On Jianghan Road in Wuhan, October 6. Image – iStockphoto: Robert Wei
Back to School
Now, amid fast-rising coronavirus COVID-19 surges in so many parts of the world, it’s interesting to look back at Javier Hernández’ New York Times article from the month we’re looking at today in China’s bestseller lists.
‘Journey to the West’
And the connection there, of course—as we’ve observed in past years—is the education system as a driver in September’s book market in China.
What’s remarkable to watch in action this year, as Hernández wrote, is how “China’s top-down, state-led political system allows the party to drive its vast bureaucracy in pursuit of a single target—an approach that would be nearly impossible anywhere else in the world.”
By comparison to many other nations’ on-again, off-again efforts to reopen and maintain in-person school programs, the distinction is clear. In mid-September, Hernandez wrote, “Medical staff stood guard at school entrances, taking temperatures. Administrative officials reviewed the students’ travel histories and coronavirus test results. Local Communist Party cadres kept watch, making sure teachers followed detailed instructions on hygiene and showed an ‘anti-epidemic spirit.’”
‘Danshari’
And so it is that the book market, then, is seeing the normal autumn impact of the school year’s return, which our associates at Beijing OpenBook note is normally more easily observed in physical store channels than at digital points of sale.
The resulting September fiction bestseller chart, has stabilized in traditional education-driven patters, then, with Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en from the People’s Literature Publishing House jumping, for example, from No. 20 in August to No. 3 in September as the curriculum lists kick in.
In nonfiction, the team in Beijing points out, more differences in what sells online and off-line surfaces in September’s charts. Self-help and family education books seem to be performing well in the online sales environment. There appears to be a particular interest in books that address the pressures of what’s described as “workplace success” and “social network development”—elements of peer pressure especially for younger adults who are newly navigating careers and business positioning.
‘Nonviolent Communication’
Yamashita Eiko’s Danshari is such a title, from Hunan Literature and Art Press.
Perhaps in relation to families’ efforts to bolster educational efforts at home, titles including Positive Discipline by Jane Nelson (Beijing Union Publishing Company) and Nonviolent Communication by Marshall B. Rosenburg (Huaxia Publishing House) are showing resilience in September’s upper notches.
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 2020
| August 2020 Ranking | September 2020 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 2 | 1 | 9787540487645 | 2018-06 | Moments We Shared | Zhang Jiajia | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 3 | 2 | 9787506365437 | 2010-06 | To Live | Yu hua | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 20 | 3 | 9787020008735 | 1998-07 | Journey to the West | Wu Cheng’en | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 5 | 4 | 9787530216781 | 2017-06 | Ordinary Word (3 Volumes) | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 13 | 5 | 9787544291170 | 2017-08 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 8 | 6 | 9787536693968 | 2008-05 | The Dark Forest | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 4 | 7 | 9787536692930 | 2008-01 | The Three-Body Problem | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 6 | 8 | 9787020164776 | 2020-07 | A Late Bloomer | Mo Yan | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 17 | 9 | 9787500601593 | 2005-08 | Red Crag | Luo Guangbin,Yang Yiyan | China Youth Press |
| 9 | 10 | 9787229030933 | 2010-11 | Death’s End | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 10 | 11 | 9787020002207 | 1998-07 | Dream of the Red Chamber | Cao Xueqin | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 11 | 12 | 9787559620187 | 2018-10 | Ran Freely | Wu Zhe | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 7 | 13 | 9787559439482 | 2020-04 | Ran Freely (3) | Wu Zhe | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 1 | 14 | 9787559439833 | 2020-07 | The Only One | Mu Suli | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 12 | 15 | 9787544291163 | 2017-08 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 14 | 16 | 9787559446848 | 2020-04 | Ran Freely (2) (2020 Edition) | Wu Zhe | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 15 | 17 | 9787208061644 | 2006-04 | The Kite Runner (2018 Edition) | Khaled Hosseini | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 18 | 18 | 9787530215593 | 2017-06 | To Live | Yu hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 19 | 19 | 9787020090006 | 2012-07 | Fortress Besieged | Qian Zhongshu | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 22 | 20 | 9787544280662 | 2020-03 | Silent Parade | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 21 | 9787544267618 | 2014-06 | The Devotion of Suspect X | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 24 | 22 | 9787544270878 | 2014-04 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 25 | 23 | 9787020008742 | 1998-07 | Water Margin | Shi Nai’an,Luo Guanzhong | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 24 | 9787530219218 | 2019-02 | Life is Like Ocean | Mai Jia | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 25 | 9787020008728 | 1998-07 | Romance of the Three Kingdoms | Luo Guanzhong | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 26 | 9787530217061 | 2020-01 | Life | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 27 | 9787544285148 | 2016-10 | Malice | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 26 | 28 | 9787569930337 | 2019-06 | Underachieve | Mu Gua Huang | Bejing Times Chinese Press |
| Not Ranked | 29 | 9787530679272 | 2020-08 | Bloom of Youth (2) | Wu Zhe | Baihua Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 16 | 30 | 9787559442680 | 2020-06 | Break the Cloud (2) | Huai Shang | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
OpenBook’s Nonfiction Bestsellers, September 2020
| August 2020 Ranking | September 2020 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| Not Ranked | 1 | 9787540487850 | 2018-08 | Guo Degang on Chinese Cultural History | Guo Degang | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 4 | 2 | 9787020116133 | 2016-06 | Red Star Over China | Edgar Snow | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 3 | 3 | 9787550268517 | 2016-07 | Positive Discipline | Jane Nelsen | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 2 | 4 | 9787544276986 | 2019-10 | Educated: A Memoir | Tara Westover | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 5 | 5 | 9787540489304 | 2019-01 | Danshari | Yamashita Eiko | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 6 | 9787101127867 | 2017-09 | Translation and Annotation of the Analects of Confucius | Zhonghua Book Company | |
| 12 | 7 | 9787540484880 | 2018-01 | The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su Tungpo (Commemorative Edition) | Lin Yutang | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 6 | 8 | 9787508095226 | 2018-09 | Nonviolent Communication | Marshall B.Rosenberg | Huaxia Publishing House |
| 7 | 9 | 9787539999883 | 2017-03 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 8 | 10 | 9787544387866 | 2019-09 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (4) | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| 1 | 11 | 9787559643872 | 2020-08 | May You 2.0 | Da Bing | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 11 | 12 | 9787544382045 | 2018-05 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (2) | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| 14 | 13 | 9787544382052 | 2018-05 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (3) | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| 18 | 14 | 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 |
| 15 | 15 | 9787508660752 | 2017-02 | Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Noah Harari | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 24 | 16 | 9787549631698 | 2020-05 | 30 Minutes of Science History in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Wenhui Publishing House |
| 16 | 17 | 9787559418111 | 2018-04 | 30 Minutes of World History in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 21 | 18 | 9787559436184 | 2019-05 | 30 Minutes of Tang Poetry in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 9 | 19 | 9787559620125 | 2018-05 | Genius on the Left, Lunatic on the Right (Full Version)(New Edition) | Gao Ming | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787020135639 | 2018-03 | I and the Temple of Earth | Shi Tiesheng | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 13 | 21 | 9787201088945 | 2014-12 | No More Than Skins | Cai Chongda | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 26 | 22 | 9787559435552 | 2019-09 | 30 Minutes of Tang Poetry in Cartoon (2) | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 17 | 23 | 9787532174997 | 2020-03 | 30 Minutes of Song Poetry in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Shanghai Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 24 | 9787544768535 | 2017-06 | Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk | Lu Xun | Yilin Press |
| 27 | 25 | 9787549550173 | 2014-01 | Seeing Off | Long Yingtai | Guangxi Normal University Press |
| 19 | 26 | 9787503568404 | 2020-07 | Xi Jinping in Fuzhou | Party School of the Central Committee of C.P.C | Central Party School Press |
| 25 | 27 | 9787530214787 | 2017-04 | The Stories of the Sahara | Echo | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 28 | 9787503567285 | 2020-01 | Xi Jinping in Xiamen | Party School of the Central Committee of C.P.C | Central Party School Press |
| Not Ranked | 29 | 9787503567292 | 2020-01 | Xi Jinping in Ningde | Party School of the Central Committee of C.P.C | Central Party School Press |
| 28 | 30 | 9787521708554 | 2019-09 | Style | Wu Jun | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers, September 2020
| August 2020 Ranking | September 2020 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 2 | 1 | 9787544291170 | 2017-08 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 1 | 2 | 9787544291163 | 2017-08 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 3 | 3 | 9787208061644 | 2018-02 | The Kite Runner (2018 Edition) | Khaled Hosseini | United States of America | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 4 | 4 | 9787544280662 | 2020-03 | Silent Parade | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 9 | 5 | 9787544267618 | 2014-06 | The Devotion of Suspect X | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 5 | 6 | 9787544270878 | 2014-04 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 8 | 7 | 9787544285148 | 2016-10 | Malice | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 14 | 8 | 9787544297059 | 2020-03 | Love in the Time of Cholera (3 Million Sold Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 11 | 9 | 9787544291224 | 2017-08 | After School (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 7 | 10 | 9787532776771 | 2018-03 | Norwegian Wood (30th Anniversary Edition) | Haruki Murakami | Japan | Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
| 6 | 11 | 9787506394864 | 2017-09 | Sophie’s World (New Edition) | Jostein Gaarder | Norway | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 12 | 12 | 9787544766500 | 2017-01 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | United States of America | Yilin Press |
| 10 | 13 | 9787544299015 | 2020-05 | The Camphor Keeper | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 13 | 14 | 9787544280020 | 2019-08 | What Life You Want to Have | Yoshino Genzaburo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 16 | 15 | 9787530217054 | 2017-12 | The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | Brazil | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 15 | 16 | 9787544281102 | 2016-01 | Newcomer | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 20 | 17 | 9787201116693 | 2017-05 | My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry | Fredrik Backman | Sweden | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 17 | 18 | 9787550013247 | 2015-05 | Ferryman | Claire McFall | United Kingdom | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 19 | 19 | 9787539983295 | 2015-10 | Foundation | Isaac Asimov | United States of America | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 18 | 20 | 9787550032125 | 2019-02 | Outcasts | Claire McFall | United Kingdom | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers, September 2020
| August 2020 Ranking | September 2020 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| Not Ranked | 1 | 9787115536198 | 2020-05 | Heart: Kazuo Inamori’s Philosophy of Life | Kazuo Inamori | Japan | Posts & Telecommunications Publishing House |
| 2 | 2 | 9787550268517 | 2016-07 | Positive Discipline | Jane Nelsen | United States of America | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 3 | 3 | 9787020116133 | 2017-06 | Red Star Over China | Edgar Snow | United States of America | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 4 | 9787111635574 | 2019-10 | The Working Methods of Kazuo Inamori | Kazuo Inamori | Japan | China Machine Press |
| 1 | 5 | 9787544276986 | 2019-10 | Educated: A Memoir | Tara Westover | United States of America | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 4 | 6 | 9787540489304 | 2019-01 | Danshari | Yamashita Eiko | Japan | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 7 | 9787520711531 | 2019-11 | A Compass to Fulfillment | Kazuo Inamori | Japan | Orient Press |
| Not Ranked | 8 | 9787540471194 | 2019-02 | Relationship: Bridge to the Soul | Christoper Moon | Canada | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 5 | 9 | 9787508095226 | 2018-09 | Nonviolent Communication | Marshall B.Rosenberg | United States of America | Huaxia Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 10 | 9787508687216 | 2018-08 | Poor Economics: A Radical Rethinking of the Way to Fight Global Poverty | Abhijit V.Banerjee,Esther Duflo | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 6 | 11 | 9787508660752 | 2017-02 | Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| Not Ranked | 12 | 9787210096528 | 2017-09 | Mindset: The New Psychology of Success | Carol S.Dweck | United States of America | Jiangxi People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 13 | 9787220114045 | 2019-07 | Rich Dad Poor Dad | Robert T.Kiyosaki | United States of America | Sichuan People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 14 | 9787807639817 | 2013-07 | Danshari | Yamashita Eiko | Japan | Guangxi Science & Technology Press |
| 7 | 15 | 9787508684031 | 2017-12 | Principles | Ray Dalio | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 15 | 16 | 9787547734315 | 2019-09 | Life is Worth Living | Nakamura Tsuneko | Japan | Beijing daily publishing house |
| Not Ranked | 17 | 9787521713305 | 2020-03 | What It Takes: Lessons in the Pursuit of Excellence | Stephen A. Schwarzman | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 12 | 18 | 9787201088822 | 2014-09 | How to Win Friends & Influence People | Dale Carnegie | United States of America | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 8 | 19 | 9787535732309 | 2001-11 | A Brief History of Time | Stephen W.Hawking | United Kingdon | Hunan Science & Technology Press |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787108009821 | 2014-03 | 1587, a Year of No Significance | Ray Huang | United States of America | SDX Joint Publishing Company |
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.
Jiang Boyan LLC advises authors and right’s holders on global intellectual property and investment opportunities. 
As of January 1, 2020, OpenBook monitored more than 10,000 online and offline bookstores.
The online channel includes digital retailers such as large self-operated online stores, platform stores, and small- and medium-sized stores. The offline channels include 4,495 bookstores. Coverage includes most of the state-owned and influential privately owned bookstores in 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Tibet are not included in OpenBook’s system.
In 2019, OpenBook tracked around 71.72 billion RMB in sales (US$10.1 billion).
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.
Students at the entrance to Tongii, a junior high school on Zhengtong Road in Shanghai’s Yangpu district. Image – iStockphoto: SCQBJ-JZ
More China bestseller reports from Publishing Perspectives are here. And more from us on the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international book publishing is here.