Turn-up for the books

"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.

Besides He, writers of such standing as Jia Pingwa, Yu Hua, Liu Zhenyun, Mai Jia, Bi Feiyu, Wang Meng and Liu Cixin took to the stage at these events to share their thoughts.