The 2002
Frankfurt
Book Fair, an annual grand gathering for booksellers,
publishers and readers, opened on October 8 in Frankfurt, situated
along the River Main in central Germany. The China International
Publishing Group (CIPG), as the leading institution of foreign
language publications in China, has set out to make its mark at the
week-long event.
This year, co-sponsored by the State Press and Publication
Administration, State Council Information Office, and CIPG, China
sent 303 people from 178 press and publishing institutions to the
book fair. Chinese exhibitors brought 4,718 books of 4,610 kinds to
the fair. To showcase the splendid Chinese culture and the
development level of Chinese publishing industry, 350 books of 250
kinds are now put on display on a most eye-attracting exhibition
shelf in the 368-sq-m Chinese exhibition area. All Chinese
exhibition booths are designed by renowned Chinese artists and made
by the country.
Before their departure, China.org.cn reporters interviewed
exhibitors from the New World Press and Foreign Languages Press,
both operating under the umbrella of the CIPG.
The Foreign Languages Press prepared over 80 kinds of new-edition
books for the Frankfurt exhibition. They have recently published
the National Flag, Emblem and Anthem, and Culture of
China series in six languages. To cater to the German readers
of the hosting country, they also printed a group of books in
German, including Tibetan Scene, Chinese Tea Culture
and novels of Chinese famous writer Lu Xun: Ye Cao (Wild
Grass), Pang Huang (Wandering) and Na Han (Call to
Arms).
Meanwhile the New World Press strongly recommends four titles at
the Frankfurt Book Fair 2002: Ancient Chinese Buildings,
A Collection of Calligraphy of Auspicious Chinese
Characters, Paintings on Old Beijing, and Chinese
Writers Archives (series).
According to Jiang Hanzhong, rights manager for the New World
Press, two kinds of books are most frequently called for. The first
category caters to enjoyment, while the second category caters to
practical skills. The first kind of books covers topics of Chinese
folk arts such as the Peking Opera and Chinese paintings. However,
the copyright that covers them is no better than the practical
books, which is predominately comprised of books focusing on
language learning.
"The books on learning Chinese are most widely accepted at the
exhibition," said Jiang. Last year, the New World Press sold out
the copyrights on these kinds of books, mainly to the Republic of
Korea. One reason is that Chinese has become a necessity for
Koreans looking for work in China. On the other hand, it shows the
increasingly important position the Chinese language is occupying
in the world. Also, books on learning English have an optimistic
market. The purchasers of book licenses in this area were mostly
Taiwanese or publishers from Hong Kong. Singaporean publishers
showed great interests in importing dictionaries as well as Chinese
classics, for instance, the Cai Gen Tan (Zen of Vegetable
Roots, a book integrating the philosophy of Confucianism, Buddhism
and Daoism).
"The book fair actually provides us an opportunity to get to know
one another. Few publishing houses from China sign contracts on the
spot. We contact foreign booksellers by fax or e-mail for a long
time before we finally reach an agreement. We come to the book fair
just to talk with each other face to face," Jiang said. Last year,
the New World Press signed 20 contracts on copyright transfer; most
were done outside the book fair.
Fang Yongming, deputy chief of staff of the Foreign Languages
Press, totally agrees with this. "The Frankfurt Book Fair is
actually a platform for people to establish their relationship and
exchange feelings," he said, "This is an economic and scientific
way to trade books." As some exhibitors will be able to sell their
books during the last days, the book fair also becomes a place of
happiness for readers.
Fang also pointed out the weakening role of the book fair in a
cyber age. "Internet facilitates are used tremendously and we now
buy and sell copyrights over networks," he said.
However, participation in book fairs makes publishers recognize
what foreign readers are really interested in. "We found that they
might not be interested in the books we thought they would be, and
that they might actually be interested in those we thought they had
no interest in at all," Jiang said, "This helps us decide the
future orientation of our publishing strategy."
Foreigners are eager to know more about China, but find it
difficult to find interesting books. They may not be accustomed to
the way China introduces itself, the size of the book, or the
printing and wording of Chinese publications. "I once met a
foreigner on plane back to Beijing. He was reading a book about
China published in his country," Jiang said. To cope with this kind
of problem, in recent years China has been engaged in cooperative
publication with others. For example, the recently completed
Ancient Chinese Buildings by the New World Press is a
co-product of China and the United States. "We are planning an
inaugural ceremony for the English edition at the beginning of next
year in the United States," said Jiang.
CIPG has also begun developing e-publications in recent years. For
the book fair, the Foreign Languages Press prepares some VCDs in
both Chinese and English, including Chinese Acupuncture and
Moxibustion, Learn to Make Chinese Knots and Learn to
Cook Chinese Dishes.
Besides book exhibitions, China has also arranged a symposium
entitled "Chinese Culture in Europe" during the period of
exhibition time, at which book and copyright donation ceremonies
will be conducted.
According to Wang Tong, director of the Library Service Department
of China National Microforms Im/Ex Corporation operating under the
China International Book Trading Corporation, five sinologists will
lecture at the symposium. They are all renowned figures in China
studies: David Helliwell, director of Department of Oriental Books,
Bodleian Library, Oxford; Dr. Nathalie Monnet, Document Department
of Paris National Library; Dr. J.-M. Streffer, Berlin State
Library; Barbara Mittler, professor of East Asia Institute,
Heidelberg University; and Lutz Bieg, professor of East Asia
Department, University of Cologne.
(china.org.cn by staff reporter Li Jinhui, October 9, 2002)