On October 1, the People’s Republic of China observed its 70th National Day celebrations. Image -iStockphoto: Axz66
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
‘Educated Youth’
‘The 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China’
Emphasizing the point, the most dramatic entry onto Beijing OpenBook’s main nonfiction bestseller list was The 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China by Zhang Shiyi and published in July by Orient Press at No. 12. The book is described as a kind of guide book to the anniversary’s key elements, a part of the celebration’s program, with timelines and other illustrations.
Similarly, Xi Jingping’s Seven Years as an Educated Youth, a long-running hit released in August 2017 by Central Party School Press, re-entered the charts in September at No. 19 in nonfiction.
‘Xi Jingping’s Seven Years as an Educated Youth’
But speaking of education, that was the other driver for the month, with back-to-school reading weighing heavily on the lists and a certain ancient philosopher seems to be the vogue of the first semester.
The two-year-old release Translation and Annotation of the Analects of Confucius by Yang Bojun from the Zhonghua Book Company was the eyebrow-raiser, bouncing up 19 spots to No. 1 in nonfiction. A second book on Confucius, Chen Xiaofen’s 2016 The Analects of Confucius from the same house, Zhonghua, entered the charts at No. 24. (Analects are miscellaneous written passages, in case you’re not familiar with the term.)
‘Translation and Annotation of the Analects of Confucius’
Our associates at Beijing OpenBook tell us that China’s current educational reforms have a strong basis in traditional culture and its values, which helps support these entries on the list.
The classics, always strongly featured on these lists, also saw another boost from school season in September, with 13 of the Top 30 bestsellers for the month falling into this category, including big bumps for the 2005 edition of Red Crag (Luo Guangbin and Yang Yiyan, China Youth Press) and Journey to the West (Wu Cheng’en, People’s Literature Publishing House).
And lastly, it’s interesting to note that in September 2018, old masters in literary work were big on the classroom-powered fiction lists, while this September showed more contemporary interest, featuring, for example, a 30th-anniversary edition of Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood from Shanghai Translation Publishing House entering the list at No. 29, and the 2012 Life by Lu Yao from Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House.
‘Norwegian Wood’
The key concept, we’re told, however, is a major curricular stress on literary work. State education is currently determinedly weighted toward the literary, whether classic or more contemporary, and as the school year kicks in, we can expect to see this dynamic playing out on the lists.
Below, then, are OpenBook’s overall lists from (month) 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, September 2019
| August 2019 Ranking | September 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787506365437 | 2010-06 | To Live | Yu Hua | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 18 | 2 | 9787500601593 | 2005-08 | Red Crag | Luo Guangbin, Yang Yiyan | China Youth Press |
| 13 | 3 | 9787020008735 | 1998-07 | Journey to the West | Wu Cheng’en | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 4 | 4 | 9787530216781 | 2017-06 | Ordinary Word (3 Volumes) | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 3 | 5 | 9787536692930 | 2008-01 | The Three-Body Problem | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 6 | 6 | 9787229030933 | 2010-11 | Death’s End | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 5 | 7 | 9787536693968 | 2008-05 | The Dark Forest | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 7 | 8 | 9787208061644 | 2006-04 | The Kite Runner (2018 Edition) | Khaled Hosseini | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 8 | 9 | 9787544270878 | 2014-04 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 30 | 10 | 9787020002207 | 1998-07 | Dream of the Red Chamber | Cao Xueqin | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 9 | 11 | 9787540487645 | 2018-06 | Moments We Shared | Zhang Jiajia | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 12 | 9787020008742 | 1998-07 | Water Margin | Shi Nai’an, Luo Guanzhong | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 13 | 9787020008728 | 1998-07 | Romance of the Three Kingdoms | Luo Guanzhong | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 12 | 14 | 9787544291163 | 2017-08 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 14 | 15 | 9787020090006 | 2012-07 | Fortress Besieged | Qian Zhongshu | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 21 | 16 | 9787559620187 | 2018-10 | Ran Freely | Wu Zhe | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 23 | 17 | 9787544285148 | 2016-10 | Malice | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 20 | 18 | 9787530215593 | 2017-06 | To Live | Yu Hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 16 | 19 | 9787506394864 | 2017-09 | Sophie’s World (New Edition) | Jostein Gaarder | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 24 | 20 | 9787544291170 | 2017-08 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 17 | 21 | 9787530217054 | 2017-12 | The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 28 | 22 | 9787506365680 | 2012-12 | Chronicle of a Blood Merchant | Yu Hua | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 22 | 23 | 9787550032125 | 2019-02 | Outcasts | Claire McFall | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 26 | 24 | 9787550013247 | 2015-05 | Ferryman | Claire McFall | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 27 | 25 | 9787544267618 | 2014-06 | The Devotion of Suspect X | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 26 | 9787020110933 | 2015-12 | Street Wizards (Full Version) | Feng Jicai | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 15 | 27 | 9787530219218 | 2019-02 | Life is Like Ocean | Mai Jia | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 29 | 28 | 9787530216774 | 2017-07 | Ordinary Word | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 29 | 9787532776771 | 2018-03 | Norwegian Wood (30th Anniversary Edition) | Haruki Murakami | Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 30 | 9787530211564 | 2012-03 | Life | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
OpenBook’s Nonfiction Bestsellers, September 2019
| Aug 2019 Ranking | Sep 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 19 | 1 | 9787101127867 | 2017-09 | Translation and Annotation of the Analects of Confucius | Yang Bojun | Zhonghua Book Company |
| 1 | 2 | 9787550268517 | 2016-07 | Positive Discipline | Jane Nelsen | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 7 | 3 | 9787020116133 | 2016-06 | Red Star Over China | Edgar Snow | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 2 | 4 | 9787540492380 | 2019-06 | The Kids | Da Bing | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 3 | 5 | 9787509837412 | 2016-06 | CPC Ninety Years (3 volumes) | Party History Research Center of the CPC Central Committee | Chinese Communist Party History Publishing House |
| 6 | 6 | 9787539999883 | 2017-03 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 20 | 7 | 9787540484880 | 2018-01 | The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su Tungpo (Commemorative Edition) | Lin Yutang | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 10 | 8 | 9787544382045 | 2018-05 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (2) | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| 8 | 9 | 9787544382052 | 2018-05 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (3) | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| 9 | 10 | 9787559418111 | 2018-04 | 30 Minutes of World History in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 13 | 11 | 9787508095226 | 2018-09 | Nonviolent Communication | Marshall B. Rosenberg | Huaxia Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 12 | 9787520710350 | 2019-07 | The 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China | Zhang Shiyi | Orient Press |
| 4 | 13 | 9787201094014 | 2015-09 | Six Records of a Floating Life | Shen Fu | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 5 | 14 | 9787559436184 | 2019-05 | 30 Minutes of Tang Poetry in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 15 | 15 | 9787201088822 | 2014-09 | How to Win Friends & Influence People | Dale Carnegie | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 11 | 16 | 9787559620125 | 2018-05 | Genius on the Left, Lunatic on the Right (Full Version)(New Edition) | Gao Ming | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 14 | 17 | 9787549550173 | 2014-01 | Seeing Off | Long Yingtai | Guangxi Normal University Press |
| 27 | 18 | 9787535447340 | 2014-02 | The Poignant Culture Traveling | Yu Qiuyu | Changjiang Literature & Art Press Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 19 | 9787503561634 | 2017-08 | Xi Jinping’s Seven Years as an Educated Youth | Party School of the Central Committee of C.P.C | Central Party School Press |
| 17 | 20 | 9787540489304 | 2019-01 | Danshari | Yamashita Eiko | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 23 | 21 | 9787530214787 | 2017-04 | The Stories of the Sahara | Echo | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 22 | 9787506376631 | 2014-11 | A Good Mother is More Important than a Good Teacher (5 Million Volumes Commemorative Edition) | Yin Jianli | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 23 | 9787201089140 | 2015-01 | Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk | Lu Xun | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 24 | 9787101113648 | 2016-01 | The Analects of Confucius | Chen Xiaofen | Zhonghua Book Company |
| Not Ranked | 25 | 9787544768535 | 2017-06 | Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk | Lu Xun | Yilin Press |
| 21 | 26 | 9787514219203 | 2017-09 | The Willpower Instinct (New Edition) | Kelly McGonigal | Cultural Development Publishing House |
| 16 | 27 | 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 |
| 18 | 28 | 9787201088945 | 2014-12 | No More Than Skins | Cai Chongda | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 22 | 29 | 9787108063106 | 2018-06 | We Three (Third Edition) | Yang Jiang | SDX Joint Publishing Company |
| Not Ranked | 30 | 9787540481827 | 2017-08 | Gag Reel | Li Dan | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers, September 2019
| Aug 2019 Ranking | Sep 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787208061644 | 2018-02 | The Kite Runner (2018 Edition) | Khaled Hosseini | United States of America | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 2 | 2 | 9787544270878 | 2014-04 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 3 | 3 | 9787544291163 | 2017-08 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 7 | 4 | 9787544285148 | 2016-10 | Malice | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 4 | 5 | 9787506394864 | 2017-09 | Sophie’s World (New Edition) | Jostein Gaarder | Norway | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 8 | 6 | 9787544291170 | 2017-08 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 5 | 7 | 9787530217054 | 2017-12 | The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | Brazil | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 6 | 8 | 9787550032125 | 2019-02 | Outcasts | Claire McFall | Britain | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 9 | 9 | 9787550013247 | 2015-05 | Ferryman | Claire McFall | Britain | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 10 | 10 | 9787544267618 | 2014-06 | The Devotion of Suspect X | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 11 | 11 | 9787532776771 | 2018-03 | Norwegian Wood (30th Anniversary Edition) | Haruki Murakami | Japan | Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
| 13 | 12 | 9787544277617 | 2015-06 | Love in the Time of Cholera | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 13 | 9787544280020 | 2019-08 | What Life You Want to Have | Yoshino Genzaburo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 14 | 14 | 9787550024212 | 2017-09 | Trespassers | Claire McFall | Britain | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 15 | 15 | 9787544291224 | 2017-08 | After School (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 16 | 16 | 9787544281102 | 2016-01 | Newcomer | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 12 | 17 | 9787559427434 | 2019-02 | The Outsider | Albert Camus | France | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 18 | 18 | 9787539971810 | 2015-04 | The Storied Life of A. J. Fikry | Gabrielle Zevin | United States of America | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 19 | 9787544760874 | 2016-10 | 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (New Edition) | Jules Verne | France | Yilin Press |
| 19 | 20 | 9787544766500 | 2017-01 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | United States of America | Yilin Press |
Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers, September 2019
| Aug 2019 Ranking | Sep 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787550268517 | 2016-07 | Positive Discipline | Jane Nelsen | United States of America | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 2 | 2 | 9787020116133 | 20170-6 | Red Star Over China | Edgar Snow | United States of America | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 4 | 3 | 9787508095226 | 2018-09 | Nonviolent Communication | Marshall B. Rosenberg | United States of America | Huaxia Publishing House |
| 5 | 4 | 9787201088822 | 2014-09 | How to Win Friends & Influence People | Dale Carnegie | United States of America | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 6 | 5 | 9787540489304 | 2019-01 | Danshari | Yamashita Eiko | Japan | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 7 | 6 | 9787514219203 | 2017-09 | The Willpower Instinct (New Edition) | Kelly McGonigal | United States of America | Cultural Development Publishing House |
| 10 | 7 | 9787535732309 | 2001-11 | A Brief History of Time | Stephen W. Hawking | Britain | Hunan Science & Technology Press |
| 3 | 8 | 9787508660752 | 2017-02 | Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd |
| 11 | 9 | 9787108009821 | 2014-03 | 1587, a Year of No Significance | Ray Huang | United States of America | SDX Joint Publishing Company |
| 8 | 10 | 9787521702415 | 2019-02 | The American Trap | Frederic Pierucci, Matthieu Aron | France | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd |
| 9 | 11 | 9787508684031 | 2017-12 | Principles | Ray Dalio | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd |
| 18 | 12 | 9787508672069 | 2017-01 | Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd |
| 13 | 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 |
| 14 | 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 |
| 15 | 15 | 9787544768559 | 2017-07 | Souvenirs Entomologiques | Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre | France | Yilin Press |
| Not Ranked | 16 | 9787508650890 | 2015-05 | Who Moved My Cheese? | Spencer Johnson | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd |
| 20 | 17 | 9787508692098 | 2018-07 | 21 Lessons for the 21st Century | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd |
| 12 | 18 | 9787544762885 | 2016-04 | 84, Charing Cross Road | Helene Hanff | United States of America | Yilin Press |
| 19 | 19 | 9787210094906 | 2017-07 | The Scroll Marked | Dale Carnegie, Yang Yi | United States of America | Jiangxi People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787514208788 | 2013-07 | The Willpower Instinct (Hardcover) | Kelly McGonigal | United States of America | Cultural Development Publishing House |
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.