The list of the top 30 best sellers for March 2009 is out, lead by Han Han’s His Country (他的国, cover at left), with the top ten also featuring Chinese translations of books from the West such as Bernhard Schlinks’ The Reader and Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight.
But several of the best sellers written in Chinese are part of a series, such as The Story of Lala’s Promotion (two volumes), Soldiers and their Commanders (two), and The Tibet Code, a five-volume classic which still hasn’t dropped off the charts.
Fiction:
China Best Sellers List for March 2009
Ranking Compiled by China Publishing Today
(Comments by Bruce Humes)
|
Rank (sales) |
English Title/Author (for reference only—many have no English title) |
Original Title/Author |
China Publisher |
Comments/Links to English Sites |
|
1 |
His Country/Han Han |
他的国／韩寒 |
Volumes Publishing Company |
The race driver who said “No” to a university education is now starting up his own magazine. Read the interview and contact his agent in Hong Kong. |
|
2 |
Story of Lala’s Promotion (1)/Li Ke |
杜拉拉升职／李可 |
Shaanxi Normal University Press |
Pointers on office politics and surviving in a China-based multinational. |
|
3 |
Soldiers and their Commander (2)/Lan Xiaolong |
我的团长我的团 （下）／兰晓龙 |
New Star Press |
Now a popular TV series |
|
4 |
Story of Lala’s Promotion (2)/Li Ke |
杜拉拉 2：华年似水／李可 |
Shaanxi Normal University Press |
Pointers on office politics and surviving in a China-based multinational. |
|
5 |
Soldiers and their Commander (1)/Lan Xiaolong |
我的团长我的团 （上）／兰晓龙 |
New Star Press |
Now a popular TV series |
|
6 |
Tiny Times/Guo Jing-Ming |
小时代 1.0 折纸时代／郭敬明 |
Changjiang Literature & Art Press |
Top earning China author in 2008. |
|
7 |
Xijue |
西决／笛安 |
Changjiang Literature & Art Press |
|
|
8 |
Twilight/Stephanie Meyer |
Twilight/Stephanie Meyer |
Jieli Publishing House |
|
|
9 |
New Moon/Stephanie Meyer |
New Moon/Stephanie Meyer |
Jieli Publishing House |
Translated from the Twilight Journals.
|
|
10 |
The Reader/Bernhard Schlink |
The Reader /Bernard Schlink |
Yilin Press |
Translated from the German |
|
11 |
Eclipse/Stephanie Meyer |
Eclipse/Stephanie Meyer |
Jieli Publishing House |
Translated from the Twilight Journals.
|
|
12 |
Wolf Totem/Jiang Rong |
狼图腾／姜戎 |
Changjiang Literature & Art Press |
Out now in English from Penguin, which reportedly paid the author $100,000 for the rights. Analysis of the work in the China context and a book review. |
|
13 |
Li’ge (2)/Rao Xueman |
离歌 （2）／饶雪漫 |
Volumes Publishing Company |
|
|
14 |
Lan Ben Jia Yi/Qi Jin-Nian |
澜本嫁衣／七堇年 |
Changjiang Literature & Art Press |
|
|
15 |
The Kite Runner/Khaled Hosseini |
The Kite Runner／Khaled Hosseini |
Shanghai People’s Publishing |
To find out what happens when a world bestseller is translated into Chinese, read An Afghan Childhood Re-packaged for the Middle Kingdom. |
|
16
|
Promises to my Dog/
|
我与狗狗十个约定/泽本嘉光 |
Tianjin Education Press |
Translated from the Japanese. |
|
17 |
Hui Mou/Cai Zhiheng |
回眸／彩智恒 |
Volumes Publishing Company |
|
|
18 |
The Art of Racing in the Rain/Garth Stein |
The Art of Racing in the Rain/Garth Stein |
Nanhai Press |
Translated from the English. |
|
19 |
Fate/Lu Tianming |
命运／陆天明 |
Hunan Literature and Art Press |
|
|
20 |
Tibet Code/He Ma (5) |
藏地密码／何马 |
Chongqing Publishing House |
Fifth volume in long-winded tale of mysterious Tibet that begins with sighting of rare Tibetan mastiff. All five volumes have been best sellers. Synopsis. |
|
21 |
Red Crag/Luo Guangbin |
红岩／罗广斌 |
China Youth Publishing House |
|
|
22 |
Qingcheng zhi lian/Zhang Ailing |
倾城之恋／张爱玲 |
Beijing October Arts and Literature Publishing House |
|
|
23 |
City of Fantasy/Guo Jing-Ming |
幻城／郭敬明 |
Changjiang Literature & Art Press |
Melds fantasy and traditional Chinese martial arts fiction. Sold more than a million copies, despite charges of being highly derivative. But the author has been fined for plagiarism by a court in China for another work.
|
|
24 |
The Incredible Lightness of Being/Milun Kundera |
The Incredible Lightness of Being／Milun Kundera |
Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
Translation of Kundera’s classic, based on the French version. |
|
25 |
Dewey/Vicki Myron |
Dewey/Vicki Myron |
Shanghai Translation Publishing House |
Translated from the English |
|
26 |
Party School Classmate/Yang Shaoheng |
党校同学／杨少衡 |
Hunan Literature and Art Press |
|
|
27 |
Cry me a Sad River/Guo Jing-Ming |
悲伤逆流成河／郭敬明 |
Changjiang Literature & Art Press |
Top-earning China author in 2008. |
|
28 |
The Tibet Code (1)/He Ma |
藏地密码 （1）／何马 |
Chongqing Publishing House |
Premier volume in long-winded tale of mysterious Tibet which begins with sighting of rare Tibetan mastiff. All five volumes have been best sellers. Synopsis |
|
29 |
Fuchen/Cui Man-Li |
浮沉／催曼莉 |
Shaanxi Normal University Press |
|
|
30 |
Love Life/Ray Kluun |
Love Life/Ray Kluun |
Changjiang Literature and Art Press |
Translated from the English |
For a fuller list of monthly rankings for 2009, visit here.
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