2017年CRI Chinese read more, as e-books grow in popularity: survey

 

Amazon China launches an event in Beijing to promote reading on Thursday, April 20. The company also unveiled a joint¹ report with Xinhua on the reading habits of the Chinese population. [Photo: China.org.cn]

April 23 marks this year's World Book Day, an annual event initiated² by UNESCO. A recent report released by Amazon and China's Xinhua News Agency suggest that the Chinese population is reading more, while e-books are becoming increasingly popular.

The report surveyed more than 14,000 people in around 500 Chinese cities. More than half of those surveyed said they read over ten books last year, while nearly 90% of the respondents said they read e-books.

Bruce Aitken, a general manager at Amazon in China, said the latest figures suggest reading has caught on more and more among the Chinese people.

"56% of the people we surveyed said they read more than ten books last year, an increase of 8 percentage points compared to the year before. 85% said they read both printed books and e-books. 64% said e-books have helped to increase their amount of reading. 82% said they read at least 30 minutes a day. We found that many people have formed good reading habits. 37% said they develop reading plans," said Aitken.

As one may expect, millennials and post-millennials, or people who were born in the 1980's and after, have been the main users of e-readers, while readers of previous generations still prefer hard-copy books.

Age differences are also reflected in the topics of reading.

"People in their 20's or younger like to read fantasy, detective stories or foreign-language books. Books on business administration and child-rearing were popular with readers in their 30's, likely due to their career trajectories³ and family expansions. For people in their 40's or older, with their more diverse life experience, books on history and cultural topics have been widely read," explained Li Shuangtian, a sales director of Amazon's digital content.

Several books have proven their staying power among Chinese readers in recent years, including memoir⁴ "The Three of Us" by Chinese writer Yang Jiang, novel "Grief Grocery Store" by famous Japanese writer Keigo Higashino, and "Principles of Economics" by N. Gregory Mankiw, Professor of Economics at Harvard University.

It seems that popular culture has also played a role in influencing reading choices. In recent months, several highly rated TV programs on Chinese literature and poetry have aired in China. Amazon says that has also coincided with an increase in the sales of books related to the same topics.

Bruce Aitken says a recent hit TV series has also led to a surge in the sales of the book, on which it is based.

"The best-seller list of e-books is influenced by hot social and cultural topics. For example, in the week after the airing of 'In the Name of the People,' the sales of its e-books grew 191 times," said Aitken.

"In the Name of the People" is about China's ongoing⁵ campaign to crack down on corruption⁶. It began airing in China late last month and has become highly praised for its realistic depiction⁷ of China's politics and culture, as well as the nation's resolve in the fight against corruption among the political and business elites⁸.

Finally, the Amazon and Xinhua survey has found that with the development of social media, more and more people are inclined to share their reading choices and experiences online with other readers.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 initiated   

n. 创始人 adj. 新加入的 vt. 开始，创始，启蒙，介绍加入

参考例句：

• He has not yet been thoroughly initiated into the mysteries of computers. 他对计算机的奥秘尚未入门。
• The artist initiated the girl into the art world in France. 这个艺术家介绍这个女孩加入巴黎艺术界。

3 trajectories   

n.弹道( trajectory的名词复数 )；轨道；轨线；常角轨道

参考例句：

• To answer this question, we need to plot trajectories of principal stresses. 为了回答这个问题，我们尚须画出主应力迹线图。 来自辞典例句
• In the space program the theory is used to determine spaceship trajectories. 在空间计划中，这个理论用于确定飞船的轨道。 来自辞典例句

4 memoir   

n.[pl.]回忆录，自传；记事录

参考例句：

• He has just published a memoir in honour of his captain.他刚刚出了一本传记来纪念他的队长。
• In her memoir,the actress wrote about the bittersweet memories of her first love.在那个女演员的自传中，她写到了自己苦乐掺半的初恋。

5 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 depiction   

n.描述

参考例句：

• Double rhythms, resounding through the lyric depiction and connecting with each other, indicate the thespian place of mankind and the cognition of the writer to this thespian place. 这双重旋律互为表里，表明了人类的某种悲剧性处境以及作家对这种悲剧性处境的感受和认识。
• A realistic depiction of scenes from everyday domestic life. 日常家居生活的写实画。

8 elites   

精华( elite的名词复数 )； 精锐； 上层集团； （统称）掌权人物

参考例句：

• The elites are by their nature a factor contributing to underdevelopment. 这些上层人物天生是助长欠发达的因素。
• Elites always detest gifted and nimble outsiders. 社会名流对天赋聪明、多才多艺的局外人一向嫌恶。