A still from a scene involving scientific debate and generational distance, from ‘Three-Body,’ the Chinese television series adaptation of Liu Cixin’s ‘Remembrance of Earth Past,’ season 1, now streaming on Amazon Prime. Image: Tencent Video, CCTV, Linghe Cultural Media
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
‘Three-Body’ Now Streaming on Prime
Regular readers of our exclusive China Bestsellers lists each month will recall that a year ago, in January and February 2023, we discussed the “three-adaptation problem” that Liu Cixin’s Hugo Award-winning The Three-Body Problem (Chongqing Publishing House) was encountering, in November standing at No. 9 on the fiction bestseller list.
In early 2023, an animated adaptation already had been released and was gaining traction in China.- We also were also aware of a live-action English-language series adaptation. That one now is scheduled to be released by Netflix with Bighead Littlehead, reportedly on March 21. Minkie Spiro and Derek Tsang are directing and showrunners David Benioff and DB Weiss are in charge.
- The third adaptation, a Chinese live-action television series, began streaming on Amazon Prime on December 12. And its arrival on the streaming platform is working as a preparation for the Netflix release coming in March.
Though named for the first of the three books, the trilogy itself is titled Remembrance of Earth Past, you’ll remember.
This series has 30 episodes in its first season—a huge number by Western standards. Standouts in the cast include Luyi Zhang, Junning Zhang, Jin Chen, Ziwen Wang, Xiaoran Li, and Chang Weisi, directed by Yang Lei and Vincent Yang.
Without any spoilers, we can tell you that watching this program, which is spoken in Chinese with English subtitles, is a study in itself. The insights it carries into mainland culture, daily life, social interaction, stock characters, and even show-craft are benefits, themselves.
Many will find the pacing extremely slow. Flashbacks with forceful elements of the Cultural Revolution in the backdrop at times take up multiple episodes, no mystery is resolved quickly. VR gaming sequences—also performed at length—can seem jarring against the production’s basic live action. And yet even this element of the comparatively leisurely pace the production allows itself can be instructive, a counterpoint to the breakneck speed of so much Western visual storytelling.
The use of contemporary music in titles at the beginning and end of each episode (sung in English), like the references to ecological issues and scientific efficacy, create a through-line of melodramatic suspense that’s consistent. Even if at times it seems heavy, it’s clearly expressed in the values of a contemporary Chinese production context.
If anything, many viewers and readers will be glad that this interpretation of Liu’s material has arrived through Western streaming before the Netflix edition is introduced, as a way of getting a look at how Liu’s Chinese readership “sees” his story and its philosophical content.
A scene from ‘Three-Body,’ the Chinese television series adaptation of Liu Cixin’s ‘Remembrance of Earth Past,’ season 1, now streaming on Amazon Prime. Image: Tencent Video, CCTV, Linghe Cultural Media
November’s Charts
‘The Space-Time Painter’
Looking at November with the help of our associates at Beijing OpenBook, we’ll stick with science-fiction, as one of the new entries on the fiction list is Hai Ya’s The Space-Time Painter, a story included in editor Yang Feng’s anthology, Galaxy’s Edge, from New Star Press.
Ya became the third Chinese winner of the Hugo Award after Liu and Hao Jingfang. As such, the inclusion of his work in the anthology is what drove sales of the collection to bring it onto the chart at No. 26, after a release in May 2022.
Look just above Ya’s The Space-Time Painter, at No. 25, and you’ll see Journey Under the Midnight Sun in a 2017 edition from Nan Hai Publishing by Keigo Higashino, a Japanese author who can safely be called wildly popular with the Chinese readership.
‘Journey Under the Midnight Sun’
This one is no stranger to the bestseller list, in fact, having been seen there many times—not unlike so many other Higashino titles.
For those unfamiliar with Higashino’s popularity in China, check our fiction list below featuring non-Chinese authors: in addition to Journey Under the Midnight Sun, you’ll find three more Higashino bestsellers on that chart.
November’s annual “Double 11” shopping campaign saw several books, including Liu Zhenyun’s Someone To Talk To make strong gains in sales, year over year, along with Yu Hua’s Only the River Flows—which we discussed in our October bestsellers analysis as a 35-year-old book being driven to new heights by a new film adaptation.
And in nonfiction, look for the new level of attention being given to topics in Chinese medicine, partly a response to the lasting impact of COVID-19.
‘Dietary Therapy for Common Disease’
“On one hand,” we read in the observations of our associates, “the public has further realized the role of Chinese medicine during the pandemic period, which has generated more attention.
“On the other hand, in recent years, China has put forward new policy guidance for the inheritance and innovation of traditional Chinese medicine, which has promoted the development of books in the field of traditional medicine.”
In November, the fifth slot on the nonfiction list was claimed by Han Shengwang’s Dietary Therapy For Common Disease from Chinese Medicine Classics Publishing House, based on traditional Chinese medicine knowledge from the perspective of food therapy. The concentration here is on the essence of health in Chinese medicine, and proposals for different food therapy programs for various readers and conditions.
Below, then, are OpenBook’s overall lists from November 2023 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.
A scene from ‘Three-Body,’ the Chinese television series adaptation of Liu Cixin’s ‘Remembrance of Earth Past,’ season 1, now streaming on Amazon Prime. Image: Tencent Video, CCTV, Linghe Cultural Media
OpenBook’s Fiction Bestsellers, November 2023
| October 2023 Ranking | November 2023 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787020139590 | 2019-06 | The Last Quarter of the Moon | Chi Zijian | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 2 | 2 | 9787530221532 | 2021-10 | To Live (2021 Edition) | Yu hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 3 | 3 | 9787572608582 | 2022-10 | The Litchi Road | Ma Boyong | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 8 | 4 | 9787536097261 | 2022-07 | Someone to Talk To | Liu Zhenyun | Flower City Press |
| 4 | 5 | 9787513348744 | 2022-11 | The Seventh Day | Yu hua | New Star Press Co., Ltd. |
| 5 | 6 | 9787201141527 | 2018-10 | Strait is the Gate | Andre Gide | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 7 | 7 | 9787544291170 | 2017-08 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 10 | 8 | 9787572610912 | 2023-05 | The Annoyance of the Gods | Ma Boyong | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 11 | 9 | 9787536692930 | 2008-01 | The Three-Body Problem | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 13 | 10 | 9787536693968 | 2008-05 | The Dark Forest | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 14 | 11 | 9787229030933 | 2010-11 | Death’s End | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 9 | 12 | 9787500601593 | 2005-08 | Red Crag | Luo Guangbin, Yang Yiyan | China Youth Press |
| 6 | 13 | 9787540487645 | 2018-06 | Moments We Shared | Zhang Jiajia | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 12 | 14 | 9787530221396 | 2021-06 | Ordinary Word (3 Volumes) (2021 Edition) | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 22 | 15 | 9787530216033 | 2017-09 | Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (2017 Edition) | Yu hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 16 | 16 | 9787530222454 | 2023-06 | Cries in the drizzle | Yu hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 15 | 17 | 9787544766500 | 2017-01 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | Yilin Press |
| 19 | 18 | 9787506331746 | 2005-05 | Distant Savior | Dou Dou | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 27 | 19 | 9787538772166 | 2023-06 | Only The River Flows | Yu hua | Time Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 17 | 20 | 9787201112695 | 2017-03 | Siddhartha | Hermann Hesse | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 20 | 21 | 9787020178063 | 2023-04 | Notes on Principles | Shi Tiesheng | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 23 | 22 | 9787533966102 | 2021-12 | Life and Death are Wearing Me Out | Mo Yan | Zhejiang Literature & Art Press |
| 25 | 23 | 9787530221525 | 2021-07 | The Wavy Water | Yan Zhen | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 21 | 24 | 9787020008735 | 1998-07 | Journey to the West | Wu Cheng’en | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 25 | 9787544291163 | 2017-08 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Keigo Higashino | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 26 | 9787513348621 | 2022-05 | The Space-Time Painter | Yang Feng | New Star Press Co., Ltd. |
| 26 | 27 | 9787530222324 | 2022-07 | Brothers (2022 Edition) | Yu hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 18 | 28 | 9787020002207 | 1998-07 | Dream of the Red Chamber | Cao Xueqin | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 29 | 29 | 9787530221099 | 2021-02 | Wencheng | Yu hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 28 | 30 | 9787208061644 | 2006-04 | The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
OpenBook’s Nonfiction Bestsellers, November 2023
| October 2023 Ranking | November 2023 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787020084357 | 2011-04 | I and the Temple of Earth | Shi Tiesheng | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 9 | 2 | 9787521754803 | 2023-03 | Believe | Cai Lei | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 3 | 9787569931921 | 2019-12 | Read Minds | Lv Chen | Bejing Times Chinese Press |
| Not Ranked | 4 | 9787557031589 | 2023-11 | If History were a Group of Cats: The Ming Dynasty | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 5 | 9787515224213 | 2023-10 | Dietary Therapy For Common Disease | Han Shengwang | Chinese Medicine Classics Publishing House |
| 4 | 6 | 9787557695712 | 2022-01 | Child psychology | Liao Wei | Tianjin Science & Technology Press |
| 3 | 7 | 9787557019167 | 2019-10 | Classic Quotes From Zeng Shiqiang | Luo Fu Shan Guo Xue Yuan | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 8 | 9787121456091 | 2023-07 | 7-Second Deal: The Master Signing Is Special | Ni Jianwei | Publishing House of Electronics Industry |
| 2 | 9 | 9787522521503 | 2023-10 | Master Control: Palace-Level Wisdom in Chinese History | Bai Yu | Jiuzhou Press |
| 10 | 10 | 9787201161693 | 2020-08 | Counselling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure | Robert de Board | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 11 | 9787545144277 | 2018-08 | The Art Of Speaking | Wang Di | Liaohai Press |
| 15 | 12 | 9787557030162 | 2023-05 | If History were a Group of Cats: Late Yuan and Early Ming Dynasty | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| 11 | 13 | 9787521758399 | 2023-09 | Elon Musk | Walter Isaacson | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd. |
| 8 | 14 | 9787111495482 | 2015-04 | The Courage to Be Disliked | Ichiro Kishimi | China Machine Press |
| 13 | 15 | 9787540483432 | 2017-11 | Jottings in Sickbed (Commemorative Edition 2021) | Shi Tiesheng | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 24 | 16 | 9787557028657 | 2022-10 | If History were a Group of Cats: Southern Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasty | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 17 | 9787557024413 | 2021-05 | If History were a Group of Cats: Prosperity of the Tang Dynasty | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| 20 | 18 | 9787559435224 | 2019-04 | The Book of Answers | Wei En | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 23 | 19 | 9787513942928 | 2023-10 | Flexible: A Lifetime Learning | Wen Yuan | Democracy and Construction Press |
| 6 | 20 | 9787511065315 | 2023-09 | Parents’ Language Guide (2 volumes) | Shiguangxue Educational Research Center | Dolphin Press |
| Not Ranked | 21 | 9787557020149 | 2019-09 | If History were a Group of Cats: Three Kingdoms | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| 30 | 22 | 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 |
| Not Ranked | 23 | 9787557020132 | 2019-09 | If History were a Group of Cats: The End of Eastern Han Dynasty | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 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 | 9787557023041 | 2020-10 | If History were a Group of Cats: Sui and Tang Dynasty | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 26 | 9787557021856 | 2020-05 | If History were a Group of Cats: Wei, Jin and the Northern and Southern Dynasties | Fei Zhi | Guangdong Tourism Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 27 | 9787550268517 | 2016-07 | Positive Discipline (Revised Edition) | Jane Nelsen | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 21 | 28 | 9787115543424 | 2020-09 | Cognitive Awakening: The Driving Force Behind Self-Change | Zhou Ling | Posts & Telecommunications Publishing House |
| 18 | 29 | 9787020135639 | 2018-03 | I and the Temple of Earth | Shi Tiesheng | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 12 | 30 | 9787571315252 | 2021-01 | Take Care of Children’s Spleen and Stomach | Li Aike | Jiangsu Science & Technology Press |
OpenBook’s Children’s Bestsellers, November 2023
| October 2023 Ranking | November 2023 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787218169095 | 2023-09 | Su Shu (2 volumes) | Huang Shigong, Han Tu | Guangdong People’s Publishing House |
| 4 | 2 | 9787549288861 | 2023-08 | Good Night Baby: Classic Early Childhood Reading (40 volumes) | Wen Zhi | Chang Jiang Press |
| Not Ranked | 3 | 9787554712351 | 2023-11 | Win In Upbringing: Learn Manners From Comics | Shi Dongmei | Tianjin Yangliuqing Fine Arts Press |
| Not Ranked | 4 | 9787548093398 | 2023-05 | Taopishu Mouse Growth Series Picture Books (40 volumes) | Xiao Ling Ding Dang, Xie Mingyi | Jiangxi Fine Arts Press |
| Not Ranked | 5 | 9787550051942 | 2023-08 | Children’s Manga Psychology (4 volumes) | Shiguangxue Educational Research Center | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 13 | 6 | 9787511065810 | 2023-10 | Children Must Memorize 144 Ancient Poems For Enlightenment | Shiguangxue Educational Research Center | Dolphin Press |
| Not Ranked | 7 | 9787516535332 | 2023-11 | Comic Book Teenager Reads Rockefeller’s Family Letter (6 volumes) | QINGLAN TUSHU | Aeronautics Industry Press |
| 11 | 8 | 9787532767373 | 2014-08 | Charlotte’s Web | Elwyn Brooks White | Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 9 | 9787518091287 | 2023-09 | Girl, You Need to Know How to Protect Yourself (4 volumes) | Wang Haoze | China Textile Press |
| 2 | 10 | 9787533274269 | 2013-08 | Guess How Much I Love You | Sam McBratney, Anita Jeram | Tomorrow Publishing House |
| 20 | 11 | 9787559706522 | 2018-05 | The Foolish and the Unhappy (With Chinese Pinyin) | Ren Rongrong | Zhejiang Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| 3 | 12 | 9787533299224 | 2018-10 | Fantastic Mr. Fox | Roald Dahl, Quentin Blake | Tomorrow Publishing House |
| 9 | 13 | 9787559015266 | 2017-06 | Friendship, to be Rented (with Chinese Pinyin) | Fang Suzhen, Hao Luowen | Xinjiang Children and Youth Publishing House |
| 24 | 14 | 9787559621337 | 2019-04 | Butt Detective: Detective and the Fraud | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 19 | 15 | 9787533264062 | 2010-12 | Let’s Get Mung Beans, Momma! | Zeng Yangqing, Wan Huaguo | Tomorrow Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 16 | 9787511066244 | 2023-11 | 38 Letters from Rockefeller to His Son (Comic Version) | Xiong Ba Lao Hei | Dolphin Press |
| Not Ranked | 17 | 9787550286085 | 2016-11 | Butt Detective: Big Crisis of Small Director | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 23 | 18 | 9787536574366 | 2016-01 | Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Stratego | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 19 | 9787550286238 | 2016-11 | Butt Detective: Looking for the Rainbow Diamond | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787550286122 | 2016-11 | Butt Detective: Disappeared Popular Dessert | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 21 | 9787550286214 | 2016-11 | Butt Detective: The Missing Lunch Box | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 22 | 9787559608390 | 2018-01 | Butt Detective: The Criminal Appears | Troll | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 5 | 23 | 9787516835708 | 2023-08 | This Is The Psychological Self-Help Book That Children Love | Li Shaocong | Taihai Publishing House |
| 25 | 24 | 9787536574397 | 2016-01 | Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Clever Little Prodigy | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| 27 | 25 | 9787536574380 | 2016-01 | Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: Who’s the Smart Guy? | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 26 | 9787530761243 | 2014-11 | Dear Mr. Henshaw | Beverly Cleary | New Buds Publishing House |
| 28 | 27 | 9787536574373 | 2016-01 | Mi Xiaoquan’s Brain-teaser: The Great Adventure of the Castle | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| 12 | 28 | 9787536587694 | 2018-04 | Mi Xiaoquan School Experience: I am a Pupil | Bei Mao | Sichuan Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House |
| 18 | 29 | 9787115545824 | 2020-10 | Lamb Going Up the Mountain: Chinese Graded Reader (Lv.1)(10 volumes) | Sun Bei | Posts & Telecommunications Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 30 | 9787511052568 | 2020-08 | Butt Detective: Snow Monster in Deep Mountain | Troll | Dolphin Press |
Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers, November 2023
| October 2023 Ranking | November 2023 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787201141527 | 2018-10 | Strait is the Gate | Andre Gide | France | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 2 | 2 | 9787544291170 | 2017-08 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 3 | 3 | 9787544766500 | 2017-01 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | United States of America | Yilin Press |
| 4 | 4 | 9787201112695 | 2017-03 | Siddhartha | Hermann Hesse | Germany | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 6 | 5 | 9787544291163 | 2017-08 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Keigo Higashino | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 5 | 6 | 9787208061644 | 2006-04 | The Kite Runner | Khaled Hosseini | United States of America | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 9 | 7 | 9787544269452 | 2021-12 | Malice (2022 Edition) | Keigo Higashino | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 7 | 8 | 9787521200836 | 2018-08 | Thiaoouba Prophecy | Michael Desmarquet | Australia | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 8 | 9 | 9787521748239 | 2022-12 | Goodbye, Eri | Tatsuki Fujimoto | Japan | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd. |
| 13 | 10 | 9787544297059 | 2020-03 | Love in the Time of Cholera (3 Million Sold Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 12 | 11 | 9787544298995 | 2020-09 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store (2020 Edition) | Keigo Higashino | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 10 | 12 | 9787544296274 | 2019-09 | Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse | Otsuichi | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 18 | 13 | 9787532776771 | 2018-03 | Norwegian Wood | Haruki Murakami | Japan | Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
| 19 | 14 | 9787544766500 | 2017-01 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | United States of America | Yilin Press |
| 11 | 15 | 9787559614711 | 2018-01 | Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit | Jeanette Winterson | Britain | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 20 | 16 | 9787513348362 | 2022-08 | Look Back | Tatsuki Fujimoto | Japan | New Star Press Co., Ltd. |
| 17 | 17 | 9787532175512 | 2020-05 | 13 Steps | Kazuaki Takano | Japan | Shanghai Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 18 | 9787555913726 | 2022-08 | Flowers for Algernon | Daniel Keyes | United States of America | Henan Literature & Art Press |
| 16 | 19 | 9787530217054 | 2017-12 | The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | Brazil | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 14 | 20 | 9787573503053 | 2023-02 | Swans and Bats | Keigo Higashino | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers, November 2023
| October 2023 Ranking | November 2023 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 3 | 1 | 9787201161693 | 2020-08 | Counselling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure | Robert de Board | Britain | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 4 | 2 | 9787521758399 | 2023-09 | Elon Musk | Walter Isaacson | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd. |
| 2 | 3 | 9787111495482 | 2015-04 | The Courage to Be Disliked | Ichiro Kishimi | Japan | China Machine Press |
| 6 | 4 | 9787550268517 | 2016-07 | Positive Discipline (Revised Edition) | Jane Nelsen | United States of America | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 5 | 5 | 9787555262800 | 2017-12 | The Power of Insensitivity | Junichi Watanabe | Japan | Qingdao Publishing House |
| 11 | 6 | 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. |
| 9 | 7 | 9787544276986 | 2019-10 | Educated: A Memoir | Tara Westover | United States of America | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 12 | 8 | 9787111551287 | 2016-10 | Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise | Anders Ericsson, Robert Pool | United States of America | China Machine Press |
| 13 | 9 | 9787522200514 | 2021-05 | Nonviolent Communication | Marshall B.Rosenberg | United States of America | Huaxia Publishing House |
| 15 | 10 | 9787552029185 | 2020-04 | The Awakened Family: How to Raise Empowered, Resilient, and Conscious Children | Shefali Tsabary | United States of America | Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences Press |
| 7 | 11 | 9787801445445 | 2003-04 | You Can Heal Your Life | Louise L.Hay | United States of America | China Astronautic Publishing House |
| 1 | 12 | 9787513934053 | 2021-04 | Financial freedom | Grant Sabatier | United States of America | Democracy and Construction Press |
| 18 | 13 | 9787508090191 | 2016-12 | Apology | Plato | Ancient Greece | Huaxia Publishing House |
| 10 | 14 | 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. |
| Not Ranked | 15 | 9787220126437 | 2022-08 | Somewhere Towards the End | Diana Athill | Britain | Sichuan People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 16 | 9787521753059 | 2023-04 | The next days | Kevin Kelly | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd. |
| 14 | 17 | 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. |
| Not Ranked | 18 | 9787521736816 | 2022-01 | Guns, Germs, and Steel | Jared Diamond | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd. |
| 16 | 19 | 9787520711531 | 2019-11 | A Compass to Fulfillment | Kazuo Inamori | Japan | Orient Press |
| 17 | 20 | 9787521733679 | 2021-09 | The Most Tender Upbringing: Be a Gentle but Steadfast Parent | Oh Eun-young | Korea | CITIC Publishing House Co., Ltd. |
A scene from ‘Three-Body,’ the Chinese television series adaptation of Liu Cixin’s ‘Remembrance of Earth Past,’ season 1, now streaming on Amazon Prime. Image: Tencent Video, CCTV, Linghe Cultural Media
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.
At last report, OpenBook monitored more than 18,000 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 more than 4,800 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 2022, OpenBook tracked around 76.21 billion RMB in sales (US$10.62 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 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 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.
About the Author
