Publisher of ancient Chinese classics celebrates centennial

Prestigious Chinese publisher Zhonghua Book Company, well-known for its publications on ancient history and cultural classics, has turned 100.

The company began compiling the eight-million-character Chinese Lexicographic Encyclopedia (Cihai, or the Sea of Words) four years after its founding in 1912, then brought the most authoritative Chinese language reference tool to shelves in 1936.

After 20 years of efforts, in 1978 it published the fully annotated version of the Twenty-Four Histories, an ancient book collection recounting China's 4,000-plus-year history.

Struggling to survive amid tough market competition, the publishing giant started to introduce more books targeted at common readers in 2003, a move proven helpful in spurring the public's passion for historical books, said Li Yan, general manager of the company.

Aiming to develop itself into a provider of influential traditional cultural content, Zhonghua Book Company has reaped a good harvest through its efforts to popularize traditional culture books in recent years, Li said in an interview with Xinhua.

Yan Chongnian's "True Stories of the 12 Qing Emperors," a work of nonfiction about 12 emperors of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), launched in 2004, sold half a million copies as of February this year, putting it among the publisher's bestsellers.

The company has also sold 5.6 million copies of Yu Dan's "Confucius from the Heart: Ancient Wisdom for Today's World" since it debuted in 2006. The book recounts the female scholar's personal views of, and research into, "The Analects of Confucius," a tome featuring the sayings of ancient philosopher Confucius (770 BC to 476 BC) and his students.