Image: A promotional still from the film ‘Weathering With You’
By Porter Anderson, Editor-in-Chief | @Porter_Anderson
A Ray of Japanese Sunlight on China’s Bestseller List
Once again, we see a words-to-screen connection behind a major hit in our China bestsellers, but this time it’s words-and-pictures-t0-screen.
‘Weathering With You’ in its Chinese edition released in September
Makato Shinkai, the Japanese manga artist and filmmaker behind the 2016 film hit Your Name, has landed on Beijing Openbook’s November bestseller charts at an impressive No. 13, with his new title Weathering With You, published by Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House. Expect to see this one climb up the list next month.
Like Your Name, this work is both a film and a book. And the film in China is doing what our OpenBook associates call “breathtaking box office.”
In the book and the film, a boy named Hodaka runs away to Tokyo during his first high-school summer and meets Hina. Her superpower is the ability to make rain stop and sunshine take over with a single prayer. Of course, “her power comes at a price,” as the blurb will tell you, and we won’t spoil things for you here. But we’ll give you a taste, courtesy of Taylor Engel’s English translation published by Yen On in New York. (Just for clarity, a torii is the traditional Japanese gate placed at the entrance to a Shinto shrine.)
Cover art for Taylor Engel’s English translation
“Almost unconsciously, she put her hands together. Then she made her fervent wish: Let the rain stop. She slowly closed her eyes, then walked through the torii gate. Let Mom wake up and let us walk under clear skies together.
“As soon as she passed under the gate, the air changed.
“The sound of the rain suddenly cut out.
“When she opened her eyes–there was blue sky all around her.”
Of course, it’s no surprise to Publishing Perspectives readers to learn that a work of Japanese fiction is gaining fast traction in the Chinese market. You’ll find author Higashino Keigo on the OpenBook overall fiction list six times this month and seven times on the foreign-author bestsellers. And Shinkai’s work has the added draw of anime and of carefully timed film releases.
Shinkai’s film Your Name is ranked as one of the highest grossing anime films, reportedly having grossed more than US$361 million worldwide.
The new Weathering With You is said to have been written concurrently with the creation of its anime film. That show was released in July in Japan, and in mainland China on November 1. According to our information, that first weekend gross in China alone was the equivalent of US$22.1 million. Boom. The book is on the November bestseller list, having been published in September so that it would be readily available when the fans walked out of the cinemas.
We have a film trailer for you with English subtitles. Fathom Events is to release the show in the States on January 17, and it’s had festival screenings at the Asian World Film Festival in Los Angeles, Anime NYC in Manhattan, the Hawaii Film Festival and other venues.
To the disappointment of many fans, it has not made it into the Academy Award nominations, as the Anime News Network is reporting today (December 17).
Chen Lei’s ’30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoons’
In nonfiction, you’ll find that five titles are new to the overall bestseller list:
- Take It Easy 2.0 by the highly popular Da Bing is ranked No. 4
- Style by Wu Jun is at No. 17
- 30 Minutes of Economics in Cartoon: Financial Crisis by Chen Lei has entered the chart at No. 23
- Hi I’m China is No. 25
- Silent Majority by Wang Xiaobo ranks at No. 30
We’ll have more for you later this week on Chen Lei’s 30 Minutes work in the Chinese market.
Below, then, are OpenBook’s overall lists from (month) of bestsellers in fiction and nonfiction, 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.
OpenBook’s Fiction Bestsellers, November 2019
| October 2019 Ranking | November 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787506365437 | 2010-06 | To Live | Yu hua | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 4 | 2 | 9787536692930 | 2008-01 | The Three-Body Problem | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 5 | 3 | 9787536693968 | 2008-05 | The Dark Forest | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 6 | 4 | 9787229030933 | 2010-11 | Death’s End | Liu Cixin | Chongqing Publishing House |
| 3 | 5 | 9787530216781 | 2017-06 | Ordinary Word (3 Volumns) | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 9 | 6 | 9787544291163 | 2017-08 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 13 | 7 | 9787544291170 | 2017-08 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| Not Ranked | 8 | 9787530216774 | 2017-07 | Ordinary Word | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 7 | 9 | 9787544270878 | 2014-04 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 8 | 10 | 9787208061644 | 2006-04 | The Kite Runner (2018 Edition) | Khaled Hosseini | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 15 | 11 | 9787544285148 | 2016-10 | Malice | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 2 | 12 | 9787500601593 | 2005-08 | Red Crag | Luo Guangbin,Yang Yiyan | China Youth Press |
| Not Ranked | 13 | 9787550033566 | 2019-09 | Weathering with You | Shinkai Makoto | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 14 | 9787506394864 | 2017-09 | Sophie’s World (New Edition) | Jostein Gaarder | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 10 | 15 | 9787540487645 | 2018-06 | Moments We Shared | Zhang Jiajia | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 18 | 16 | 9787544267618 | 2014-06 | The Devotion of Suspect X | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 11 | 17 | 9787550022577 | 2019-02 | Better Days | Jiu Yuexi | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 21 | 18 | 9787530219218 | 2019-02 | Life is Like Ocean | Mai Jia | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 26 | 19 | 9787532776771 | 2018-03 | Norwegian Wood (30th Anniversary Edition) | Haruki Murakami | Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
| 14 | 20 | 9787020090006 | 2012-07 | Fortress Besieged | Qian Zhongshu | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 16 | 21 | 9787530215593 | 2017-06 | To Live | Yu hua | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 27 | 22 | 9787530211564 | 2012-03 | Life | Lu Yao | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 20 | 23 | 9787506365680 | 2012-12 | Chronicle of a Blood Merchant | Yu hua | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 23 | 24 | 9787544277617 | 2015-06 | Love in the Time of Cholera | Gabriel García Márquez | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 17 | 25 | 9787020008735 | 1998-07 | Journey to the West | Wu Cheng’en | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 12 | 26 | 9787559620187 | 2018-10 | Ran Freely | Wu Zhe | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 27 | 9787544291224 | 2017-08 | After School (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 22 | 28 | 9787020002207 | 1998-07 | Dream of the Red Chamber | Cao Xueqin | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 29 | 29 | 9787550013247 | 2015-05 | Ferryman | Claire McFall | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 30 | 9787544281102 | 2016-01 | Newcomer | Higashino Keigo | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
OpenBook’s Nonfiction Bestsellers, November 2019
| October 2019 Ranking | November 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Chinese Publisher |
| 3 | 1 | 9787550268517 | 20160-7 | Positive Discipline | Jane Nelsen | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 1 | 2 | 9787509837412 | 2016-06 | CPC Ninety Years (3 volumes) | Party History Research Center of the CPC Central Committee | Chinese Communist Party History Publishing House |
| 2 | 3 | 9787544387866 | 2019-09 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (4) | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 4 | 9787559637406 | 2019-10 | Take It Easy 2.0 | Da Bing | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 4 | 5 | 9787539999883 | 2017-03 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 5 | 6 | 9787544382052 | 2018-05 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (3) | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| 6 | 7 | 9787544382045 | 2018-05 | 30 Minutes of Chinese History in Cartoon (2) | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| 7 | 8 | 9787559418111 | 2018-04 | 30 Minutes of World History in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 10 | 9 | 9787508095226 | 2018-09 | Nonviolent Communication | Marshall B.Rosenberg | Huaxia Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 10 | 9787508689586 | 2018-07 | Economics Lecture Notes | Xue Zhaofeng | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 9 | 11 | 9787559435552 | 2019-09 | 30 Minutes of Tang Poetry in Cartoon (2) | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 17 | 12 | 9787559620125 | 2018-05 | Genius on the Left, Lunatic on the Right (Full Version)(New Edition) | Gao Ming | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 14 | 13 | 9787540492380 | 2019-06 | The Kids | Da Bing | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 8 | 14 | 9787559436184 | 2019-05 | 30 Minutes of Tang Poetry in Cartoon | Chen Lei | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 15 | 9787540481551 | 2018-11 | The Emotional Quotient Lesson of Kevin Tsai: Live for Yourself for One Time | Kevin Tsai | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 16 | 9787540481827 | 2017-08 | Gag Reel | Li Dan | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| Not Ranked | 17 | 9787521708554 | 2019-09 | Style | Wu Jun | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 18 | 18 | 9787201094014 | 2015-09 | Six Records of a Floating Life | Shen Fu | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 12 | 19 | 9787544387873 | 2019-08 | 30 Minutes of Economics in Cartoon: Common Sense of Life | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| 29 | 20 | 9787549550173 | 2014-01 | Seeing Off | Long Yingtai | Guangxi Normal University Press |
| 24 | 21 | 9787540484880 | 2018-01 | The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su Tungpo (Commemorative Edition) | Lin Yutang | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 13 | 22 | 9787515356822 | 2019-07 | Course on Chinese Culture | Yu Qiuyu | China Youth Press |
| Not Ranked | 23 | 9787544388672 | 2019-09 | 30 Minutes of Economics in Cartoon: Financial Crisis | Chen Lei | Hainan Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 24 | 9787535732309 | 2001-11 | A Brief History of Time | Stephen W.Hawking | Hunan Science & Technology Press |
| Not Ranked | 25 | 9787521701579 | 2019-09 | Hi I’m China | Institute for Planets,The China Society on Tibet Plateau | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 27 | 26 | 9787535447340 | 2014-02 | The Poignant Culture Traveling | Yu Qiuyu | Changjiang Literature & Art Press Co.,Ltd. |
| Not Ranked | 27 | 9787530216712 | 2017-04 | A Unique Pig | Wang Xiaobo | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 28 | 9787201088945 | 2014-12 | No More Than Skins | Cai Chongda | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 11 | 29 | 9787520710350 | 2019-07 | The 70th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China | Zhang Shiyi | Orient Press |
| Not Ranked | 30 | 9787530216590 | 2017-04 | Silent Majority | Wang Xiaobo | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
Foreign Author Fiction Bestsellers, November 2019
| October 2019 Ranking | November 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 3 | 1 | 9787544291163 | 2017-08 | Journey Under the Midnight Sun (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 4 | 2 | 9787544291170 | 2017-08 | One Hundred Years of Solitude (50th Anniversary Edition) | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 1 | 3 | 9787544270878 | 2014-04 | Miracles of the Namiya General Store | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 2 | 4 | 9787208061644 | 2018-02 | The Kite Runner (2018 Edition) | Khaled Hosseini | United States of America | Shanghai People’s Publishing House |
| 5 | 5 | 9787544285148 | 2016-10 | Malice | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 15 | 6 | 9787550033566 | 2019-09 | Weathering with You | Shinkai Makoto | Japan | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 17 | 7 | 9787506394864 | 2017-09 | Sophie’s World (New Edition) | Jostein Gaarder | Norway | The Writer’s Publishing House |
| 6 | 8 | 9787544267618 | 2014-06 | The Devotion of Suspect X | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 8 | 9 | 9787532776771 | 2018-03 | Norwegian Wood (30th Anniversary Edition) | Haruki Murakami | Japan | Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
| 7 | 10 | 9787544277617 | 2015-06 | Love in the Time of Cholera | Gabriel García Márquez | Colombia | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 13 | 11 | 9787544291224 | 2017-08 | After School (2017 Edition) | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 10 | 12 | 9787550013247 | 2015-05 | Ferryman | Claire McFall | Britain | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| 14 | 13 | 9787544281102 | 2016-01 | Newcomer | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 11 | 14 | 9787530217054 | 2017-12 | The Alchemist | Paulo Coelho | Brazil | Beijing October Art & Literature Publishing House |
| 16 | 15 | 9787559427434 | 2019-02 | The Outsider | Albert Camus | France | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 9 | 16 | 9787550032125 | 2019-02 | Outcasts | Claire McFall | Britain | Baihuazhou Literature & Art Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 17 | 9787539983295 | 2015-10 | Foundation | Isaac Asimov | United States of America | Jiangsu Literature & Art Press |
| 12 | 18 | 9787544280020 | 2019-08 | What Life You Want to Have | Yoshino Genzaburo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
| 20 | 19 | 9787544766500 | 2017-01 | To Kill a Mockingbird | Harper Lee | United States of America | Yilin Press |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787544258210 | 2017-10 | Naoko | Higashino Keigo | Japan | Nan Hai Publishing Co. |
Foreign Author Nonfiction Bestsellers, November 2019
| October 2019 Ranking | November 2019 Ranking | ISBN | Release Date | Title (Translated) | Author | Author nationality | Chinese Publisher |
| 1 | 1 | 9787550268517 | 2016-07 | Positive Discipline | Jane Nelsen | United States of America | Beijing Union Publishing Co., Ltd. |
| 2 | 2 | 9787508095226 | 2018-09 | Nonviolent Communication | Marshall B.Rosenberg | United States of America | Huaxia Publishing House |
| 9 | 3 | 9787535732309 | 2001-11 | A Brief History of Time | Stephen W.Hawking | Britain | Hunan Science & Technology Press |
| 4 | 4 | 9787201088822 | 2014-09 | How to Win Friends & Influence People | Dale Carnegie | United States of America | Tianjin People’s Publishing House |
| 7 | 5 | 9787514219203 | 2017-09 | The Willpower Instinct (New Edition) | Kelly McGonigal | United States of America | Cultural Development Publishing House |
| 8 | 6 | 9787508660752 | 2017-02 | Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 12 | 7 | 9787301109489 | 2006-10 | A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century (Vol.1) | L. S. Stavrianos | United States of America | Peking University Press |
| 13 | 8 | 9787301110522 | 2006-10 | A Global History: From Prehistory to the 21st Century (Vol.2) | L. S. Stavrianos | United States of America | Peking University Press |
| 5 | 9 | 9787540489304 | 2019-01 | Danshari | Yamashita Eiko | Japan | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
| 10 | 10 | 9787508684031 | 2017-12 | Principles | Ray Dalio | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 3 | 11 | 9787020116133 | 2017-06 | Red Star Over China | Edgar Snow | United States of America | People’s Literature Publishing House |
| 11 | 12 | 9787521702415 | 2019-02 | The American Trap | Frederic Pierucci,Matthieu Aron | France | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 14 | 13 | 9787508672069 | 2017-01 | Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 18 | 14 | 9787544762885 | 2016-04 | 84, Charing Cross Road | Helene Hanff | United States of America | Yilin Press |
| 17 | 15 | 9787508692098 | 2018-07 | 21 Lessons for the 21st Century | Yuval Noah Harari | Israel | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 15 | 16 | 9787508650890 | 2015-05 | Who Moved My Cheese? | Spencer Johnson | United States of America | CITIC Publishing House Co.,Ltd |
| 19 | 17 | 9787210094906 | 2017-07 | The Scroll Marked | Dale Carnegie,Yang Yi | United States of America | Jiangxi People’s Publishing House |
| Not Ranked | 18 | 9787544768511 | 2017-06 | Three Days to See (New Edition) | Helen Keller | United States of America | Yilin Press |
| Not Ranked | 19 | 9787544768559 | 2017-07 | Souvenirs Entomologiques | Jean-Henri Casimir Fabre | France | Yilin Press |
| Not Ranked | 20 | 9787540481544 | 2019-02 | How to Win Friends & Influence People | Dale Carnegie | United States of America | Hunan Literature & Art Press |
Notes on the Charts
Image: A promotional still from the film ‘Weathering With You’ from Tenki no ko
Our China bestseller charts are
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.
As of July 1, this data is estimated by OpenBook to represent some 60 percent of the total sales activity in China. OpenBook draws point-of-sale data from more than 7,000 bookstores in China, including a total 4,151 physical bookstores representative of all the provinces in China except Tibet, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
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, Trajectory CEO James Bryant clarifies, 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 in one way or another registered through government channels. The government approves each book published in China.
Image: A promotional still from the film ‘Weathering With You’ from Tenki no ko
More China bestseller reports from Publishing Perspectives are here. And more from us on books, film, and television is here.