Short of Serious Reading

By Li Li

Short of Serious Reading

By Li Li

Chinese people read less books for various reasons

China lacks avid readers, according to a recently published survey of reading habits in 2012. The proportion of people surveyed who reported reading a paperback last year is only 55 percent, about 5 percentage points lower than in 1999.

The Chinese Academy of Press and Publications (CAPP) surveyed reading habits of 18,619 people in 28 provincial-level regions. About 31.3 percent of respondents were under 17 years old, and 26 percent were rural residents.

Chinese people’s reading volume trails far behind many countries. Hao Zhensheng, CAPP President, said that South Koreans read an average of 11 books per year, Japanese read 8.5 and French read 8.4.

Only 1.3 percent of those surveyed said that they read a lot, and more than 50 percent admitted not reading enough books.

Forty-three percent of respondents reported“having no time because of busy work” and 35.8 percent “have no reading habit.”

Other commonly cited reasons for insufficient reading include “watching too much TV,” “not knowing what to read” and “cannot find interesting books.”

Unaffordable enjoyment

Leisure-time reading is losing popularity among adults and most people only read to advance their career opportunities, say researchers.

According to a report by Xinhua News Agency in April 2010, around 80 percent of books sold in China were textbooks. This preference for pragmatic reading was supported by the sales statistics of major bookstore chains in China as their bestselling categories were textbooks and study guides for certification exams.

Heavy academic burdens hinder Beijing students’ after-school reading, says a report released by the China Youth and Children Research Center in April.

More than 1,400 students in the fourth to seventh grade were surveyed about their extracurricular reading habits. About 52 percent electively read for about 30 minutes and about 12 percent read less than 15 minutes outside of regular studies, according to the report.

Lu Min, a researcher who led the survey, said that the research team found students didn’t have much time for reading because they had to finish homework or attend after-school classes.

“The students don’t take up a good reading habit. Therefore, during their limited spare time, they prefer to watch television, play online games or chat online,” Lu said.

Only 35 percent of students read for at least an hour after school, and half of the total said that they prefer digital reading. The report says that half of students go to school libraries once a week while 7.7 percent never go.

Fragmented reading

According to the CAPP poll, 97.9 percent of Internet users read books, periodicals or newspapers online at some time last year, compared with 96.4 percent in 2011.

Renowned writer Han Shaogong said that digital reading offers a fragmented style of reading that significantly reduces the amount of knowledge readers can absorb from a publication.

A China Youth Daily report explains the “fragmented reading” as with use of reading software or apps, people tend to start reading books without finishing, or even forget ever having read a book.

“Digital reading makes it convenient for people to read whenever and wherever they want, but other entertainment functions of digital devices often distract readers. I believe that people still have to rely on paperbacks if they want to really digest the contents of a book,” said Jin Lihong, Vice President of the Changjiang Literature and Art Publishing House in Wuhan, central China’s Hubei Province.

Lu also said that when reading books on digital devices, students tend to give up reading when links to games, videos and other entertainment pop up.

A LONESOME BOOKWORM: A man reads at a bookstore in Harbin, northeast China’s Heilongjiang Province, on February 13

“The multimedia terminals such as smartphones and iPads easily distract students’attention,” Lu said.

The limitations of digital reading compared with holding a paperback are also echoed by the public in general. According to the CAPP poll, 74.4 percent of respondents aged 18 to 70 still prefer holding a paperback when reading a book.

Unworthy books

According to a recent nationwide survey conducted by the China Youth Daily, more than 73 percent of 9,116 respondents said that there were too many trashy books on the market.

Wang Feng, a Beijing resident, told China Youth Daily it is getting increasingly difficult to find books worth reading. Wang said that during his recent shopping trip in a bookstore, he found shelves filled with shoddy novels, self-help books promising personal success and guides to managing finances. No page-turners to be found.

“I believe the ancient proverb that one can always benefit from reading a book is no longer true. Many authors write nonsense and many others plagiarize, showing no respect for readers at all,”said Wang.

Bai Ye, a senior research fellow with the Institute of Literature under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, blames Chinese people’s loss of interest in reading on a deluge of trashy books on the market. He said that a large population has experienced difficulty in finding a worthy book to read.

Nearly 62 percent of respondents to China Youth Daily survey complained of publishing companies’ obsession with making money. More than 55 percent said that the publishers lack independent thought, and more than 45 percent referred to a shallow reading culture. Almost 56 percent said that trashy books were “submerging” good ones.

Bai said that many publishing professionals lack good taste and use bestselling genres as their only guide in selecting titles. “They are manufacturers of trashy books as well as participants in a vulgar culture. It is a shame that some of them take pride in their actions,” said Bai.

Li Mingsheng, a highly acclaimed author, said that many publishing houses weaned from government subsidies became totally profit-driven in selecting titles to publish, which resulted in the surge of trashy books.

Li said that to avoid the production of more trashy books, authors should not simply cater to some people’s vulgar tastes, but that publishing professionals should give up profit-oriented operating guidelines and reviewers should recommend only truly excellent works to readers.

lili@bjreview.com

Reading Survey 2012

Chinese people read an average of 4.39 paperbacks, 77.2 newspapers, 6.56 magazines and 2.35 e-books in 2012.

People aged 18 to 70 spent an average of over 15 minutes reading books every day, compared with almost 99 minutes watching TV and nearly 47 surfing the Internet.

Over 31 percent of people spent a daily average of 40 minutes or more reading from cellphones, 13 percent more than in 2011, with content mainly related to entertainment.

Among those netizens involved in digital reading, more than 40 percent were willing to pay for content, down by 1.7 percentage points annually.

Only 45.8 percent of those who read publications on their cellphones reported a willingness to pay for content.

(Source: Chinese Academy of Press and Publications)