Notes about reading on the Chinese underground

This week was just like every week. You wake up, rush to the subway, and elbow your way onto the train, with the slightest hope of grabbing a seat. But what was different is that you might find books dropped off by someone for you to read during your commute, if you are either in Beijing, Shanghai or Guangzhou.

The campaign, called “Mobook,” was initiated by an online entertainment and publishing company. It has dropped 10,000 books in subway networks, passenger planes and carpooling vehicles in the three metropolises to kindle people’s interest in reading. Some well-known celebrities have also joined the movement to amplify the social effect.

The idea was inspired by “Books on the Underground,” a community project in London. It was joined by British actress Emma Watson who gave away 100 books around London tube lines to encourage people to read.

Since the Chinese version of the campaign was launched this Tuesday, it has become the topic of the town, especially among commuters from the three big cities, though the comments are mixed.

Some critics said that the form of the campaign is a direct copy of the British project. Others joked about the crowdedness on the subways of Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, saying, “We even couldn’t be seated, and how could we find the books?”

All in all, the belief that the campaign is more of a fad than something down to earth points to the fact that Chinese people, especially those struggling with life in major cities, are reading less and less; more dangerously, the habit of reading is gradually fading.

A survey by the Chinese Academy of Press and Publication last year showed that more than 50 percent of the population believed that they didn’t read enough books the year before. Chinese people read on average 4.56 books per year, compared to 11 in South Korea and nine in Japan. Given the popularity of smartphones, the number of books Chinese people read this year is only expected to go down.

If you have to squeeze your way on the subway during the morning or evening rush hours in Beijing or Shanghai, just look at what people around you are doing. Most probably they are scrolling down their smartphone screens and engaged in social networks. Or they are playing video games or watching entertainment shows or TV series.

Some may argue that they can read on the phone instead of reading paper copies, while Maryanne Wolf, a neuroscientist at Tufts University who studies the reading brain, was cited by the Wall Street Journal as saying that phones are “antithetical to deep reading.” Some also argue that reading on the subway or cars does no good to one’s eyes, but they seem not to realize that tiny screens can cause bigger vision problems.

After all, it is the lack of reading culture at the core of the issue. The “Mobook” campaign, even with a commercial motive behind it, is partially well intended. It may trigger more thoughts about people’s attitude toward reading than actually prompting them to read. But knowing where the problem lies is the first step.