Turn-up for the books

A trio of recent book fairs gave literature lovers the chance to hear their favorite writers discuss how China's reform and opening-up helped shape their work

He Jianming, 62, is one of the country's leading writers of nonfictional works, especially in the field of literary reportage.

His writing career took off in 1978, the year that China's reform and opening-up process began, and it has continued to flourish in tandem with the country's development for the past 40 years. Key moments in China's history over the decades have formed the mainstay of his work.

Of his 50 books based on real-life events or characters, eight have been turned into films or television series. The three-time Lu Xun Literature Prize winner also penned The Nation, a work based on the real-life evacuation of Chinese citizens from Libya by PLA special forces in 2011. First published in 2012, the work is said to have inspired the blockbuster movie Wolf Warrior.

"I firmly believe in the power of positive thought. I turned myself from an anxious young writer, who continually worried about the problems and dissatisfaction he observed, into an author who tries to set a good example and bring warmth and brightness to his readers," He said, speaking about the transformation in his writing style over the past four decades.

"It's such a vivid, active and colorful country that I'm trying to record. With examples like the growth of the high-speed rail network and the development of the homemade C919 passenger jet, there are so many stories that relate to our everyday life waiting to be told," he added.

"Looking back to 40 years ago, I remember how we used to queue up for 10 hours to buy a copy of Shakespeare. Now, in an age where we can download 30 books within the space of a minute and a few simple clicks, I don't believe literature is heading in a downward trajectory."

He says that he once hoped that his works would sell over 50,000 copies on their first print run and be reprinted every 10 years. His current sales have seen him both achieve and surpass this.

This is what he told an audience of loyal readers and the media during a dialogue session at the 2018 Beijing International Book Fair, where the New World Press were launching his 30-volume Collected Works to celebrate the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up.

Last month book lovers across the country were offered an unprecedented opportunity to witness appearances by Chinese literary masters at book events and conversations with foreign peers and translators across the country－as the Beijing book fair ran in conjunction with the Shanghai Book Fair and the South China Book Festival in Guangzhou, Guangdong province.