Beijing: A program dedicated to exploring important science books on Douyin, China’s most popular video sharing platform, has received millions of viewers and attracted nearly 90,000 loyal viewers over the past two years. Each week, respected scholars and scientists are invited to share their insights on science books from Euclid’s Elements to Darwin’s The Origin of Species and Hawking’s A Brief History of Time.
Wu Gusheng, who planned the program, said the goal was only to stimulate people’s interest in science and promote the participation of scientists and the public.
“We don’t encourage people to engage with classic science books for academic purposes, but to have a fun, educational and useful experience of science,” said Wu, dean of Tsinghua’s Department of History of Science. University. He and his team have promoted nearly 100 classic science fiction books on social media since 2022.
In the past, Chinese people preferred classical literature to scientific literature, and science books were always met with a lukewarm response. However, China today values innovation in science and technology and has a great interest in scientific literature.
According to data released by OpenBook, an industry research company based in Beijing, the market share of science books has increased since 2019. Despite the general decrease in book sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in the popularity of books about medicine. and health.
A similar trend is evident in the popularity of children’s books, which form the bulk of the domestic book market. Since 2021, sales of science books for young readers have overtaken children’s literature.
According to Wang Dapeng, a member of the Chinese Institute of Popular Science, the rising trend is due to an increase in the number of professionals who are willing to share their knowledge through books.
One such contributor is 54-year-old gynecologist Tan Xiangji. He has written several books and created short videos to present medical information related to women’s health.
A doctor once received a flag of gratitude from an impatient woman in his hospital. After watching Tan’s lecture on cervical cancer, she was tested and operated on in time after the cancer was detected at an early stage.
The experience reminded Tan of the importance of disseminating science, which he calls “a professional duty and social responsibility for doctors.”
This is not unusual for Chinese doctors when they first became involved in the popularity of science. The hospital rating system does not consider the reputation of science as important as the quality of surgery and the number of patients, so it does not contribute significantly to the professional reputation of doctors.
A significant change in 2016 saw national leaders recognize the importance of science dissemination, describing scientific innovation and popularization as an “innovation-based development wing.” As a result, government programs have been implemented to highlight the need to boost the creation of popular science works.
