The placement of books published by President Xi Jinping alongside titles that seem to be making a political point continue to titillate.

By Alexander Boyd | Published by China Digital Times

Summary

Shelf arrangements at Chinese bookstores have become a topic of viral interest. Books published by President Xi Jinping placed alongside titles that seem to be commenting on Xi’s works have become a low-key mode of political dissent, according to a report on the trend by China Digital Times. Writes CDT:

“It’s often unclear whether the juxtapositions are created by bookstore employees or the product of cheeky swaps by politically astute customers—or simply accidental.”

The most recent example comes from a bookstore in Hangzhou, where the placement of the novel “Changing of the Guard” displayed next to the 2023 edition of “Study Outline for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics,” was read by some as an implicit call for Xi to step down.

The “cheeky swaps” include Xi’s books paired with Winnie the Pooh, novels by Ernest Hemingway, philosopher Karl Popper, childhood psychology titles, studies of China’s imperial system, and even works on Hitler.

A prolific publisher of more than 12 titles per year on average, Xi has been called “his authorship” by one researcher on the phenomenon of the president’s penchant for publication. The sweep of Xi’s focus is impressive and includes 240 topics to date, ranging from the global economy to the future of Hong Kong, sports, cyberspace, as well as pandemic prevention in Africa. To ensure Xi’s words are well circulated, the Chinese Communist Party has been known to mandate the purchase of Xi’s books for its members and, at times, Party cadres.

For the original, full-text version of this report see the publisher’s website here