As Chinese publishers gear up for three major upcoming literary fairs -- the Beijing International Book Fair 2006 held from August 30 to September 2, the Moscow International Book Fair running from September 6 to 11 and the Frankfurt Book Fair 2006 from the October 4 to 8 -- questions are still being asked as to how much impact they will have in a time when Chinese books are struggling for attention in the wider world.

Kim Hun, boss of France's biggest Chinese-language book publisher Librairie You-Feng, told China.org.cn on July 30 about his experience in overseas Chinese publishing. "Librairie You-Feng was first founded in Paris in the late 1970s, and half of its customer base is Chinese, the other half being French," he said.
 
You-Feng only began publishing and selling books about China in the 1990s, with a broad base of subjects ranging from Chinese language textbooks, reference books on Chinese philosophy, history, literature and culture to volumes introducing Chinese medicine, travel and cuisine. Among these books, only 10 percent are imported, the other 90 percent being created directly by Librairie You-Feng.

Kim Hun stressed that to him, the most important thing was the quality and beauty of the writing and translation. "If you want foreign readers to be interested and accept your works, excellent translators are required," he suggested to Chinese fellow publishers.

Caroline Purslow, Chinese-language region manager for Dorling-Kindersley (DK), agreed, saying in an interview on July 31, that Chinese publishers must consider the needs and reading habits of foreign readers when preparing a book, especially Chinese textbooks. "Picture books may be a breakthrough," said Purslow, whose company is one of the leaders in the picture book industry. "Pictures have no boundaries, no language or culture gaps. They are more universal than words."

However, translation cannot carry the sole blame for the poor foreign sales of Chinese books. Those China-related subjects that most interest foreign readers must also be carefully looked at. Tony McGlinchey, general manager of China Books in Australia, told China.org.cn on July 28 that according to his experience, language textbooks and medicine books form the most popular subject areas.

"Each one accounts for 40 percent of the books we sell," he said, adding that the Chinese language books are helpful for businesses, and that medicine books are helpful for careers in related fields.

He also pointed out a puzzling fact that most books on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) sold are produced by Americans, saying that while "Chinese are professionals on TCM, the books are written by those who have studied China."

McGlinchey added that the coming 2008 Olympics in Beijing are unlikely to boost Chinese books sales overseas as is widely expected. "We didn't sell more books about Greece when the Athens Olympics were held," he highlighted.

But Andy McKillop thinks there is still big potential for Chinese book export if the subjects are well selected. The British publishing director of book trade website Book2Book insisted that books on ordinary people's lives form a major field of interest. Referring to China-based scenes in Tom Cruise's movie Mission Impossible III and many others, he explained why people love to see ancient, traditional, rural places and to hear stories about China: "We are excited to see new buildings and the new China, but we like history, heritage and want to see things that could never be found in New York City, such as temples, which are absolutely different and unique."

"British and American people are closed-minded. They mostly read English works; thus Chinese works never become mainstream in the West," McKillop said. "Only a few Chinese writers are known in foreign countries, such as Mo Yan, Ha Jin and Dai Sijie. There is little promotion for Chinese books. In reality, unless they are something like The Da Vinci Code, no book will be promoted since promotion is very expensive."

It is bad news for Chinese publishers to hear that only about 2 to 3 percent of China-related books are imported; so reliant are foreign publishers on domestically-produced books, even those teaching Chinese. In fact, given the lack of attention or investment, most Chinese publishers give up totally conquering the foreign market, as the mainland's potential is so vast.

Meanwhile, a craving for foreign books is raging in China as domestic publishers compete to publish foreign titles, allowing Harry Potter and The Da Vinci Code to dominate Chinese book charts for months even years on end. While this may be good news for the book business in general, it is the death knell for those who want to promote Chinese culture worldwide.

According to statistics from the General Administration of Press and Publication, China's book rights exports over the last decade formed only 10 percent of all imports. One of few great moments came when British publishers Penguin paid US$100,000 for the English rights to The Wolf Totem, a Chinese novel, in 2005.

(China.org.cn by staff reporter Zhang Rui, August 17, 2006)