Immersed in books

By Zhu Linyong
Publisher:China Daily - Publication Date: 07-01-2008

Zhu Jie plunged into the sizzling stock market months ago. "As the saying goes, 'I may not be able to outrun Liu Xiang, but at least I can outrun the consumer price index'," jokes the 26-year-old, who works at an advertising company in Beijing.
To brush up on her market skills, the amateur investor has read quite a few books about how to "stir-fry" (Chinese slang for speculation) successfully in the titillating yet elusive money game.
Apart from daily practice, reading books by red-hot veteran retail investors such as Yang Baiwan in Shanghai and Lin Yuan in South China's Shenzhen has proven an effective way to learn, Zhu says.
The busy Zhu is also a big fan of Chinese history and traditional culture. "I've not missed a book by Yu Dan or Dangnian Mingyue. Reading their books gives me moments of relaxation and inner peace," Zhu says.
Yu Dan, a media scholar with Beijing Normal University, and Dangnian Mingyue, a customs officer whose real name is Shi Yue, are among a handful of authors whose "alternative" interpretation of Chinese culture and history has been warmly welcomed by many readers but criticised by a legion of established historians and researchers.
Like Zhu, millions of Chinese readers have helped fuel local publishers' enthusiasm in churning out all sorts of practical readings in personal finance, stock market investment, health and cooking, as well as tonnes of books that aim to popularise traditional Chinese culture, arts and philosophies, according to Qiu Hengming, a book critic and senior editor with Beijing-based Financial Digest.
Statistics from China Book Business News indicate that at least 1,000 books about stock market theories and investment strategies and tactics, by domestic authors and foreign authors, have been published over the past two years.
"It is risky to publish these kind of books as their sales can be affected by fluctuations in the stock market," says Zou Yuqin, a book critic with the China Book Business News. "But many publishers, lured by potentially huge profits, have tried their hands in this area."
Changjiang Literature and Arts Publishing House, long noted for publishing celebrity biographies and original literary works, recently turned out a well-received text titled A Handy Book for Retail Investors in Equity and Fund Markets. The author Chen Huojin is an economics professor with Beijing Industrial University. The book has reportedly sold around 200,000 copies to date.
"As the market economy in China is still far from mature, a spotty understanding of the market and a jumbled awareness of the rules governing local economical growth have resulted in a widespread investment frenzy," says Yang Shiyang, a book critic with China News Weekly magazine.
"How to multiply the value of one's assets after one has become wealthy has become a critical issue," Yang says. While new investors are confident about the nation's economic future, many lack basic financial knowledge, which leads to panic, opportunism and speculation. "That is why so many books about finance and investment are up for grabs," Yang says.
According to a survey released last month by Dangdang.com, an influential online bookstore in China, "alternative views on Chinese history and culture" have remained hot topics in the book market for years.
Thanks to the interaction among movies, TV shows and the publishing industry, more and more amateur authors are rising to stardom, says Hao Hongjie, a book critic in Beijing.
For instance, Lecture Room, a top-rating daily show on CCTV-10, has helped a roster of lecturers, such as Yu Dan, Yi Zhongtian and Qian Wenzhong, become instant stars for their interpretation of Chinese history and traditional culture.
"Local readers are trying to understand the modern world, inflated by new technological advancements and economic globalisation," says Zhou Guitian, a philosophy professor and expert in Confucianism with Beijing Normal University. "While looking abroad, they also turn back to traditions for guidelines and inspiration."

However, Zhou is concerned that some of the modern interpretations of the classics are "faulty and even misleading". In August 2007, Xu Jinru, a doctorate candidate in classic Chinese literature, joined with nine other experts and wrote a book detailing the faults in Yu Dan's lectures on Confucius and Zhuangzi.
But He Mingxing, a book critic and researcher, insists "reading about traditional culture is a trend that has never withered among ordinary Chinese". According to another market survey released by Beijing Kaijuan Book Market Research and Monitor Centre in 2006, four of the most popular Chinese classics--A Dream of the Red Chamber, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Outlaws of the Marshes and Journey to the West--sold at least 3 million copies in that year.
Among them, A Dream of the Red Chamber had over 100 different editions, and Journey to the West had at least 30 editions.
"The demand for books deciphering the codes of Chinese history and traditional culture is still growing. In other words, the golden age for books in these genres has just begun," predicts He.
"Competition will become fierce, so smart marketing will be essential for a book to be successful."

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