Goodnight, Chairman
In the China of Mao Zedong’s day, frivolous childhood pursuits such as reading were frowned upon. The few children’s books that were tolerated told stories of revolution and class struggle.
These days, toddlers are allowed to have more fun. However, parents and the state still believe that the primary role of such works is to shape young minds, not to amuse them.
Sales of children’s literature have risen by double digits in most of the past 10 years, much faster than the growth of book sales overall. The number of children’s titles has more than tripled since 2005. This partly reflects a growing demand for products aimed at indulged only-children.
Around half of the 100 bestselling books last year were for youngsters, a higher share than in Britain or America. There is a growing variety of genres.
Unsurprisingly, given the huge emphasis placed on passing exams in China, many titles aim purely to teach facts. Parents like to buy nonfiction, even for children still learning to read. Volumes for toddlers with titles such as How to be
a Meteorologist and Superstars of Science do well.
China’s publishers remain profoundly conservative. They shun books featuring naughty or frivolous children, or ones in which youngsters outsmart their elders. Cute animals vastly outnumber rebellious figures such as pirates.
Though less visible than it was in Mao’s day, politics still lurk. Publishers have internally appointed censors whose job is to ensure that the Communist Party’s line is not transgressed.
One executive said that she avoids publishing history books for children in which “the story does not match the narrative” approved by the party. Maps showing the island of Taiwan as a separate country are omitted from translations.
Even a toddler’s bedtime story is part of a bigger political picture.