With the new era version, whose childhood did not have "Up and Down 5000 Years"? The story of selling 10 million units over 40 years | History | Era

In the late 1970s and early 1980s, "Up and Down Five Thousand Years" published in Shanghai pioneered the trend of "telling history through stories". As the first popular historical reading material for young children in New China, it accompanied several generations of readers and sold well for more than 40 years, with a cumulative sales volume exceeding 10 million sets. In China, there is still no set of popular children's history books that can withstand such a long period of testing and have such a significant social impact as "Up and Down 5000 Years". Therefore, "Up and Down 5000 Years" is known as the "first brand" in the field of children's history books in China.

How does "First Brand" adapt to the reading needs of the new generation of children? As a heavyweight new book that debuted at the 2023 Shanghai Book Fair, the New Era Edition of "Up and Down 5000 Years" was recently launched by Children's Publishing House. At the launch ceremony and publishing symposium held on August 15th, the publisher revealed that on the day of the online launch of the New Era Edition, sales exceeded 100000 copies.

As a key national book publishing planning project during the 14th Five Year Plan period, the New Era Edition of Up and Down 5000 Years has established the editorial principle of "inviting experts to write historical stories for children" since its inception. Zhang Haipeng, former president of the Chinese Historical Society, member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and chief editor of the Unified Compilation of Middle School History Textbooks, was invited to serve as the chief editor; Professor Wang Yuji from the School of History and Culture of Shandong University and researcher Yu Huamin from the Institute of Modern History of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences serve as executive editors; More than 20 historians from major universities across the country serve as editorial board members for dynastic history and thematic history respectively; More than 100 historians participated in the selection and compilation, providing academic assurance for the professionalism, cutting-edge, and authority of the new era version of "Up and Down 5000 Years".

Drawing on the latest research achievements in the field of history in recent years, the New Era Edition of "Up and Down Five Thousand Years" first launched 18 volumes of ancient history, with 380 historical stories all of which are brand new and original. Not only do they outline the main line of the development of the Chinese nation's history in chronological order, but they also add many special historical content, vividly showcasing the tortuous process of the Chinese nation's journey and the brilliant culture it has created. In addition, relevant content such as ethnic history, science and technology history, and Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan history has been strengthened, truly implementing the concept of "new era historiography" throughout.

While ensuring the professionalism of the content, the new era version of "Up and Down 5000 Years" emphasizes storytelling and readability, adopting a full-color graphic and textual layout with over 3000 images, including over 100 hand drawn illustrations, over 800 tips, and over 200 famous quotes. The poetry, famous phrases, idioms, allusions, precious cultural relics, scenic spots, archaeological sites, etc. that carry traditional Chinese culture are all presented intuitively, in order to better meet the reading habits, aesthetic tastes, and cognitive abilities of contemporary young readers. All story content will be recorded as audio, and more integrated media channels will be opened up in the future.

"Shanghai publishers have planted the seeds of cultural confidence in the hearts of the new generation with a generous gift dedicated to young people." Wu Shulin, Chairman of the China Publishing Association, believes that the compilation purpose and content of the new era version of "Up and Down 5000 Years" reflect distinct characteristics of the times, vividly demonstrating the tortuous process and brilliant culture created by the Chinese nation along the way, and highlighting the "five outstanding characteristics" of Chinese civilization.

"This set of books let us see the deep foundation of high-quality publishing." Guo Yiqiang, president of the China Book Review Society, commented that the new era edition of "Five Thousand Years Up and Down" comprehensively innovated from content to form, adding many special historical content and cultural relics pictures, especially adding a lot of Chinese foreign exchanges and history related content of Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, Xizang and other regions, reflecting the national historical concept of "pluralism and integration".

Hao Zhensheng, President of the Chinese Editorial Society, said that he hopes that Shanghai Century Publishing Group and Children's Publishing House will have a broader vision, continuously innovate, utilize Shanghai's open advantages, fully seek strong support from the academic community, continue to strengthen the creation of "new, excellent, and exquisite" humanistic and historical books, and create more excellent and influential masterpieces.

"It is our generation's obligation and honor to participate in the compilation of the new era version of 'Up and Down 5000 Years'," said Zhang Haipeng.

"The New Era Edition strives to tell historical stories accurately, vividly, and thoroughly, providing young readers with more authentic, reliable, and vivid historical stories. At the same time, it not only tells stories, but also clarifies the truth behind the stories." Wang Yuji said.

"Colleagues in the field of history have answered the question of 'how to obtain the truth of history' through their own practice. It is hoped that young readers who read this set of books will not only gain knowledge of history, but also exercise their logical thinking and rational judgment." said Wang Weijiang, a professor at Fudan University and editorial board member of the New Era Edition of Qing Dynasty History in 'Up and Down Five Thousand Years'.

"Only by returning to the root of Chinese culture can we find our own cultural belonging," said Sun Ruoyi, a professor at Chung Hsing University in Taiwan and a member of the Taiwan History Editorial Board for the New Era Edition of "Up and Down 5000 Years".

According to the publisher, although there have been many reprints and updates of "Up and Down 5000 Years" after its publication, it basically continues the pattern established by the first edition. The old version mainly focuses on political history, mainly referring to historical official histories, folk legends, and popular historical novels. In order to meet the needs of readers in the new era, the historical perspective and historical education in the new era, the New Era Edition of Up and Down 5000 Years has undergone a thorough update of its content. Taking the ancient times as an example, the old version of "Up and Down Five Thousand Years" starts with the opening of the world by Pangu. The length of space about the ancient times is relatively limited, and the content mostly refers to traditional classics and folk legends, making the historical materials appear outdated. Based on recent archaeological discoveries, the New Era version has greatly expanded the length of the pre Qin section. Before the Shang Dynasty, there was a whole volume, and during the Shang Dynasty and Western Zhou Dynasty, there was another whole volume. The civilization from Liangzhu, Hongshan, Yangshao to Longshan fully embodies the diverse integration and long history of Chinese civilization. From the Houmu Wuding and the oracle bone inscriptions of the Yin ruins to the Sanxingdui and Oceania Shang tombs, the magnificent achievements of the Chinese ancestors are vividly displayed with pictures and text.

Unlike popular reading materials that follow the crowd, the New Era Edition provides young readers with a cutting-edge perspective in the professional field. The tips in the Northern Song Dynasty volume "Sima Guang's Compilation of the Comprehensive Mirror of Zizhi" introduce the well-known story of "Sima Guang smashing a jar". However, was it the cylinder that Sima Guang smashed? Using this as the title, the book introduces another perspective in the academic community to young readers: some people believe that Sima Guang smashed a jar, not a jar. Inspire young readers to engage in independent thinking on this issue, which has yet to be determined by the academic community.

"After four years of hard work, the new era version of 'Up and Down 5000 Years' has been launched, with a new chapter, new system, new content, new style, and new technological means in the digital era, to once again create the brilliance of the classic brand' Up and Down 5000 Years'." Feng Jie, President of Children's Publishing House, said that as the first professional children's publishing house in New China, Children's Publishing House will contribute its due strength to helping young people learn Chinese history well and tell Chinese stories well. ". After the ancient history section, a new era version of the modern history section of "Up and Down 5000 Years" will continue to be released.

At the symposium, representatives from institutions such as Shanghai Library, Shanghai Children's Library, and China Museum of Modern Press and Publication presented new books as gifts.