Annual reports and lists by different platforms show that psychology, comics about history, and works of literature were the most popular book categories among Chinese readers in 2021, reflecting the major concerns and topics in society.

不同平台的年度报告和榜单显示，心理学类、历史漫画类和文学类是2021年中国读者最喜欢的书籍类别，反映了社会的关注热点和话题。

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Chinese book market has been experiencing challenges, as sales in 2020 dropped for the first time since 2015 and sales in 2021, although greater compared with the previous year, did not reach the level before the pandemic, according to a report by Beijing OpenBook, a consulting company specializing in the book business.

根据开卷的2021年图书零售市场报告显示，在新冠疫情期间，中国的图书市场一直历经挑战，2020年销售额自2015年以来首次下降。尽管2021年有所回升，但仍然没有恢复到疫情前的状态。

Sales of online books had been growing by more than 20 percent annually over the previous 10 years before 2020 as online platforms and online shoppers grew. However, as the customer base stabilized, online book sales grew by only 1 percent in 2021 year-on-year.

在2020年之前的10年内，随着网络平台和网络购物者的增长，在线图书的销售额每年增长达20%以上。而随着客户群的逐步稳定，2021年在线图书销量同比仅增长了1%。

Physical bookstores are still facing serious challenges posed by the pandemic since most activities went online and visitors declined. Book sales in bookshops in 2021 grew by a little over 4 percent, driven largely by books related to the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, but still dropped by more than 31 percent compared with 2019, according to Beijing OpenBook.

实体书店仍然面临着疫情带来的严峻挑战，大部分活动在线上进行，到店的游客数量也有所下降。根据开卷的报告数据显示，2021年实体书店的图书销量仅增长了4%多一点，主要是受建党百年纪念图书推广活动的影响。但与2019年相比仍下降了31%以上。

Since 2018, sales of literature kept dropping until 2021 when it grew by 4.6 percent year-on-year. What is prominent is that among the top 100 best-selling fiction works published in 2021, 63 were online literary works, Beijing OpenBook's statistics show.

从2018年开始，文学类图书的销量一直在下降，到2021年同比增长4.6%。值得注意的是，根据开卷的报告显示，在2021年出版的最畅销小说100部作品中，有63部是网络文学作品。

The most popular genres of online literature in China include fantasy, romance, martial arts and science fiction. Among the 63 online literary works on the top 100 best-selling list of books published in 2021, most were targeted at women readers, and 22 titles from Tangjia Sanshao's Douluo Dalu(Soul Land) series, first run on qidian.com, were among the best-sellers.

中国最受欢迎的网络文学类型包括奇幻、爱情、武侠和科幻。在2021年出版的100本最畅销图书榜单上的63部网络文学作品中，大多数是面向女性读者的。在起点网首次上线的唐家三少《斗罗大陆》系列中的22部作品被列入最畅销榜单之中。

Shen Yu, a former book editor based in Shanghai, who has observed the industry for more than 10 years, says more people read online literature, which is usually entertaining but lacks in depth and artistic merit, because amid the pandemic people need to find comfort in entertaining texts, in which protagonists usually conquer difficulties and achieve success in either romantic relationships or professional fields.

曾在上海工作的前图书编辑沈宇涉足图书行业超过10年。他表示，越来越多的人阅读网络文学。虽然这些作品大多很有趣，但缺乏深度和艺术价值。在疫情期间，人们需要从娱乐作品中寻求安慰，这类作品通常是主人公历经艰难最终在情感上和事业上双丰收的故事走向。

Despite the fast growth of online literature, the leading seats on the best-selling list are still taken by classic books, with The Three-Body Problem trilogy books occupying the first three places. Among the 100 best-selling fictional works, 12 were published in 2021, mainly new works by established writers, the new editions of classic books and online youth fiction. Yu Hua's novel Wencheng(The Lost City) sold more than 1 million copies in three months since it was published in March 2021, making 10th place on the top 100 best-selling list.

尽管网络文学发展迅速，但最畅销的书籍仍归经典书籍莫属，《三体》三部曲占据了2021年虚构榜单前三位。在100部畅销小说中有12部出版于2021年，主要是知名作家的新作、新版经典图书和网络青春小说。余华的小说《文城》自2021年3月出版以来，在3个月的时间里销量超过了100万册，在畅销书前100位中排名第10位。

"In general, compared with cold hard facts in nonfiction, fiction might be able to give readers more comfort," Shen says.

“总体来说，与非小说类作品中冰冷的纪实相比，小说类可能会带给读者更多的安慰，” 沈宇说道。

Among the 100 best-selling nonfiction works, in addition to British writer Robert De Board's Counseling for Toads: A Psychological Adventure that topped the list, there were 19 other psychological or self-help books. Ten books about family education, and 10 books on economics and finance also entered the list.

在最畅销的非虚构类榜单中，除了英国作家罗伯特·戴博德的《蛤蟆先生去看心理医生》位居榜首外，还有19本心理学类或励志书籍进入榜单。另外还有10本家庭教育书籍和10本经济金融类书籍。

"In 2020 and 2021, people felt more pressure due to the pandemic. That is why psychological books received more attention. Compared with books that instruct people on how to be successful, books that tell people how to adjust themselves psychologically were more popular, such asDanshariby Japanese writer Yamashita Hiteko," says an analyst from Beijing OpenBook.

“在2020年和2021年这两年，新冠疫情让人们的压力更大了。这是心理学类书籍受到更多关注的原因。与教导人们如何成功的书籍相比，告诉人们如何调整心理的书籍更受欢迎，比如日本作家山下英子的《断舍离》。”

Additionally, comic books on history were also popular, with 12 titles of theHalf-an-Hourbook series and eight titles ofIf History Is a Group of Catsseries entering the top 100 bestselling nonfiction list.

此外，历史漫画书也很受欢迎，《半小时》系列和《如果历史是一群猫》系列都进入了非虚构类畅销书排行榜的前100名。

"Comic books have become popular in recent years, first about history and gradually touching fields such as ancient poems, medicine, and science and technology," the analyst from Beijing OpenBook says.

“近几年漫画书越来越流行，首先是关于历史的，再逐渐涉及到古诗、医药和科技类，” 开卷公司的分析师介绍道。

"This kind of book is easy to follow, catering to people's fragmented reading habits, so it sells well," the analyst says.

“这类型的书通俗易懂，迎合了人们碎片化的阅读习惯，所以销路很好。”

As one of the results of the advancement of information technology and media, it seems like that people's ability to read and understand long and complicated texts has declined。

沈宇说，信息技术和媒体发展的后果之一，就是人们阅读和理解篇幅长且复杂的文本的能力似乎下降了。

"We must see such comic books as only being used to popularize basic knowledge rather than elaborate on profound content. Readers usually read them to relax rather than study, so in function they cannot replace normal books on the same topics," the analyst says.

“我们必须知道这样的漫画只是用来普及基础知识的，而不是阐述深刻的内容的。读者读这些书通常是为了放松而不是学习。所以在功能上，它们无法取代相同主题的普通书籍，” 分析师说。

Besides the best-selling lists, a lot of platforms released their lists of "good books" that highlighted major social concerns of 2021.

除了开卷统计的数据外，很多平台也盘点了在2021年反映主要社会问题的好书。

At its annual reading ceremony in mid-January, theBook Review Weekly of Beijing Newsreleased a list of 12 books published in China in 2021 that were "most worth reading". Targeted at the middle-income group, the weekly's list, covering 10 fields, including literature, art, history, social sciences, economy, children, education, and lifestyle, came out after rounds of discussions among 12 experts and scholars in related fields.

在1月中旬的年度读书会上，《新京报书评周刊》经过多轮筛选，从2021年的出版物中挑选出推荐入围书单，该书单面向中等收入群体，涵盖文学、艺术、历史、思想、社科、经济、儿童、教育、生活、新知10个类别。在82本入围推荐书单的基础上，结合12位业内专家学者和评委的意见，确定了最终的12本推荐书单。

Among the 12 books, there are Irish writer Roddy Doyle'sPaddy Clark Ha Ha Ha,Manifeste Incertainby French writer Frederic Pajak,Shaping the Worldby British writers Antony Gormley and Martin Gayford,The Cheese and the Wormsby Italian writer Carlo Ginzburg, andSanbu(Take a Walk) by Chinese illustrator Dawu.

12本书籍中包括爱尔兰作家罗迪·道尔的《童年往事》，法国作家费德里克·帕雅克的《不确定宣言》，英国作家安东尼·葛姆雷和马丁·盖福德的《雕塑的故事》,意大利作家卡洛·金兹堡的微观史名著《奶酪与蛆虫》，还有大吴的作品“散步三部曲”——《散步》《露营》《游河》。

The Second Shiftby US writers Arlie Hochschild and Anne Machung reflects the general concern in Chinese society regarding the low birthrate and parenting.

读者们对美国作家阿莉·拉塞尔·霍赫希尔德和安妮·马钟的《第二轮班：职业父母与家庭变革》的关注反映了中国社会对低出生率和养育子女的普遍关心。

In the last two years, the pandemic has largely restricted the physical space for people's activities and cut off connections with nature. Ouyang Ting's Beifang Youkeshu (There Is a Tree in the North) entered the list because it illustrates how people can find nature in their surroundings. The book contains the writer's observations of Beijing's natural environment and her phenological notes on parks, plants, birds, rains, clouds and wind, presenting a vibrant picture of creatures in the city throughout the four seasons of a year.

在过去两年中，新冠疫情在很大程度上限制了人们活动的物理空间，切断了人们与自然的联系。欧阳婷的作品《北方有棵树》上榜，得益于它向人们展示了人类以外的自然世界。这本书介绍了作者对北京自然环境的观察和她对公园、植物、鸟类、雨、云、风的物候记录，勾勒出“自然北京”及其周边的盎然生机。

"Every spring is different. We must keep our curiosity to ask more questions, which will bring us to farther places," she said at the ceremony.

欧阳婷在读书会上说：“每个春天都是不同的。一定要让自己保持好奇，多一些发问，这种好奇心可以把我们带往更远的地方。”

年度热门书单来了，榜首竟然是它 07:16 Share

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年度热门书单来了，榜首竟然是它