Decades of pop science publishing aids innovative minds
The first edition of How Things Work series Photo: FILE
Delegates of the first plenary session of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference in September 1949 discussed the “Common Program,” a series of guidelines playing the role of the interim constitution. Several renowned scientists, such as meteorologist and educator Zhu Kezhen, first proposed to integrate the work of promoting scientific knowledge into the program. Thus, popular science became a fundamental national policy, opening a new chapter in the field.
On Nov. 1, 1949, the central government established the Bureau of Science Popularization under the Ministry of Culture and the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Scientists, engineers, agricultural workers, medical workers, teachers and young students were mobilized to lecture the public on science. The bureau published the “Science Popularization Newsletter” and other publications covering all aspects of science. These publications were readers’ main channel for understanding science back then, promoting science extensively across the country.
In August 1950, the China National Science and Technology Popularization Association was established. It published a large number of popular science books, scientific lectures and charts. It also motivated the translation of a host of popular science books published by the Soviet Union. China has also created a series of outstanding publications involving such writers as Gao Shiqi, Jia Zuyu, Dong Chuncai and Gu Junzheng. Many first-class scientists took part in the work, such as Liang Xi, Li Siguang, Zhu Kezhen, Mao Yisheng, Yan Jici, Lin Qiaozhi, Hua Luogeng, Qian Xuesen and Qian Sanqiang. Their accomplishments have inspired generations of young people to engage in science.
In July 1956, under the advocacy of all walks of life, the Science Popularization Press was set up, and many popular science books were published to better meet the need of mass production and life. For example, Professor Zhao Xuetian from Huazhong Institute of Technology targeted the problem of a large batch of new employees not knowing how to read mechanical drawings. Zhao went to the factory to investigate the real demand and wrote a book entitled A Quick Guide to Drawings for Mechanical Workers supported by easy-to-understand methods. The book was reprinted 19 times consecutively. By 1980, a total of 16 million copies had been sold, playing a massive role in the industrialization of the new China.
The Great Leap Forward, a program proposed by Mao Zedong to realize China’s hasty transition into industrialised socialism from 1958 to 1961, also impacted the publishing industry. The exaggerated slogans of “publishing a book as fast as printing a newspaper” and “publishing a book in 48 hours” were put forward. Although the number of books increased, some practices and inventions in these poor-quality publications failed to be justified scientifically.
After 1961, popular science publishing showed a sign of recovery as the national economy started to bounce back, during which time many high-quality popular science books entered the market. Representative works included the Knowledge Series initiated by Hu Yuzhi, a writer and publisher, and created by scientists such as Zhu Kezhe; A Book Series on Mathematics by Hua Luogeng; and A Book Series on National Science, whose chief editor was scientist Mao Yisheng. These books were widely welcomed by readers, including youth.
The How Things Work series created a miracle in the history of Chinese popular science publishing. Its first edition was published by Shanghai People’s Publishing House from 1961 to 1962. It consisted of eight volumes touching upon physics, chemistry, agriculture, physiology and mathematics. It provided answers to 1,484 questions in a total of about 1 million Chinese characters. The second edition was published by Shanghai Children’s Publishing House from 1964 to 1965. Based on the first edition, it was updated with a more legitimate disciplinary classification. The publication of How Things Work was well received by society. As of April 1964, 5.8 million copies (730,000 sets) had been published, affecting young people’s formation of scientific concepts and motivating their love for science.
On March 18, 1978, the National Science Conference was held, on which Deng Xiaoping proposed several crucial opinions. For example, science and technology are productive forces, intellectuals are a part of the working class, and the key to the four modernizations points to the modernization of science and technology. In the heyday of science, the enthusiasm and creativity of professionals has been fully motivated, and the publication of popular science books has achieved remarkable results.
Spring of popular science
In 1978, the China Association for Science and Technology held a national symposium in Shanghai attended by a group of leading figures in the field such as Hua Luogeng, Mao Yisheng and Gao Shiqi. The attendees initiated the establishment of the China Science Popularization Writing Association. Since 1979, several popular science groups have been founded, and they have actively pushed forward the cause. Science associations, academic organizations and professionals at all levels also took part. The rough calculation showed that from 1979 to 1988, more than 20,000 popular science titles were published nationwide.
In October 1980, the Chinese Science Popularization Research Institute was established. Science writer Gao Shiqi, the honorary director, combed the practical experience of science popularization in China. In April 1982, the institute held a meeting on popular science writing in Beidaihe, Hebei Province. At the event, the institute decided to publish A Selection of Popular Science Works, which was finished in 1993.
Around the 1990s, influenced by multiple social trends, popular science creation and publishing suffered a slump after a decade of prosperity. In the meantime, pseudoscience stole the spotlight. In disguise of science, some publications that bragged about mysterious supernatural powers, such as astrology and parapsychology, were prevalent. The explosive spread of superstitions and pseudoscience caused a waste of national resources and extremely negative effects among the public.
In 1995, the China Association for Science and Technology invited various sides to hold a discussion, putting forward the initiatives of “defending scientific dignity, overcoming ignorance and superstition, and opposing pseudoscience.” It organized the translation of Science and the Paranormal, which was co-authored by many prominent foreign scientists, and edited popular science books such as 100 Questions for Casting out Superstition, explaining the fact that neither gods nor ghosts exist in the world. Scams that purposefully made a mystery of simple things were exposed, and readers were empowered to discern pseudoscience and superstition from science and natural phenomena.
Improvement of scientific literacy
On June 29, 2002, the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Popularization of Science and Technology was implemented This was the first popular science law in the world. On Feb. 6, 2006, the State Council determined to improve the scientific literacy of the country’s citizens in the long-term.
Known as the Cross-Century Science Publishing Project, the Popular Science Series by Academicians is a large-scale book selection jointly planned by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Chinese Academy of Engineering and the Science Times. Tsinghua University Press and Jinan University Press published the selection. From these two academies 176 academicians collaborated on the writing. The book series touches upon global frontier topics and the hot issues concerning China’s economic and social development, such as 100 Scientific Problems in the 21st Century, Industrial Trends in the 21st Century and The Magic of Surface Engineering. According to a 2015 survey, more than 200 publishers work on popular science books every year in China, and the number of new books published per year exceeds 10,000. The National Prize for Progress in Science and Technology and other important awards all set up popular science categories.
In an ever-changing international environment, science popularization goes beyond promoting scientific and technological knowledge. Instead, it is more reflected in the improvement of national scientific literacy. Otherwise, it will be difficult to either establish a massive and innovative talent pool or to realize a rapid transformation of scientific and technological achievements.
In recent years, with the country’s enormous attention and investment, the scientific literacy of Chinese citizens has rapidly improved. According to previous national surveys by the China Research Institute for Science Popularization, the proportion of citizens with qualified scientific literacy in China has increased from 3.3% in 2010 to 6.2% in 2015, and it hit 8.5% in 2018.
The traditional model for science popularization can no longer adapt to the changes of the new era. The popular science publishing industry needs to better connect with the international community and adapt to mobile reading, online reading and audio reading. It should foster deep integration and transformation. Meanwhile, it behooves us to strengthen the theoretical research and practical exploration of popular science creation, because good content always commands the priority of popular science publishing despite the course of the era.
This article was translated from Guangming Daily. Yan Shi is deputy director of the China Research Institute for Science Popularization.
edited by MA YUHONG