The Chinese translation of the book, "Mao: A biography," has sold 50,000 copies since January, and has been reprinted four more times. Authored by Ross Terrill, the book was first published in 1980 and revised in 1999. The current Chinese translation is based on the 1999 version.
"We didn't expect such a large amount of sales," said Pan Yu, editor of the Publishing House of the People's University of China, the publisher of the translated version.
Hu Weixiong is processor of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) and translator of the new Chinese version of "Mao: A Biography."
Hu said compared to the previous edition, the latest version is an easier read. The book focuses more on analysis and his personal way of living, and revises a section on Mao's activities after the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially during the "Cultural Revolution" period (1966-76).
Ross Terrill researched all the documents about Mao from the 1940s. He discussed Mao Zedong's wit and policies through storytelling.
The biography has sold more than 1,670 copies in the Beijing Book Building, the largest bookstore in the capital. It sold 727 copies in February, the best selling biography that month. "It's not very common for such a highly academic biography to sell so well, especially as most of the buyers are individuals, not government departments," said Sui Guoli, the person in charge of sales in the store.
He said books related to Mao all sell well, and the readers are of all ages.
There are more than 10,000 kinds of Mao-related books published in China, but only 10 biographies, said Hu, who revised the translation in 1990. That revision sold more than 1.2 million copies in eight years.
Pan Yu, editor of the book, said, "People can learn about Mao's experiences and thoughts through the works of Chinese as well as foreign scholars, so that they can develop a more balanced and sophisticated view on Chinese history."
Hu Weixiong said, "The enthusiasm for Mao also reflects a complicated social psychology. With the throes brought by the reform and social change, the pros and cons about him are a way of explaining people's own views on modern life, their concerns and requests of the country's development," he said.
"Mao Zedong was a mirror for China," Ross Terrill said.
