The school systems’ reading lists were put away in August, but China’s charts continued to turn over slowly. The fastest moves were in contemporary fiction.

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

Keigo Higashino, the Perennial Charts Success

With students getting the summer’s recommended reading under their belts in July, August saw China’s readership turning to vacation-time contemporary fiction, and this resulted in four popular novels arriving on the charts for the first time:

• You Are My Glory by Gu Man, ranked No. 5, mainly powered by a hit television adaptation: You are My Glory was the only one of the first-time books on the list this month after spending more than two years on the market, a demonstration of the energy that television exposure provides
• Always Have, Always Will by Zhang Jiajia, published in August and quickly arriving at No. 11
• The Nameless Town by the ever-popular and prolific Japanese author Keigo Higashino, published in June and entering the list at No. 23
• Doll by Qin Ming, published in August and moving onto the chart at No. 30

Indeed, the through line here is the arrival of new works from authors well established with the Chinese consumer base.

By contrast, our associates at Beijing OpenBook point out that Zhang’s Always Have, Always Will is the author’s first new title in three years. But the research team’s Rainy Liu points to the 38 consecutive months that Zhang’s Moments We Shared has been on the list since its release—always in the Top 10. That staying power is in part fueled by shares of passages from his book on various social media and in short videos.

Higashino—who’s known to have several releases in a year—is easily the biggest producer of the group. And his new The Nameless Town is reported to be the start of a series, the “Kamio Detective Collection.” With everything pointing to the new book and the series as likely hits, the OpenBook team points out that the new title is following a distinctive pattern frequently seen in Higashino’s work, in that it’s finding its traction first in physical bookstores.

And like Higashino’s book, Qin’s Doll has the readers’ fondness for a series behind it. It’s the third of a series called “Forensic Qinming. The first installment is The Condemned. The second book was The Forgotten, released in 2020. An interesting element of this one, though, is that the series’ starter entered the bestseller lists in 2017 (The Condemned). And the series hasn’t charted again since then until now.

So Doll is a return to the charts for a series that has been missing in the bestseller ranks for four years—surely a big satisfaction to Qin Ming after so much time. As Liu puts it, the OpenBook team sees part of this story being a change of publisher. Qin is new to Beijing Union Publishing. And it’s the energy of that new publishing house, the researchers suggest, that’s driving what they term a revitalization of the series’ intellectual property.

By contrast, the nonfiction list in August shows the typical sluggish movement that—by comparison to many markets in the world—can make the Chinese bestseller array look glacial in its evolution. Only one book entered the nonfiction ranks anew, that one being called, rather quaintly, Hi, I’m China (Volume 2). And it’s in at a low slot, No. 24. The book is a popular-science treatment of geography.

“As soon as its publication, the publisher planned a series of marketing activities in physical bookstores and on social media and short video platforms,” the OpenBook group tells us. CITIC Publishing House capitalized on corporate group purchase arrangements, which helped drive the title’s arrival on the list.

And the children’s list moved even more slowly in August, with no new titles charting amid the natural summer slump in recommendations for kids amid the educational system’s hiatus.

Below, then, are OpenBook’s overall lists from August of bestsellers in fiction, nonfiction, and children’s books, 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, August 2021

July 2021 Ranking	August 2021 Ranking	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
2	1	9787530215593	2017-06	To Live	Yu hua	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
8	2	9787540487645	2018-06	Moments We Shared	Zhang Jiajia	Hunan Literature & Art Press
20	3	9787506331746	2005-05	Distant Savior	Dou Dou	The Writer’s Publishing House
9	4	9787544291170	2017-08	One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition)	Gabriel García Márquez	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	5	9787510874451	2019-05	You are My Glory	Gu Man	Jiuzhou Press
Not Ranked	6	9787530219218	2019-02	Life is Like Ocean	Mai Jia	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
3	7	9787536692930	2008-01	The Three-Body Problem	Liu Cixin	Chongqing Publishing House
7	8	9787020002207	1998-07	Dream of the Red Chamber	Cao Xueqin	People’s Literature Publishing House
4	9	9787536693968	2008-05	The Dark Forest	Liu Cixin	Chongqing Publishing House
5	10	9787229030933	2010-11	Death’s End	Liu Cixin	Chongqing Publishing House
Not Ranked	11	9787572602825	2021-08	Always Have, Always Will	Zhang Jiajia	Hunan Literature & Art Press
17	12	9787544291163	2017-08	Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition)	Keigo Higashino	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
1	13	9787500601593	2005-08	Red Crag	Luo Guangbin,Yang Yiyan	China Youth Press
13	14	9787020090006	2012-07	Fortress Besieged	Qian Zhongshu	People’s Literature Publishing House
16	15	9787555285298	2020-03	Hidden Love	Zhu Yi	Qingdao Publishing House
6	16	9787559455000	2021-06	First Frost (The End)	Zhu Yi	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
15	17	9787544766500	2017-01	To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper Lee	Yilin Press
22	18	9787530221099	2021-02	Wencheng	Yu hua	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
Not Ranked	19	9787544298995	2020-09	Miracles of the Namiya General Store (2020 Edition)	Keigo Higashino	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
12	20	9787020008735	1998-07	Journey to the West	Wu Cheng’en	People’s Literature Publishing House
24	21	9787544285148	2016-10	Malice	Keigo Higashino	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	22	9787539983295	2015-10	Foundation	Isaac Asimov	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
Not Ranked	23	9787544297905	2021-06	The Nameless Town	Keigo Higashino	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	24	9787020164776	2020-07	A Late Bloomer	Mo Yan	People’s Literature Publishing House
11	25	9787559452788	2020-12	First Frost	Zhu Yi	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
Not Ranked	26	9787521210033	2020-09	Sit for a While Tea House	Jia Pingwa	The Writer’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	27	9787544297059	2020-03	Love in the Time of Cholera (3 Million Sold Anniversary Edition)	Gabriel García Márquez	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
28	28	9787544267618	2014-06	The Devotion of Suspect X	Keigo Higashino	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	29	9787544291224	2017-08	After School (2017 Edition)	Keigo Higashino	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	30	9787559654465	2021-08	Doll	Qin Ming	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.

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OpenBook’s Nonfiction Bestsellers, March 2021

July 2021 Ranking	August 2021 Ranking	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
1	1	9787201161693	2020-08	Counselling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure	Robert de Board	Tianjin People’s Publishing House
26	2	9787111495482	2015-04	The Courage to Be Disliked	Ichiro Kishimi	China Machine Press
2	3	9787020116133	2016-06	Red Star Over China	Edgar Snow	People’s Literature Publishing House
17	4	9787508095226	2018-09	Nonviolent Communication	Marshall B.Rosenberg	Huaxia Publishing House
11	5	9787544276986	2019-10	Educated: A Memoir	Tara Westover	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
5	6	9787549632725	2020-09	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (5)	Chen Lei	Wenhui Publishing House
6	7	9787539999883	2017-03	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon	Chen Lei	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
8	8	9787544387866	2019-09	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (4)	Chen Lei	Hainan Publishing House
9	9	9787544382045	2018-05	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (2)	Chen Lei	Hainan Publishing House
10	10	9787544382052	2018-05	30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (3)	Chen Lei	Hainan Publishing House
16	11	9787572201882	2020-08	The Value	Zhang Lei	Zhejiang Education Press Co.,Ltd
22	12	9787547739549	2021-05	30 Minutes of World History in Cartoon (2)	Chen Lei	Beijing daily publishing house
4	13	9787557024413	2021-05	If History were a Group of Cats: Prosperity of the Tang Dynasty	Fei Zhi	Guangdong Tourism Publishing House
Not Ranked	14	9787508660752	2017-02	Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind	Yuval Noah Harari	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
29	15	9787540489304	2019-01	Danshari	Eiko Yamashita	Hunan Literature & Art Press
18	16	9787559418111	2018-04	30 Minutes of World History in Cartoon	Chen Lei	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
12	17	9787557023041	2020-10	If History were a Group of Cats: Sui and Tang Dynasty	Fei Zhi	Guangdong Tourism Publishing House
23	18	9787101127867	2017-09	Translation and Annotation of the Analects of Confucius	0	Zhonghua Book Company
13	19	9787559313652	2017-09	If History were a Group of Cats: Xia, Shang and Western Zhou Dynasty	Fei Zhi	Heilongjiang Fine Arts Press
7	20	9787559643926	2020-08	Master of Learning	Li Zheyuan	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
28	21	9787532179862	2021-06	Big Girl	Yang Lan	Shanghai Literature & Art Press
14	22	9787540484880	2018-01	The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su Tungpo	Lin Yutang	Hunan Literature & Art Press
27	23	9787559639134	2020-06	The Rise of China	Jin Yinan	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
Not Ranked	24	9787521731224	2021-06	Hi I’m China (2)	Institute for Planets	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
15	25	9787559330260	2018-06	If History were a Group of Cats: The Spring-autumn and Warring State Period	Fei Zhi	Heilongjiang Fine Arts Press
Not Ranked	26	9787521210255	2020-08	The Tough Brilliance	Jin Yinan	The Writer’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	27	9787559620125	2018-05	Genius on the Left, Lunatic on the Right (Full Version)(New Edition)	Gao Ming	Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd.
Not Ranked	28	9787557021856	2020-05	If History were a Group of Cats: Wei, Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties	Fei Zhi	Guangdong Tourism Publishing House
20	29	9787557017477	2019-02	If History were a Group of Cats: Qin, Chu, Western Han and Eastern Han Dynasty	Fei Zhi	Guangdong Tourism Publishing House
Not Ranked	30	9787521701579	2019-09	Hi I’m China	Institute for Planets,The China Society on Tibet Plateau	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd

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OpenBook’s Children’s Bestsellers, March 2021

July 2021 Ranking	August 2021 Ranking	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Chinese Publisher
2	1	9787534633362	2005-05	Bronze and Sunflower	Cao Wenxuan	Jiangsu Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
7	2	9787558900648	2017-07	Winter of Three Hairs (With Chinese Pinyin)	Zhang Leping	Juvenile & Children’s Publishing House
9	3	9787536574397	2016-01	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Clever Little Prodigy	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
20	4	9787521726473	2020-12	A Dog Named Money	Bodo Schafer	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
13	5	9787536574366	2016-01	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Stratego	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
1	6	9787534618727	1998-07	The Straw Hut	Cao Wenxuan	Jiangsu Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
12	7	9787536593749	2020-05	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Game of the Wise	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
14	8	9787536593756	2020-05	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Password Discovery	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
19	9	9787536574380	2016-01	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Who’s the Smart Guy?	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
17	10	9787536593442	2020-05	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: The Magic Lamp	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
18	11	9787536574373	2016-01	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: The Great Adventure of the Castle	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
16	12	9787536593459	2020-05	Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: ‘Have a Meal’ Restaurant	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
4	13	9787559706522	2018-05	The Foolish and the Unhappy (With Chinese Pinyin)	Ren Rongrong	Zhejiang Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	14	9787536587694	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: I am a Pupil	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
3	15	9787544288590	2018-06	Totto-Chan: The Little Girl at the Window (2018 Edition)	Tetsuko Kuroyanagi	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	16	9787536587724	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Look at This Family	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	17	9787536587717	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: A Dog Called Rat	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	18	9787536587700	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: My Good Friend Tie Tou	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
6	19	9787533299224	2018-10	Fantastic Mr. Fox	Roald Dahl,Quentin Blake	Tomorrow Publishing House
8	20	9787532767373	2014-08	Charlotte’s web	Elwyn Brooks White	Shanghai Translation Publishing House
28	21	9787536587731	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Trouble of the New Deskmate	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	22	9787536587793	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Comedy King Comes	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	23	9787536587755	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Secrets of Nature	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
29	24	9787536587762	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: If I Have a Time Machine	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
30	25	9787536587748	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: A Lot of Fun	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	26	9787536596313	2019-12	Mi Xiaoquan’s Idioms Comic Games	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	27	9787536588110	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Undercover Deskmate	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	28	9787533274269	2013-08	Guess How Much I Love You	Sam McBratney,Anita Jeram	Tomorrow Publishing House
Not Ranked	29	9787536588103	2018-04	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: The Future Me	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	30	9787536588202	2017-11	Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Meet Mr.Cat	Bei Mao	Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House

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Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers, March 2021

July 2021 Ranking	August 2021 Ranking	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Author nationality	Chinese Publisher
1	1	9787544291170	2017-08	One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition)	Gabriel García Márquez	Colombia	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
4	2	9787544291163	2017-08	Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition)	Keigo Higashino	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
3	3	9787544766500	2017-01	To Kill a Mockingbird	Harper Lee	United States of America	Yilin Press
8	4	9787544298995	2020-09	Miracles of the Namiya General Store (2020 Edition)	Keigo Higashino	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
5	5	9787544285148	2016-10	Malice	Keigo Higashino	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
7	6	9787539983295	2015-10	Foundation	Isaac Asimov	United States of America	Jiangsu Literature & Art Press
11	7	9787544297905	2021-06	The Nameless Town	Keigo Higashino	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
17	8	9787544297059	2020-03	Love in the Time of Cholera (3 Million Sold Anniversary Edition)	Gabriel García Márquez	Colombia	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
6	9	9787544267618	2014-06	The Devotion of Suspect X	Keigo Higashino	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
13	10	9787208061644	2021-03	The Kite Runner	Khaled Hosseini	United States of America	Shanghai People’s Publishing House
10	11	9787544291224	2017-08	After School (2017 Edition)	Keigo Higashino	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
12	12	9787532175512	2020-05	13 Steps	Kazuaki Takano	Japan	Shanghai Literature & Art Press
15	13	9787544281102	2016-01	Newcomer	Keigo Higashino	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
20	14	9787540485337	2018-03	Tsubaki Stationery Store	Ito Ogawa	Japan	Hunan Literature & Art Press
16	15	9787532776771	2018-03	Norwegian Wood (30th Anniversary Edition)	Haruki Murakami	Japan	Shanghai Translation Publishing House
Not Ranked	16	9787550013247	2015-05	Ferryman	Claire McFall	Britain	Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House
2	17	9787506394864	2017-09	Sophie’s World (New Edition)	Jostein Gaarder	Norway	The Writer’s Publishing House
Not Ranked	18	9787544281331	2015-12	The Red Finger	Keigo Higashino	Japan	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
Not Ranked	19	9787530221297	2021-05	The Virtual Clown	Keigo Higashino	Japan	Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House
Not Ranked	20	9787201116693	2017-05	My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She’s Sorry	Fredrik Backman	Sweden	Tianjin People’s Publishing House

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Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers, March 2021

July 2021 Ranking	August 2021 Ranking	ISBN	Release Date	Title (Translated)	Author	Author nationality	Chinese Publisher
1	1	9787201161693	2020-08	Counselling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure	Robert de Board	Britain	Tianjin People’s Publishing House
6	2	9787111495482	2020-03	The Courage to Be Disliked	Ichiro Kishimi	Japan	China Machine Press
2	3	9787020116133	2017-06	Red Star Over China	Edgar Snow	United States of America	People’s Literature Publishing House
4	4	9787508095226	2018-09	Nonviolent Communication	Marshall B.Rosenberg	United States of America	Huaxia Publishing House
3	5	9787544276986	2019-10	Educated: A Memoir	Tara Westover	United States of America	Nan Hai Publishing Co.
11	6	9787540471194	2019-02	Relationship: Bridge to the Soul	Christoper Moon	Canada	Hunan Literature & Art Press
14	7	9787520711531	2019-11	A Compass to Fulfillment	Kazuo Inamori	Japan	Orient Press
12	8	9787508660752	2017-02	Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind	Yuval Noah Harari	Israel	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
7	9	9787540489304	2019-01	Danshari	Eiko Yamashita	Japan	Hunan Literature & Art Press
10	10	9787111635574	2019-10	The Working Methods of Kazuo Inamori	Kazuo Inamori	Japan	China Machine Press
17	11	9787220114045	2019-07	Rich Dad Poor Dad	Robert T.Kiyosaki	United States of America	Sichuan People’s Publishing House
9	12	9787547734315	2019-09	Life is Worth Living	Tsuneko Nakamura,Hiromi Okuda	Japan	Beijing daily publishing house
Not Ranked	13	9787549635573	2021-07	Talktive People Talk Like That	Moeko Ono	Japan	Wenhui Publishing House
20	14	9787115536198	2020-05	Heart: Kazuo Inamori’s Philosophy of Life	Kazuo Inamori	Japan	Posts & Telecommunications Publishing House
16	15	9787210096528	2017-09	Mindset: The New Psychology of Success	Carol S.Dweck	United States of America	Jiangxi People’s Publishing House
18	16	9787535732309	2001-11	A Brief History of Time	Stephen W.Hawking	Britain	Hunan Science & Technology Press
Not Ranked	17	9787532772322	2016-08	Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies	Jared Diamond	United States of America	Shanghai Translation Publishing House
Not Ranked	18	9787521728330	2021-03	How to Avoid a Climate Disaster: The Solutions We Have and the Breakthroughs We Need	Bill Gates	United States of America	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
Not Ranked	19	9787508684031	2017-12	Principles	Ray Dalio	United States of America	CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd
Not Ranked	20	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

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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. 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.

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, Jiang Boyan 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.

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More China bestseller reports from Publishing Perspectives are here.
More from us on the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international book publishing is here.