Zine Tseng, right, in a production still from the forthcoming Netflix adaptation of Liu Cixin’s ‘The Three-Body Problem.’ Image: Netflix, Bighead Littlehead
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
Animated and Live-Action Adaptations
Just when we thought that Liu Cixin’s Hugo Award-winning The Three-Body Problem (Chongqing Publishing House) couldn’t possibly rule China’s bestseller lists yet again, we were proved wrong in November.
The Macmillan/Tor Books cover
Not only did that first book in the three-volume series bounce to No. 1 in OpenBook’s Top 30, but its sister books from Chongqing Publishing, The Dark Forest and Death’s End, went to No. 3 and 4, respectively. Those who follow our regular China bestseller-list reports created in association with Beijing OpenBook are familiar with Liu’s 2008 work, which appeared originally in 2006 as a serialized tale in Science Fiction World. The three volumes form a trilogy with a Proustian title, “Remembrance of Earth’s Past,” but “The Three-Body Problem” has long been used by many to refer to the whole trio of books.
Ken Liu’s English translation appeared in 2016 (Macmillan/Tor Books). And you’ll notice that the eponymous first book is liveried with a design that looks a lot like a film poster.
Liu Cixin
Do you feel a tie-in coming on? Good instincts. Netflix’s live-action adaptation reportedly is in post-production to debut this year, a David Benioff (Bighead Littlehead) production with direction by Minkie Spiro and Derek Tsang and a cast that includes Jonathan Pryce, Jovan Adepo, Liam Cunningham, and Russell Yuen.
So is that what’s driving the return for the Liu books to the top of the Chinese charts? No, but another adaptation is. In that case, it’s the first television adaptation to be released, an animated production from the Shanghai-based Bilibili (sometimes called “B Site”).
The show was released in China in early December, and our associates at OpenBook say that it was the anticipation of that series that boosted sales of the three books right up the November fiction bestseller list in China.
A poster for the Chinese animated adaptation of ‘The Dark Forest,’ the second book in the Liu Cixin trilogy
A trailer for the animated production—in which have producers placed some of their focus on the trilogy’s fast-paced second—was released on November 20 and is said to have drawn more than 64 million views.
Meanwhile, our OpenBook colleagues also point to four other books, these having charted for the first time in China in November, thanks to some very specific media exposure, often on smaller screens:
- Destiny by Cai Chongda at No. 5 (Zhejiang Literature & Art Press)
- Red poppies by A Lai at No. 7 (Zhejiang Literature & Art Press)
- Lychee in Chang’an by Ma Boyong at No. 9 (Hunan Literature & Art Press)
- Cao Cao (3 volumes) by Yi Zhongtian at No. 13 (Shandong Literature & Art Press)
Yi Zhongtian, the author of the three-volume Cao Cao, leveraged an appearance on a popular Internet show we’ve encountered here before. His commentary on the live-streamed Oriental Selection Live Broadcast Room was obviously a savvy marketing move, but he’s also tapping into the Chinese readership’s love of historical pieces. The actual Cao Cao was chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, paving the way for the state of Cao Wei and becoming known popularly, if not quite accurately, as the “Emperor Wu of Wei.” Viewers of the Oriental Selection show enjoyed hearing Zhongtian’s lecture-like commentary enough to head right out and buy the book.
And there’s more. Those other three books we’ve just listed also used Oriental Selection as a springboard.
Zhongtian’s November 8 appearance on the show was followed by Cai Chongda on November 10 with a presentation of his Destiny, already an 8-year-old release. Oriental Selection lightning struck twice, judging from his debut on the charts at No. 5, right behind those “Three-Body Problem” books.
Next, a Tibetan writer known as A Lai then appeared on Oriental Selection on November 26 to plug his Red Poppies, which has been known for some time as a kind of Chinese edition of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Observers were able to watch his sales surge in real-time, OpenBook’s team tells us, as he talked on the show about the book’s evocation of Tibetan life. He cinched the No. 7 spot.
And then, on November 27, Ma Boyang, an author described as “talkative and humorous,” managed to interest his host Dong Yuhui and the audience in Lychee in Chang’an, prompting the sales that put his book into the No. 9 spot on the bestseller list.
Four books boosted in November by the show ‘Oriental Selection Live Broadcast Room.’ From left are ‘Destiny’; Red Poppies’; ‘Lychee in Chang’an’; and the three-volume ‘Cao Cao’
November Nonfiction Newcomers
‘If History were a Group of Cats: Southern Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasty’
In nonfiction, new entries on the list in November were:
- Impromptu speech by Du Ying at No.6 (China Business Publishing House)
- If History were a Group of Cats: Southern Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasty, yet another comedy-history riff by the popular Fei Zhi at No. 7 (Guangdong Tourism Publishing House)
- You Can Heal Your Life by the late American motivational speaker Louise L.Hay (1926-2017) at No. 8 (China Astronautic Publishing House)
- Chinese Communication Wisdom by Sun Yuzhong at No. 14 (China Industry and Commerce Joint Publishing)
We’re told that the annual “Double 11” promotions (for November 11) were especially effective with those historical catty books by Fei Zhi. And another newcomer to the charts, Accompany Children Through the Six Years of Primary School by Zhu Xiuting, arrived at No. 23 in an illustrated edition (Sichuan Education Press).
Coronavirus Concerns
At press time, international coverage of China’s struggle with the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic quotes some experts estimating that the country could see as many as 1 million deaths from the virus in 2023, according a Reuters report by Yew Lun Tian, Farah Master, and Emma Farge.
As Chinese scientists briefed World Health Organization officials on Tuesday, it was unclear how the crisis may be impacting bookselling points of sale, particularly with the approach of the Lunar New Year complicating the outlook for retail.
A Bloomberg News report describes creamtoria being overwhelmed, one facility citing receipt of more than 500 bodies on a single day on which it would normally have received roughly 100. “While nobody knows the true extent of fatalities,” the report reads, “it’s clear [that] funeral homes in major cities are already at capacity–and some experts warn that the worst is yet to come.”
Kathryn Armstrong reports for the BBC, “China’s last daily COVID update, on December 24, reported fewer than 5,000 cases, but some analysts claim the daily caseload is already over 2 million, and could peak at almost 4 million this month.”
Today (January 4), Lily Kuo at the Washington Post reports, “Nearly a dozen countries have imposed entry restrictions on travelers arriving from China as it battles a surge in COVID infections that has raised alarms about the emergence of new variants and concerns about Beijing’s disclosure of information on the outbreak.”
Below, then, are OpenBook’s overall lists from November 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, November 2022
| October 2022 Ranking | November 2022 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 4 | 1 | 9787536692930 | 2008-01 | The Three-Body Problem | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 1 | 2 | 9787020139590 | 2019-06 | The Last Quarter of the Moon | Chi Zijian | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 9 | 3 | 9787536693968 | 2008-05 | The Dark Forest | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 7 | 4 | 9787229030933 | 2010-11 | Death’s End | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 5 | 9787533969608 | 2022-09 | Destiny | Cai Chongda | Zhejiang Literature & Art Press |
| 2 | 6 | 9787530221532 | 2021-10 | To Live (2021 Edition) | Yu hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 7 | 9787533960919 | 2020-09 | Red poppies | A Lai | Zhejiang Literature & Art Press |
| 3 | 8 | 9787506331746 | 2005-05 | Distant Savior | Dou Dou | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 9 | 9787572608582 | 2022-10 | Lychee in Chang’an | Ma Boyong | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 8 | 10 | 9787544291170 | 2017-08 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 6 | 11 | 9787540487645 | 2018-06 | Moments We Shared | Zhang Jiajia | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 14 | 12 | 9787530221396 | 2021-06 | Ordinary Word (3 Volumes) (2021 Edition) | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 13 | 9787532966363 | 2022-11 | Cao Cao (3 volumes) | Yi Zhongtian | Shandong Literature & Art Press |
| 16 | 14 | 9787020167098 | 2021-07 | Annees | Anne Ernaux | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 5 | 15 | 9787513349437 | 2022-08 | In The Beginning · Year | Wang Shuo | New Star Press Co.Ltd |
| 11 | 16 | 9787530219218 | 2019-02 | A Wavy Life | Mai Jia | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 18 | 17 | 9787020008735 | 1998-07 | Journey to the West | Wu Cheng’en | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 13 | 18 | 9787533966102 | 2021-12 | Life and Death are Wearing Me Out | Mo Yan | Zhejiang Literature & Art Press |
| 17 | 19 | 9787020002207 | 1998-07 | Dream of the Red Chamber | Cao Xueqin | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 12 | 20 | 9787500601593 | 2005-08 | Red Crag | Luo Guangbin, Yang Yiyan | China Youth Press |
| 10 | 21 | 9787544766500 | 2017-01 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | Yilin Press |
| Not Ranked | 22 | 9787020008728 | 1998-07 | Romance of the Three Kingdoms | Luo Guanzhong | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 23 | 9787020008742 | 1998-07 | Water Margin | Shi Nai’an, Luo Guanzhong | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 24 | 9787544291163 | 2017-08 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Keigo Higashino | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 25 | 9787536097261 | 2022-07 | Someone to Talk To | Liu Zhenyun | Flower City Press |
| 15 | 26 | 9787506368698 | 2013-06 | The World Under the Sky | Dou Dou | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 21 | 27 | 9787530217962 | 2018-05 | Cries in the Drizzle | Yu hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 24 | 28 | 9787513331418 | 2018-08 | The Seventh Day | Yu hua | New Star Press Co.Ltd |
| 25 | 29 | 9787505738478 | 2016-10 | A Madman’s Diary | Lu Xun | China Friendship Publishing Company |
| 19 | 30 | 9787572602825 | 2021-08 | Always Have, Always Will | Zhang Jiajia | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
OpenBook’s Nonfiction Bestsellers, November 2022
| October 2022 Ranking | November 2022 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787559664464 | 2022-10 | Wish You Love Yourself Too | Fang Qi | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 14 | 2 | 9787547265727 | 2020-02 | Impromptu Speeches | He Liu | Jilin Literature & History Press |
| 2 | 3 | 9787563940615 | 2014-10 | Accompany Children Through The Six Years Of Primary School | Chai Yibing | Beijing University of Technology Press |
| 4 | 4 | 9787111495482 | 2015-04 | The Courage to Be Disliked | Ichiro Kishimi | China Machine Press |
| 3 | 5 | 9787561346259 | 2009-05 | Yi Ching is Really to Understand | Zeng Shiqiang | Shaanxi Normal University Press |
| Not Ranked | 6 | 9787520816199 | 2021-08 | Impromptu speech | Du Ying | China Business Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 7 | 9787557028657 | 2022-10 | If History were a Group of Cats: Southern Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasty | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 8 | 9787801445445 | 2003-04 | You Can Heal Your Life | Louise L.Hay | China Astronautic Publishing House |
| 6 | 9 | 9787201161693 | 2020-08 | Counselling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure | Robert de Board | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 10 | 10 | 9787571315252 | 2021-01 | Take Care of Children’s Spleen and Stomach | Li Aike | Jiangsu Science & Technology Press |
| Not Ranked | 11 | 9787201088945 | 2014-12 | No More Than Skins | Cai Chongda | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 7 | 12 | 9787555262800 | 2017-12 | The Power of Insensitivity | Junichi Watanabe | Qingdao Publishing House |
| 8 | 13 | 9787222204331 | 2021-11 | Details of Law | Luo Xiang | Yunnan People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 14 | 9787515830292 | 2022-01 | Chinese Communication Wisdom | Sun Yuzhong | China Industry and Commerce Joint Publishing Co. Ltd |
| 19 | 15 | 9787521746709 | 2022-09 | Reunion | Sun Yue | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 17 | 16 | 9787208171336 | 2021-08 | In the Affair: Chinese Government and Economic Development | Lan Xiaohuan | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 18 | 17 | 9787559313652 | 2017-09 | If History were a Group of Cats: Xia, Shang and Western Zhou Dynasty | Fei Zhi | Heilongjiang Fine Arts Press |
| 21 | 18 | 9787559330260 | 2018-06 | If History were a Group of Cats: The Spring-autumn and Warring State Period | Fei Zhi | Heilongjiang Fine Arts Press |
| 11 | 19 | 9787521733679 | 2021-09 | The Most Tender Upbringing: Be a Gentle but Steadfast Parent | Oh Eun-young | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 13 | 20 | 9787521603774 | 2019-08 | The Faith as Premise of Freedom | Luo Xiang | China Legal Publishing House |
| 16 | 21 | 9787557027063 | 2022-04 | If History were a Group of Cats: Song, Liao, Jin Dynasty and the Western Xia Regime | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| 27 | 22 | 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 | 23 | 9787540883690 | 2022-11 | Accompany Children Through The Six Years Of Primary School | Zhu Xiuting | Sichuan Education Press |
| 22 | 24 | 9787557025847 | 2021-11 | If History were a Group of Cats: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 25 | 9787557020149 | 2019-09 | If History were a Group of Cats: Three Kingdoms | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| 29 | 26 | 9787557024413 | 2021-05 | If History were a Group of Cats: Prosperity of the Tang Dynasty | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 27 | 9787520813624 | 2021-06 | Parents’ Language | Li Yun | China Business Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 28 | 9787557020132 | 2019-09 | If History were a Group of Cats: The End of Eastern Han Dynasty | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| 15 | 29 | 9787508653389 | 2015-07 | The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War Ⅱ | Iris Chang | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| Not Ranked | 30 | 9787557023041 | 2020-10 | If History were a Group of Cats: Sui and Tang Dynasty | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
OpenBook’s Children’s Bestsellers, November 2022
| October 2022 Ranking | November 2022 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787218146768 | 2022-09 | Manga Elementary School Student Psychology | Han Tu | Guangdong People’s Publishing House |
| 21 | 2 | 9787559621337 | 2019-04 | Butt Detective: Detective and the Fraud | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 24 | 3 | 9787550286122 | 2016-11 | Butt Detective: Disappeared Popular Dessert | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 25 | 4 | 9787550286214 | 2016-11 | Butt Detective: The Missing Lunch Box | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 28 | 5 | 9787550286085 | 2016-11 | Butt Detective: The Big Crisis of Small Director | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 23 | 6 | 9787559608390 | 2018-01 | Butt Detective: The Criminal Appears | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 5 | 7 | 9787570711888 | 2021-12 | Ultraman Series Photo Book for 55th Anniversary | Tsuburaya Productions | Anhui Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| 26 | 8 | 9787550286238 | 2016-11 | Butt Detective: Look for the Rainbow Diamond | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 9 | 9787511052568 | 2020-08 | Butt Detective: Snow Monster in Deep Mountain | Troll | Dolphin Press |
| 2 | 10 | 9787573110930 | 2022-04 | Psychology in Cartoon for Kids (5 volumes) | Bai Mingyan | Jilin Publishing Group Co., Ltd. |
| 3 | 11 | 9787110103074 | 2022-02 | Science Comics Loved by Pupils (4 volumes) | Sunbook | Popular Science Press |
| Not Ranked | 12 | 9787548047698 | 2016-11 | Sun Tzu’s Art of War | Sun Wu | Jiangxi Fine Arts Press |
| 11 | 13 | 9787566714398 | 2018-09 | Chinese Classic Stories (20 volumes) | Cai Xiaobai | Hunan University Press |
| 10 | 14 | 9787566714350 | 2018-09 | World Classic Fairy Tales (20 volumes) | Cai Xiaobai | Hunan University Press |
| 4 | 15 | 9787533274269 | 2013-08 | Guess How Much I Love You | Sam McBratney, Anita Jeram | Tomorrow Publishing House |
| 9 | 16 | 9787536587694 | 2018-04 | Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: I am a Pupil | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| 12 | 17 | 9787536587724 | 2018-04 | Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Look at This Family | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| 15 | 18 | 9787536587717 | 2018-04 | Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: A Dog Called Rat | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| 16 | 19 | 9787536587700 | 2018-04 | Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: My Good Friend Tie Tou | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787115545824 | 2020-10 | Lamb Going Up the Mountain: Chinese Graded Reader (Lv.1)(10 volumes) | Children’s Fun Publishing Co., Ltd, Sun Bei | Posts & Telecommunications Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 21 | 9787556864454 | 2022-04 | Treasure Hunting in Inner Mongolia | Jingding Comic | 21st Century Press Group |
| Not Ranked | 22 | 9787513936668 | 2021-11 | First Introduction to Law for Children | Cao Zhaopeng | Democracy and Construction Press |
| Not Ranked | 23 | 9787536587731 | 2018-04 | Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Trouble of the New Deskmate | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 24 | 9787536587762 | 2018-04 | Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: If I Have a Time Machine | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 25 | 9787536587755 | 2018-04 | Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: Secrets of Nature | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 26 | 9787536587748 | 2018-04 | Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: A Lot of Fun | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 27 | 9787556855339 | 2021-08 | Treasure Hunting in Heilongjiang | Jingding Comic | 21st Century Press Group |
| 22 | 28 | 9787533264062 | 2010-12 | Let’s Get Mung Beans, Momma! | Zeng Yangqing, Wan Huaguo | Tomorrow Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 29 | 9787115545831 | 2020-10 | Lamb Going Up the Mountain: Chinese Graded Reader (Lv.2) (10 volumes) | Children’s Fun Publishing Co., Ltd, Sun Bei | Posts & Telecommunications Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 30 | 9787556834549 | 2018-04 | Treasure Hunting in Beijing | Sun Jiayu, Wu Chengqi | 21st Century Press Group |
Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers, November 2022
| October 2022 Ranking | November 2022 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. |
| 3 | 2 | 9787020167098 | 2021-07 | Annees | Anne Ernaux | France | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 2 | 3 | 9787544766500 | 2017-01 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | United States of America | Yilin Press |
| 6 | 4 | 9787544291163 | 2017-08 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Keigo Higashino | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 5 | 5 | 9787208061644 | 2006-04 | The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | United States of America | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 4 | 6 | 9787530217054 | 2017-12 | The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | Brazil | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 9 | 7 | 9787544297059 | 2020-03 | Love in the Time of Cholera (3 Million Sold Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 10 | 8 | 9787201112695 | 2017-03 | Siddhartha | Hermann Hesse | Germany | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 8 | 9 | 9787532175512 | 2020-05 | 13 Steps | Kazuaki Takano | Japan | Shanghai Literature & Art Press |
| 14 | 10 | 9787506394864 | 2017-09 | Sophie’s World (New Edition) | Jostein Gaarder | Norway | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 16 | 11 | 9787544269452 | 2021-11 | Malice (2022 Edition) | Keigo Higashino | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 12 | 9787532761760 | 2013-08 | The Outsider | Albert Camus | France | Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
| 11 | 13 | 9787559614711 | 2018-01 | Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit | Jeanette Winterson | Britain | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 12 | 14 | 9787544298995 | 2020-09 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store (2020 Edition) | Keigo Higashino | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 7 | 15 | 9787540485337 | 2018-03 | Tsubaki Stationery Store | Ito Ogawa | Japan | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 16 | 9787532776771 | 2018-03 | Norwegian Wood | Haruki Murakami | Japan | Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
| 19 | 17 | 9787533936020 | 2017-02 | The Moon and Sixpence | William Somerset Maugham | Britain | Zhejiang Literature & Art Press |
| 15 | 18 | 9787559641182 | 2020-07 | Scream | Aki Hamanaka | Japan | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 19 | 9787544291224 | 2017-08 | After School (2017 Edition) | Keigo Higashino | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787539983295 | 2015-10 | Foundation (Revised Edition) | Isaac Asimov | United States of America | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers, November 2022
| October 2022 Ranking | November 2022 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787111495482 | 2015-04 | The Courage to Be Disliked | Ichiro Kishimi | Japan | China Machine Press |
| 9 | 2 | 9787801445445 | 2003-04 | You Can Heal Your Life | Louise L.Hay | United States of America | China Astronautic Publishing House |
| 2 | 3 | 9787201161693 | 2020-08 | Counselling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure | Robert de Board | Britain | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 3 | 4 | 9787555262800 | 2017-12 | The Power of Insensitivity | Junichi Watanabe | Japan | Qingdao Publishing House |
| 4 | 5 | 9787521733679 | 2021-09 | The Most Tender Upbringing: Be a Gentle but Steadfast Parent | Oh Eun-young | Korea | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 5 | 6 | 9787508653389 | 2015-07 | The Rape of Nanking: The Forgotten Holocaust of World War Ⅱ | Iris Chang | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 14 | 7 | 9787515902241 | 2012-07 | Letters to Louise: The Answers are Within You | Louise L.Hay | United States of America | China Astronautic Publishing House |
| 7 | 8 | 9787544276986 | 2019-10 | Educated: A Memoir | Tara Westover | United States of America | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 12 | 9 | 9787522200514 | 2021-05 | Nonviolent Communication | Marshall B.Rosenberg | United States of America | Huaxia Publishing House |
| 10 | 10 | 9787505737488 | 2016-12 | What Life Should Mean to You | Alfred Adler | Austria | China Friendship Publishing Company |
| 8 | 11 | 9787550268517 | 2016-07 | Positive Discipline | Jane Nelsen | United States of America | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 12 | 9787521736816 | 2022-01 | Guns, Germs, and Steel | Jared Diamond | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 18 | 13 | 9787505745681 | 2018-12 | The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind | Gustave Le Bon | France | China Friendship Publishing Company |
| 6 | 14 | 9787520711531 | 2019-11 | A Compass to Fulfillment | Kazuo Inamori | Japan | Orient Press |
| 13 | 15 | 9787521741124 | 2022-04 | The Almanack of Naval Ravikant: A Guide to Wealth and Happiness | Eric Jorgenson | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| Not Ranked | 16 | 9787108041531 | 2013-01 | Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China | Ezra Feivel Vogel | United States of America | SDX Joint Publishing Company |
| 11 | 17 | 9787111551287 | 2016-10 | Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise | Anders Ericsson, Robert Pool | United States of America | China Machine Press |
| 17 | 18 | 9787511714152 | 2012-08 | How to Talk so Teens will Listen and Listen so Teens will Talk | Adele Faber, Elaine Mazlish | United States of America | Central Compilation & Translation Press |
| Not Ranked | 19 | 9787512714922 | 2017-09 | The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind | Gustave Le Bon | France | China Women’s Publishing House |
| 19 | 20 | 9787521719253 | 2020-08 | The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read (and Your Children Will Be Glad That You Did) | Philippa Perry | Britain | 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.
Jiang Boyan LLC advises authors and right’s holders on global intellectual property and investment opportunities.As of October 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.
More China bestseller reports from Publishing Perspectives are here, and more on the Chinese book publishing market is here. More from us on the coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on international book publishing, which factors into this coverage, is here.