Press
8 Questions for Yang Wenxuan;
Bio: Yang Wenxuan
Mr Yang, what have you been busy with lately?
I’ve just returned from the Bologna Children’s Book Fair, and am writing an essay about original works of children’s books from China. In addition, Zhangdengren (掌灯人) APP is in the process of planning an iteration, and will be officially released on April 23. We need planning, product prototype design, testing; a lot needs to be done. I’m now an Internet product manager.
The children’s book market is booming. Do you think too many entities are jumping onto the children’s book publishing bandwagon?
That’s a false premise. Too many or too few cannot be based on an absolute number per se. Rather, market capacity should be taken into consideration, which in turn, comprises existing and additional participants. First and foremost, China has 600 publishers and another 200 to 300 private workshops (specific statistical data is unavailable). Compared to the easily thousands of publishers in Europe and America, is that too many or too little?
As for variety, the absolute figure appears to be very large, but compared to China’s population and birth rates, it that too many or too little? The children's book market in large cities is very rich, but parents in Tiers 3 and 4 cities have never even heard of the term, “picture books”. We recently organized a “Peculiar Books” exhibition at a number of elementary schools in Beijing, and were surprised to find that 80% of teachers and students said that they have never seen many toy and movable books commonly found overseas.
If you remove some of the shoddy low-end duplicate works, China’s children's books haven’t increased; they have decreased, and what’s more, excellent children’s book publishers are few and far between. Raising the “too many or too few” question shows that some people are still stuck in the planned economy mentality, making subjective judgment based on how popular the market is, and then carry out human intervention and restriction. That’s really dangerous.
As an investor in the children’s content industry, what projects interest you most?
First, I position my investment direction in the children’s content industry, but it’s not merely limited to children’s books. Children’s books are both a product and a secondary transmission medium, and has the features of a nodal industry by extending copyright to film and television, as well as games, extending the granting of authorization to consumer products, and opening channels with the help of the services and education industries. Content projects I’ve been monitoring lately include children’s book series, and those with unique brand image with strong extendibility. In terms of content assessment, and in terms of entertainment and educational function, I’m more inclined toward the latter.
In addition, I’ve become more interested in children’s vertical mobile Internet projects, i.e., creation and broadcasting channels and platforms for children by way of technology. I believe there is still another wave of demographic dividend in the children’s content industry.
Can you briefly tell us about the Zhangdengren project? What benefits can this project offer to publishers, creators and consumers?
Zhangdengren is in the midst of a brand new iteration. The version that will be unveiled to the public will be a very interesting APP. I have repositioned it as a children’s reading content and social networking platform. The slogan is “One Book, One World”. In terms of content, the resources of the entire network such as audio, videos, book reviews, book lists and courseware have been integrated, with books as the entry point. Readers need only swipe the bar code behind a book to enter into “Great World”. In terms of social networking, authors, publishing house editors and reading promoters can leverage the tools developed by the platform, and launch activities such as “Read a book together”, “21-day reading program” and “Book drift”.
There’s information overload in the mobile Internet era. We’ve gone from “no choice” in the past to “too many choices”. Zhangdengren attempts to bring information and social networking together in this vertical family reading sector to reconstruct a new reading setting. An author may use Zhangdengren’s “Co-reading” to become a lead reader and come into direct close contact with fans. An editor may launch a “21-day program”, canvass readers, recommend books to them and urge them to continue to read. A reading promoter may use the “Book list” function to provide reading recommendations to young parents. A mother, using the “Drift” function, may place a book read by her children in subways and parks, and see how far it travels. People who receive this book can become good friends with one another ...... There are also many other interesting functions. Ideas previously unable to be realized can become reality with this technology. Technological advancements bring marketing and editorial advantages to authors and publishers, and welfare to readers.
Many children don’t read a lot these days. How do you think reading promotion should be carried out?
There are many reasons why children don't like to read. First, our parents don’t like to read. Parents are the first examples of children. I’ve always advocated educating parents before educating children; reading promotion should begin with the parents. Therefore, I’ve organized many classes for parents to let them read first, which has a subtle effect on children.
Next, the publishing industry should examine itself a little. Many children’s books published here are too boring. Children are full of imagination. If adults give them dull and boring stuff, a contradiction would naturally occur.
Third, reading promotion should introspect as well. The chronic illness plaguing China’s education system is well known, and are unlikely to be resolved quickly. Classroom learning is preaching really. Recreational reading, if done in the same way, will naturally not be able to arouse interest in children. I’ve come across many reading promoters who are very passionate, but they really need to brush up on their storytelling skills.
What is the current development status of Baby Cube’s map of picture book reading in China?
This is a public welfare reading program that we undertook, and is targeted at picture book libraries and other private reading promotion institutions. A rough estimate puts the number of such institutions at about 10,000. As operating cost is too high, and the earnings model singular, they haven’t been surviving too well. We conducted a survey in 2015, collecting information on more than 2,000 picture book libraries, and compiled and published the Map of Picture Book Reading in China. An online upgraded version was published in 2016. You can find a picture book library near you at any place and position. Its purpose is twofold. It is an industry yearbook, and it also helps create publicity and promote picture book libraries. Data is being constantly updated.
What soft- and hardware should a good picture book library possess?
A picture book library is a product with Chinese characteristics. Its existence is the result of an absence of government public resources as well as a lack of NGO public welfare organizations.
It is a “species” that lives between the cracks. According to surveyed data, more than 80% are in difficulty.
The founders of picture book libraries are individuals who love to read, but they have limited investment capability. Most of the time, they make do with whatever is available to them whether in terms of size of space, design and decoration, or other hardware, In terms of software, they are also subjected to their own capacity constraints. Most picture book libraries have a single business model, which is primarily providing book loan services based on membership cards. Reading is not inelastic demand; the barriers to entry are low, and the membership fee schedule, very low. Although these entities have continually attempted to operate on many different models, holding training courses, early childhood education classes, child care classes, and other related activities, limited human resource and capital, unprofessional training courses, and the lack of system have generated little interest among parents, making it difficult to form a stable earnings model.
These problems will unlikely be resolved in the short term. In terms of hardware, we hope that support to help improve the environment of these entities will be forthcoming from the State and enterprises. In terms of software, we hope that more upstream publishers and education enterprises will provide more guidance services for courses and reading.
What are some of the areas you think original works of children’s books from China have done quite well? In what areas are improvements still required?
I have two views where this is concerned. The first is that original works of children’s books from China have not yet begun. The other is that original works of children’s books from China are already quite established.
The first view is a little subjective and one-sided, and the scope of impact too large, but if you set aside individual bestsellers, and individual authors who have received international awards, and regard this from the perspective of a common phenomenon, this view is tenable. There are plenty of products but high quality original works are few and far between. In addition, in terms of writing original stories and illustrations, a unique style has yet to be formed. Take picture books for instance. Setting aside some of the themes with local cultural background, if the names of authors are hidden, it’s difficult to figure out which is an original work from China.
The second view is aimed at a recent rumor circulating among bookshops about an order to impose an import quota on children's books. A friend wrote to praise the order, rejoicing that the spring for original works of children’s books from China has finally arrived. I sent her a private message, and said that she made a logical error. Just think about it for a moment. Foreign animated works have been banned from prime time broadcast on major satellite TV stations for years. The State also subsidizes original works every year. Yet, the television stations are still broadcasting terrible shows like “Pleasant Goat and Big Bad Wolf” and “Boonie Bears”. Bans do not translate to boom for the content industry. On the contrary, more exchanges are needed.
Children's books cover a wide array of subject matter, and cannot be generalized. For instance, children between the ages of zero and three years are in the toy and movable book reading phase; the emphasis is on intellectual development. There is basically no difference between original works and imported versions. China has the world’s largest printing and publishing supply chain resource, and may have some opportunities.
Children between the ages of three and six years are in the picture book reading phase. The subject matter is primarily centered on love, kinship, friendship and other general human feelings and emotions, as well as awareness of life. Images of characters are cats, dogs and related animals. Can you tell the difference between a Chinese dog and foreign dog? For a century, in the publishing history of picture books in the West, the stories that ought to be told have been told, and the painting styles that should exist already exist. If one insists on wanting to “find breakthroughs” and “innovation”, there’s simply no way forward! Please, don't bother with original works! You’re just going to add a whole bunch of “bobbleheads”.
Of course, some excellent works on Chinese culture, human geography and other local themes, should be produced but these are not mainstream reading material.
Children between the ages of six and eight years are in the fairy tale, fable and bridging book reading phase. A child’s imagination is nurtured. Other than repeatedly publishing Chinese fables, the potential for original works is limited, so is its significance. However, when children reach the ages of eight to ten years, i.e., the mid-primary school level, campus novels and coming-of-age novels become the main reading material, and there's a significant difference in terms of cultural backgrounds. In reality, Chinese original works have the upper hand in this area. The former has Yang Hongying as its representative and the latter, Cao Wenxuan. Can you dare say Chinese original works are weak?
At the ages of 10 to 14 years, however, children begin the independent reading phase, and cultural background weakens again. Fantasy and adventure literature are transmitted and favored. Data on reading revealed that imports and original works each account for half the market. Among the top 100 bestsellers, works such as Charlie IX & Dodomo and Monster Master dominate the rankings. Let me make this more explicit. These are all Chinese original works!
Based on this analysis, would you still have misgivings about original works from China?
Perhaps the real concern should be on why original works of children’s books can't go global! Works that “go global” are mostly those pertaining to Chinese cultural backgrounds, but importers are merely looking for novelty as far as foreign culture is concerned; these lack the ability to penetrate. True imports should be the export of values rather than that of history and culture.
Let’s return to the topic of “StoryDrive”, which is related to the key issue of China’s education. Our education is one that suppresses children’s imagination and expression. I've come into contact with some young illustrators. They have fairly good foundation in art, but lack a common set of values and do not know how to express these values by way of literary and artistic language. This requires nurturing over a few generations.
This predicament is not unique to China’s publishing industry. It is in fact, the predicament of the entire Asian culture. During the Bologna Book Fair, I spoke to an old-timer in publishing from Taiwan. He has had close partnership experience with the Western publishing industry for nearly 40 years, and his advice was to not do meaningless hard work. Take Japan for instance. When Japan's economy was booming, the nation also attempted to export culture. Other than having an impact on neighboring countries in Asia, it returned empty handed from Europe and the US. Now it stays quietly in its corner, and does not carry out any cultural expansion.
In fact, being an economic superpower is pretty good thing. Why waste money to keep up appearances?!
