Chinese Children’s Literature Makes an Impact Overseas

“Along the way， I have been trying to build a fairy tale world with warmth and strength， hoping that more children in the world can read my fairy tales.” “Many of my stories have been turned into picture books by excellent Chinese painters， and we are also working together to create more fresh and interesting Chinese stories.” In Wuyi County， Jinhua City， Zhejiang Province， in the early winter of the southern Jiangnan town， the outside wind is cold， and inside is warm and cozy. More than 120 guests from all over the world gathered together to participate in the “The World of Childrens Hearts， The Childrens Hearts of the World -- 2023 International Symposium on the International Communication of Works by Chinese New Generation Childrens Literature Writers，” and discussed the future development and international exchange and cooperation of Chinese childrens literature.

Works “Going Global” Attract Attention

The 2021 National Basic Situation of the Press and Publication Industry released by the State Administration of Press and Publication shows that among the total number of books exported by various types of publishing units in the country， childrens books reached 1.5137 million copies， accounting for 27.38% of the total， ranking the highest among all categories.

A large number of Chinese childrens literature works have reached overseas， providing a fresh experience for local readers. Works by Cao Wenxuan， winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award， have been translated into over 40 languages， including English， French， German， and Japanese， receiving widespread acclaim from international readers. Works by author Shen Shixi， such as Between Cats and Dogs， The Flying Antelope， and The Last War Elephant， depicting the natural habits and inner world of animals to evoke emotional resonance， have successfully reached international audiences. Renowned original picture book artist Xiong Liangs childrens book The Little Stone Lion， rooted in traditional Chinese culture and featuring an ink painting style， narrates rural development and has garnered praise from overseas readers on social media.

With the continuous improvement of Chinese creators and deepening international cultural exchanges， Chinese childrens literature is showing strong vitality. Currently， the overseas dissemination of Chinese childrens literature is evolving towards individualization， refinement， and diversification. At the symposium， experts and scholars engaged in childrens literature creation， publishing， and dissemination unanimously agreed that there is significant development potential in the IP development and dissemination of local new-generation childrens literature authors.

Li Lifang， dean of the School of Literature at Lanzhou University， believes that Chinese childrens literature is gaining global attention with its distinct Eastern aesthetic qualities. New-generation childrens literature authors are enhancing Chinese peoples aesthetic appreciation and understanding of childhood life with their mature， creative posture.

Jiang Yanping， vice chairman and president of Beijing OpenBook co.， Ltd.， analyzed the market prospects of childrens literature IP development. She stated that the growth of local Chinese childrens literature has laid a solid foundation for its overseas dissemination. Childrens books are the largest category in terms of retail market size in the domestic book market， and childrens literature ranks second in the childrens category， with a market share of 20.43% in the childrens market from January to October 2023. Internationally， childrens literature is also a very important part of the book market.

Full Industry Chain Efforts

The successful global reach of Chinese childrens literature relies on the coordinated efforts of creators， developers， and distributors within the industry chain.

At the symposium， new-generation childrens literature creators shared their creative journeys and future aspirations. Local Wuyi author Tangtang， with over 100 fairy tales forming the “Fantasy Fairy Tales” series， has published 14 books abroad， with 15 more in translation. Author Gerileqimuge Heihe， known for animal novels like Black Flame， Ghost Dog， and Children of the Wolf Valley， has had several works translated and published overseas in over ten languages. Both authors shared how past life experiences and hometown sentiments enriched their creations and expressed hopes to present more distinctive Chinese childrens literature to young readers worldwide.

Chinas childrens literature opening up to overseas markets cannot do without the efforts of publishing institutions. Jiang Yanping introduced that Zhejiang Juvenile and Childrens Publishing House made full use of its own resource advantages， polished the translations of childrens literature works， and updated the binding design. Its own international childrens book publishing platform “New Frontier Publishing House” relies on the cross-border management model of publishing business interoperability and internationalized management and introduces a batch of excellent original Chinese childrens books such as A Shi Has a Big Flower Cloth， A Shis Magical Leaf， Thank You， Five Thousand Years of Liangzhu Kingdom and so on into the mainstream sales market in Europe and America.

Many local governments are also committed to developing childrens literature IPs. Sichuan Provinces Luzhou City focuses on “Luzhou Literary History” for long-term support and orderly guidance of local childrens literature authors， striving to expand influence; Shandong Provinces Yantai City hosts the “Shell Childrens Literature Week and Yantai Bingxin Reading Festival，” leading high-quality development of childrens reading in Yantai through high-end childrens literature salons， lectures， and other events; Wuyi County actively created the “Fairy Tale Wuyi，” from the earliest support for local writer Tang Tang to establish purely public welfare “Fairy Tale Book House，” to start the “Fairy Tale Conference，” hold various public welfare lectures， reading promotion activities， and then plan fairy tale research and learning， and carry out fairy tale IP cooperation， making new explorations in promoting the development of local original childrens literature.

Chinese Cultural Elements Are Fascinating

As an international event， this conference provided a stage for experts in literature， painting， art， international communication， and other fields from home and abroad to collide with ideas. Chen Xiang， assistant editor-in-chief of China Reading Weekly， noted that recent fairy tale creations by authors such as Tangtang， Chen Shige， Zhou Xiaofeng， Tang Sulan， and Huang Yingzhu， with their openness， inclusiveness， unique expression， and wonderfully bizarre plots， create aesthetic images that transcend the individual and point to universal life， achieving a new breakthrough in the fairy tale genre.

Iranian Sinologist Ehsan Doostmohammad is optimistic about the overseas performance of Chinese childrens literature. He believes that the childrens literature works of writers such as Cao Wenxuan， Shen Shixi， Tang Tang， Hei He， and others are not only rich in creativity and imagination but also convey profound life philosophy and values， and their works can resonate with readers from different countries and regions. He emphasized that strengthening publicity， establishing partnerships， providing translation support， and promoting copyright trade would enhance collaboration between Chinese and Iranian publishing houses， helping Iranian publishers better understand and introduce excellent Chinese childrens literature.

French comic book writer Oliver Richard believes that the great potential of Chinese childrens literature and comics remains to be discovered， suggesting that like filmmakers promoting Chinese martial arts， captivating comics and literary stories can make international audiences fall in love with more Chinese cultural elements. He is currently collaborating with Beijing Tianshi Quanjing Culture Communication Co.， Ltd.， to create a story about an Altai nomadic teenager full of action and fantasy elements.

Brazilian illustrator， writer， and playwright Roger Mello， winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for Illustration， has collaborated with Chinese author Cao Wenxuan on picture books Feathers and Lemon Butterfly. “China and Brazil are closely connected through art，” he remarked. Roger Mello shared that the collision of Chinese and foreign cultures sparked his artistic inspiration. He was moved by Cao Wenxuans story， inspired by Chinese porcelain， shadowplay and other crafts， and created elements such as flying geese on blue and white porcelain and hollowed-out butterflies on large pages in the picture book.

The childrens education practitioners who participated in this event were also moved deeply. Irina， a Russian teacher who teaches at a local school in Wuyi， said with emotion， “This event brought together representatives of different countries and cultures， and gathered all kinds of thoughts and traditions. Everyone is willing to share their knowledge and creativity， allowing the childrens childhood to be filled with magical and wonderful stories.”