Liu made first BIBF Reading Ambassador

One of China’s most famous authors will embark on his tenure as the first Beijing International Book Fair-backed Reading Ambassador this week, with a remit to promote a love of reading for pleasure - particularly to students - across China.

Liu Zhenyun will formally begin his duties as the BIBF Reading Ambassador on 26th August, the first day the general public can attend this year’s fair. The scheme is broadly similar to Western literature laureateships, with Liu set to promote reading and act as a spokesperson for book-related causes.

The novelist will kick off his ambassadorship with a day of events at BIBF, with the role lasting until 2021. His itinerary will include a tour later this year of China’s remote villages to teach literature classes and extol “the pure joy of reading” to students.

Liu said he relished the opportunity to be the Reading Ambassador. He added: “Books are records of human thoughts and, like torches, enlighten the way of life; while book fairs are festivals, showcasing all the different torches. I am honoured to be the torchbearer for this festival.”

Liu is beloved by the Chinese public and critics alike. In 2011, he won the quadrennial Mao Dun Literature Prize - China’s most prestigious book award - with A Sentence is Worth Ten Thousand Words. His 2012 novel, I Did Not Kill My Husband, has sold over 1.2 million units in China, helped by a 2016 film adaptation by the country’s most popular director Feng Xiaogang (the film was released in English as “I am not Madame Bovary”). Feng has also made two other features of Liu novels, Remembering 1942 and Cell Phone.

The author was born in 1958 in the inland Henan province. He joined the army at the age of 15 and went to Peking University after being demobilised five years later. He published his début novel, Tapu Township, in 1987, based loosely on his own experiences as a school teacher. Liu’s breakthrough was in 1994 when Feng adapted two of his books, Chicken Feathers Everywhere and Working Unit, for TV.

Liu told The Bookseller BIBF Special that he was especially keen on his visits to China’s rural towns and hamlets. He said: “In China, children in remote villages are short of books. I want to give them books and share my ideas on reading. Also, Chinese teachers usually don’t let children speak up in classes. I would love to encourage students to speak up and express their ideas in class.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Liu revealed it was not literature classes that first inspired him to write. He said: “I really enjoyed mathematics when I was young. The logic of maths is strict, it doesn’t allow mistakes, not even a single decimal. This is still really helpful to my writing, helping me to keep each sentence accurate.”