09 | How to Win Friends & Influence People | Dale Carnegie | United States of America | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 16 | 6 | 9787540489304 | 2019-01 | Danshari | Yamashita Eiko | Japan | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 12 | 7 | 9787514219203 | 2017-09 | The Willpower Instinct (New Edition) | Kelly McGonigal | United States of America | Cultural Development Publishing House |
| 7 | 8 | 9787521702415 | 2019-02 | The American Trap | Frederic Pierucci,Matthieu Aron | France | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 15 | 9 | 9787508684031 | 2017-12 | Principles | Ray Dalio | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 6 | 10 | 9787535732309 | 2001-11 | A Brief History of Time | Stephen W.Hawking | Britain | Hunan Science & Technology Press |
| 11 | 11 | 9787108009821 | 2014-03 | 1587, a Year of No Significance | Ray Huang | United States of America | SDX Joint Publishing Company |
| Not Ranked | 12 | 9787544762885 | 2016-04 | 84, Charing Cross Road | Helene Hanff | United States of America | Yilin Press |
| 8 | 13 | 9787301109489 | 2006-10 | A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century (Vol.1) | L. S. Stavrianos | United States of America | Peking University Press |
| 9 | 14 | 9787301110522 | 2006-10 | A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century (Vol.2) | L. S. Stavrianos | United States of America | Peking University Press |
| 3 | 15 | 9787544768559 | 2017-07 | Souvenirs Entomologiques | Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre | France | Yilin Press |
| 13 | 16 | 9787220102912 | 2017-09 | Rich Dad, Poor Dad | Robert T.Kiyosaki | United States of America | Sichuan People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 17 | 9787800875830 | 1999-09 | How to Win Friends and Influence Others & How to Stop Worrying and Start Living | Dale Carnegie | United States of America | China Development Press |
| 19 | 18 | 9787508672069 | 2017-01 | Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| Not Ranked | 19 | 9787210094906 | 2017-07 | The Scroll Marked | Dale Carnegie,Yang Yi | United States of America | Jiangxi People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787508692098 | 2018-07 | 21 Lessons for the 21st Century | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
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. With authoritative data and information resources, OpenBook is able to deliver consulting service to partners who would like to explore the Chinese book market and identify suitable partners.
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. Trajectory recently has added copyright services, both for content going into China and for exports from China to the rest of the world.
As of July 1, this data is estimated by OpenBook to represent some 60 percent of the total sales activity in China. OpenBook draws point-of-sale data from more than 7,000 bookstores in China, including a total 4,151 physical bookstores representative of all the provinces in China except Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
Retail outlets include:
- Traditional bookstores
- Supermarkets
- Campus bookstores
- “Professional” stores, said to be small stores with a specific industrial or trade focus
- Airport stores
In addition, OpenBook is drawing data from online bookstores of three main types:
- The “Tmall” stores of Alibaba (Tmall is described as a marketplace of companies that create storefronts online to sell products including books)
- The “JingDong” Stores of JD.com (similar to Tmall as a marketplace of both individual companies and bookstores operated by JD.com)
- Ten independent online bookselling retailers
China has 500 or more publishers in operation today. Most of them, Trajectory CEO James Bryant clarifies, are government-owned. Private publishers are required to generate 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.
More China bestseller reports from Publishing Perspectives are here.