PVLF 2025

With Cultural Books and a Thriving web Novel format, Chinese Publishers shine at the Frankfurt Book Fair

Discover China's rich culture, traditional medicine, and more at Frankfurt Book Fair, captivating global publishers and readers.
on Oct 20, 2023

At the ongoing Frankfurt Book Fair in Germany, Chinese publications about China's rich cultural heritage, traditional Chinese medicine, and many other topics such as economy, history, and technology, as well as the country's thriving web novel genre, have piqued the interest of overseas publishers and readers.

The 75th Frankfurt Book Fair opened its doors to visitors on Wednesday, with over 4,200 foreign exhibitors attending, the most since 2020.
The Chinese booths at the ongoing Frankfurt Book Fair provided a valuable chance for those seeking a deeper understanding of China, with over 1,000 books and publications on show.

Through more than ten fascinating activities, Chinese publishers also fostered cultural exchanges and mutual learning between China and foreign countries.

The latest collaboration with Zhejiang University Press, according to Niels Peter Thomas, Managing Director of Springer Nature, the English version of the Liangzhu Civilization book series, provides "more than just scientific data, but a window into the experiences of those archaeologists who worked tirelessly in the field."
"Through an array of captivating images and photographs, the books in this series not only share their significant discoveries but also offer readers a first-hand perspective of life at the archaeological sites," he said during a ceremony marking cooperation in the book's German version.

TCM has evolved from Liangzhu.

The 11 English-version volumes of the Liangzhu Civilization use cutting-edge archaeological discoveries to paint a complete picture of the 5,000-year-old Liangzhu culture, including the ancient ruins of Liangzhu, Liangzhu paintings and symbols, Liangzhu jades, the Liangzhu lifestyle, and the time period in which Liangzhu existed. These findings gather together the significant finds made at the Liangzhu site over the course of more than 80 years of archaeological research.

"The series' English version has built a bridge for more people to understand Liangzhu culture and the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization," stated Chu Chaofu, President of Zhejiang University Press. These books will provide enthusiastic readers and researchers around the world with a wealth of information about the Liangzhu Civilization, shining light on its interesting history and complexities. "They will provide an understanding of the evolutionary course of the Chinese civilization, and how it has enriched the tapestry of our global heritage," he said.

The Liangzhu ancient city site was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2019. Archaeologists from the Zhejiang Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology and the Zhejiang University Press collaborated on this series of books to support the application for World Heritage Site recognition at the Liangzhu ancient city site.

"I hope that more people at home and abroad will gain a thorough understanding of Liangzhu, a 5,000-year-old civilization, the spiritual world of the Liangzhu people, and the historical process of Chinese civilization's diversity and integration." "Liangzhu existed at the same time as other early civilizations such as ancient Egypt, Sumer, and Harappa," said Liu Bin, a professor at Zhejiang University's School of Art and Archaeology.

Meanwhile, the Guangdong Economics Press and Guangdong Science and Technology Press released German editions of three Chinese books at the book fair: the Internationalisation of Renminbi, Artificial Intelligence in Pocket Series, and the Essence of Lingnan Chen's Flying Acupuncture Therapy.

According to Zhu Xiaoting of the German publishing house, this collaboration is an important milestone for China and Germany in terms of cultural contacts and book production.

"By translating Chinese books into German, these excellent works will provide local readers with more opportunities to understand China's economy, technology, and traditional Chinese medicine culture," Mr. Zhu added.

At the exhibition, China's New Star Press issued its latest Biographies of Silk Road Cities, which aims to popularise the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and the notion of a community of shared future for mankind by focusing on notable cities in China and around the world along the Belt and Road.

In addition, the China International Book Trading Corporation (CIBTC) celebrated its 50th year of participation in the Frankfurt Book Fair.

Furthermore, during a signing ceremony at the book exhibition, China's New Century Publishing House (NCPH) forged a strategic copyright agreement with World Book Publishing from the United States.

The NCPH's president, Chen Shaobo, stated that they intend to export exceptional domestic original children's books to the foreign book market, thereby delivering high-quality books for children and young readers in China and North America.

"The collaboration lays the groundwork for folk cultural exchanges between China and other countries." Readers can learn from one another and from other civilizations. "It is beneficial to promote Chinese culture on a global scale," Chen stated.

The impact of web novels

The growing global influence of web novels has brought something new to one of the world's most popular book fairs, as China's web novel platform China Literature not only showcased popular literary works and TV and film adaptations, but also demonstrated how online publishing and web novels are changing the world.

"The global originality of online literature lies in openness, tolerance, and co-creation, as in China Literature, where writers from more than 100 countries are 'publishing' novels together," said Hou Xiaonan, president of China Literature, at the book fair's worldwide 50 CEO Talk. He expressed optimism that online global literature IPs such as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings would shine out on a global co-creation platform.

Online publishing is not only popular in China, but it also has a sizable international following. According to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Report on the Development of Chinese Online Literature 2022, the market for online literature will reach 38.93 billion yuan ($5.66 billion) in 2022, representing an 8.8 percent year-on-year increase, while the number of online literature readers will reach 492 million and the number of online writers will exceed 22.78 million.

The British Library has acquired 16 Chinese webnovels in the United Kingdom. China's online books have reached 910 million readers in over 200 nations and regions throughout the world.

Approximately 40% of award-winning literature pieces on the Chinese site WebNovel have been developed into audio, animation, film, and television productions by teams from the United States, the United Kingdom, India, and Thailand.