See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: [Link]
net/publication/326891349
One Hundred Thousand Whys : A Classic in Chinese
Book History
Article in Science Communication · August 2018
DOI: 10.1177/1075547018792570
CITATIONS READS
0 2,251
2 authors, including:
Guoyan Wang
Soochow University (PRC)
18 PUBLICATIONS 16 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
visual communication of cutting edge science View project
Key projects of National Social Science Fund (grant 20FXWA003) View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Guoyan Wang on 09 December 2019.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.
792570
research-article2018
SCXXXX10.1177/1075547018792570Science CommunicationWang and Du
Commentary
Science Communication
2018, Vol. 40(5) 678–688
One Hundred Thousand © The Author(s) 2018
Article reuse guidelines:
Whys: A Classic in [Link]/journals-permissions
DOI: 10.1177/1075547018792570
[Link]
Chinese Book History [Link]/home/scx
Guoyan Wang1 and Junfei Du2
Abstract
One Hundred Thousand Whys is a widely known popular science book in
China, which has been developing people’s systematic understanding of basic
sciences for generations. This encyclopedic book covers a wide range of
topics, inspiring people’s observations and pondering about the world by
asking nonspecialist questions. Different questions are raised and followed
by answers that satisfy readers’ scientific curiosity; cultivate the scientific
literacy of generations of children, and even of adults; and make up for the
shortcomings of scientific education in China’s schools. In the past half-
century, it has become a legend and classic in Chinese publishing history.
Keywords
One Hundred Thousand Whys, popular science book, scientific curiosity,
scientific literacy, China
One Hundred Thousand Whys in China
As a popular science book, One Hundred Thousand Whys has never been
surpassed in China. Over half a century since its first publication in 1961, as
a popular science book that has affected generations of teenagers and chil-
dren in modern China, this unfailing book has successfully passed on and
spread the heritage of science and has become the leader in Chinese popular
1University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui Province, China
2School of Journalism and Communication, Nanjing University, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China
Corresponding Author:
Guoyan Wang, Department of Science and Technology of Communication and Policy, University
of Science and Technology of China, 96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui Province 230026, China.
Email: gywang@[Link]
Wang and Du 679
science books. It is even regarded as synonymous with “encyclopedia” in
China. No other popular science readings have stood the test of such a long
time and produced such huge social effects. Its birth has become a legend and
a classic, with no parallel in Chinese publishing history (Tang, 2008).
Since the Chinese government issued a call for Marching Forward to
Sciences in 1956, Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House was encouraged
and anxious to publish some good popular science books for Chinese chil-
dren. At that time, almost no original popular science books were available in
the Chinese market (X. Liu & Shi, 2009). Guozhong Wang, the editor-in-
chief of One Hundred Thousand Whys, reported the difficulty in creation at
that time: There were few popular science writers, and contributions were
extremely scarce (Yu & Rao, 2003). However, such a shortage environment
contributed to an extremely booming market demand (X. Chen, 2006).
The title, One Hundred Thousand Whys, came from a book with the same
name written by Ilya Yakovlevich Marshak, a Soviet popular science writer,
in which he cited a verse of Joseph Rudyard Kipling, the winner of the 1907
Nobel Prize for Literature: “5,000 wheres? 7,000 hows? 100,000 whys?”
(Marshak, 1938). While this was later proved to be a mistake, since Kipling’s
original poem reads, “One million hows, two million wheres, and seven mil-
lion whys!” (Ye, 2015), this interesting error makes the name of the book
easier to read aloud and more impressive in Chinese. The target readership
was originally considered as children only, and it went on sale on International
Children’s Day in1961. Since it was not initially valued optimistically, only
5,000 copies of the first volume were printed (Ye, 2015). However, its quality
and appeal were quickly recognized, and soon many readers were familiar
with it. Mainstream newspapers reported it as a hit (Dong, 1962). China
Youth Daily and Youth Magazine then published it in installments, treating
One Hundred Thousand Whys as adolescent literature. Government officials
even suggested that “all young cadres in the country should learn from this
book,” and the late Premier Enlai Zhou liked this book so much that he kept
it in his car for convenience of reading (Ye, 2015). Many teachers also use it
as reference material (Liberation Daily, 1962). By April 1964, before the
second edition came out, the first edition had already been reprinted 11 times
in 3 years (Ye, 2015). Readers were desperate for books, resulting in a crazy
era for reading in China.
During the last century, Chinese education was at a low level. According
to the National Bureau of Statistics’ open access data, the secondary school
enrolment ratio was 28% in 1970 and still as low as 37% 20 years later, in
1990. When the first edition of One Hundred Thousand Whys was published
in 1961, at the time of the Great Chinese Famine, China had a total popula-
tion of 660 million, 83.3% of whom lived in rural areas. When the majority
680 Science Communication 40(5)
Table 1. Publishing Data of One Hundred Thousand Whys.
Edition 1 Edition 2 Edition 3 Edition 4 Edition 5 Edition 6 Total
Year of 1961 1964 1970 1980 1999 2011 —
publication
Number of 8 14 21 24 12 18 —
volumes
Circulation of 5.8 40 37 30 8 3 123.8
copies
(in millions)
Ownership per 0.88 5.73 4.52 3.06 0.64 0.22 —
100 citizens
Note. The table is compiled according to the data in Stories behind One Hundred Thousand Whys
(Ye, 2015).
of Chinese could not read and were suffering from overriding problems of
food and clothing, cultural consumption was considered to be extravagant.
Even so, over 40 million copies of the second edition were printed in 1964,
which meant that 6 of every 100 citizens owned a copy of One Hundred
Thousand Whys (see Table 1). During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976),
schools in China were mostly suspended, while the third edition, published in
1970, reached 37 million copies. It eventually became the only book to
exceed the Selected Works of Mao Zedong in circulation since the founding
of the People’s Republic of China. Table 1 gives detailed data about each edi-
tion of One Hundred Thousand Whys.
The first edition contained eight volumes, 1,484 questions, and 1.05 mil-
lion words, and a total of 5.8 million copies were printed. More than 150
authors from 20 institutes were involved in compiling it, among whom
Yonglie Ye made the greatest contribution: He wrote 326 “whys” in the first
edition and was eventually the only author who was involved in all six edi-
tions of this book; only 20 years old at the time of the first edition, he was 73
years of age when the sixth edition was published. The subsequent five edi-
tions were published in 1964, 1970, 1980, 1999, and 2011, respectively.
The 1980 version is known as the most classic version (Figure 1). Like
millions of children in China, Guoyan Wang (one author of this paper) grew
up reading One Hundred Thousand Whys. When she was 8 years old, in 1988,
her father bought this book as a present and expected that she would no lon-
ger ask questions all day since answers could be found there. Wang knew that
this would be the only science book she could have at that time, so she did a
crazy thing: she learned by heart all the whys from cover to cover until it fell
to pieces. Wang’s original interest in science came from this book.
Wang and Du 681
Figure 1. Photo of One Hundred Thousand Whys (1980 version).
Note. Photo provided by the Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House.
From the end of the 1980s, the rise of China’s cultural industry and the
lack of copyright protection led to hundreds of copycat versions of this book
on the market. Different versions from different Chinese publishing houses
could be found, such as children’s versions, infant versions, teenagers’ ver-
sions, and even comic versions. This confused the reader as to which was the
authentic one. As a result, the circulation of the fifth and sixth editions by the
Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House was heavily reduced. The book has
total sales of 123.8 million copies since 1961, per data from the Juvenile and
Children’s Publishing House. Meanwhile, however, One Hundred Thousand
Whys has become a generic term for encyclopedias and popular science
books all over China.
In 1998, the China National Science and Technology Progress Award,
which rewards innovations at the frontier of science, was awarded to a book
for the first time, to reward One Hundred Thousand Whys for its outstanding
contribution to the popularization of science in China. Academician Qide Han,
the chairman of the Chinese Academy of Science Association, said, “One
Hundred Thousand Whys is an extraordinary publication, which has made an
irreplaceable contribution to the improvement of the scientific literacy of the
whole people in China in the past 50 years” (Ye, 2015, p. 149). Academician
Qide Han subsequently assumed the role of editor in chief of the sixth edition.
The writing of this edition was entrusted to the best science talents in China.
Twenty-one members of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and the
Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE) took charge of compiling the various
682 Science Communication 40(5)
volumes, while the editorial board included 115 members of CAS and CAE.
Moreover, over 700 outstanding scientists in various domains, from all over
the world, worked together to compile the 2011 version of One Hundred
Thousand Whys. Capacity increased in the process of revision; the sixth edi-
tion, which is the latest, has 18 volumes and includes 4,500 questions.
For a long time, Chinese people suffered weak levels of education and
scientific literacy, so One Hundred Thousand Whys has become an indelible
memory for many Chinese. Each article in the book is terse, forceful, and
vivid, explaining profound theories in plain language. Although children were
initially regarded as the main target readers of this book, the reading commu-
nity actually covers all age-groups and can almost equally satisfy adults’
requirements for scientific education. Children, intellectuals, government offi-
cials, and even farmers can read One Hundred Thousand Whys. It is exactly as
the advertisement says on the box: “One Hundred Thousand Whys is a useful
book in all your life and will be unforgettable for several generations.”
A Brief History of Popular Science Publications in
China
China’s special historical environment bred this phenomenal popular science
book. For quite a long period in recent times, science and technology in
China were trapped in a backwater (Needham, 2006). The traditional concept
of science popularization in China was relatively superficial and mainly
aimed at the elimination of illiteracy (Jiang, 2006). The history of popular
science books in China can be roughly divided into four stages, namely, sci-
ence enlightenment from 1840 to 1919, science popularization from 1919 to
1949, the valley stage from 1949 to 1990, and the flourishing stage of popular
science books from 1990 to now.
In the science enlightenment stage from 1840 to 1919, after the Opium
War, popular science books were introduced to China, published by foreign
missionary publishing organizations. During this period, a total of 98 popular
science books were translated (Wang, 2007). After 1889, Chinese scholars
tried to translate foreign books, such as Darwin’s Evolution and Ethics, and
From the Earth to the Moon and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by
Jules Verne, a French popular science writer. At this stage, science books
were mostly translated from foreign books, whose audiences were mainly the
intellectual elites.
The science popularization stage started with the New Culture Movement
in 1915. Before this, literary education in China had always been of high
quality, but knowledge about nature had been lacking for at least 2,000 years
in Chinese education history (Cai, 1924). In the early 20th century, a time of
Wang and Du 683
peril for China, intellectuals who had received Western education launched
an “anti-traditional, anti-Confucian” social movement, hoping to find a route
to development by learning from Western countries. The New Culture
Movement raised the flag of science with enthusiasm, with the aim of enhanc-
ing the level of scientific culture and production throughout society (Yang &
Shen, 1963). A key event in this period is the Movement of the Marrying-
down of Science, which meant to spread science from the elite to the general
public (Tao, 1991). The compilation of children’s science book series was an
important part of this movement (T. Chen, 2009). During this period, quite a
number of popular science books were translated or created. With the imple-
mentation of the Marrying-down of Science, science communication entered
the popularization stage. The audiences of science communication expanded
from the intellectual elite to the general public and children for the first time.
During the period from 1949 (the establishment of the People’s Republic
of China) to 1992, an economic downturn and political upsurge left China’s
cultural development in a state of retrenchment; more seriously, during the 10
years of the Great Cultural Revolution of China (1966-1976), almost no
books were either imported or written. At that time, however, a medical book,
Handbook for Barefoot Doctors, which aimed at health promotion, became
popular throughout the country, and each country doctor—or even each fam-
ily—owned a copy.
China joined the Universal Copyright Convention in 1992, followed by
prosperity and development in the popular science publishing industry.
Popular science books changed from the simple introduction of scientific
knowledge to focusing on scientific method and principles, which were then
referred to as universal popular science books. A Brief History of Time, writ-
ten by Stephen Hawking, was a major success. With the rapid development
of children’s books, a great number of excellent popular science books, such
as The Magic School Bus from America, My First Science Comic Books from
Korea, and Terrible Science and Cambridge Encyclopedia for Children from
Britain were introduced. Souvenirs Entomologiques, written by Fabre, has
over 20 different versions on the Chinese market.
In the popular science publication field, recomposition, translation, and
compilation are always the mainstream activities (Zhang, 2016). At present,
although Chinese original popular science books on the market have increased
greatly in number, high-quality books are still rare, and many do not appeal
to a wide audience (Wu & Qiu, 2012). Over 6,000 different popular science
books for children are published each year in China, of which almost all the
bestsellers are introduced from foreign countries (Ma, 2014). During the
period from 2014 to 2016, according to statistics from [Link] (the
leading book-selling website in China), among the top 20 popular science
684 Science Communication 40(5)
books in the ranking list of popular science books and encyclopedias for chil-
dren, only One Hundred Thousand Whys, World History for Children,
Chinese Geography for Children, and The Five Thousand Years of China
were Chinese original publications. The rest were all imported editions of
foreign language books. The other three sets of original Chinese books are all
in the social sciences. This means that One Hundred Thousand Whys still
ranks first among original popular science books of the natural sciences in
China, and now, it has become a phenomenal book that has never been sur-
passed during the past 50 years.
Satisfying Curiosity and Improving Scientific
Literacy
One Hundred Thousand Whys reveals science around us in the form of ques-
tions such as “Why is the sky blue?” “How are humans born?” “Why can the
Sun emit light?” and “Why can fish breathe in the water?” Many questions
that are frequently asked in the process of growing up are included in this
book; moreover, the content has been enriched by collecting interesting ques-
tions from the public (T. Liu & Zhou, 2011). This book is drawn from real life
and, thus, is quite practical; in addition, owing to its illustrated form, the
content is relaxed and vivid.
Children are at a stage of exploring the world, during which they ask a
variety of questions. Argos, a British retailer, made an investigation of
1,500 children and pointed out that, on average, a 4-year-old child asks 73
“whys” every day, more than half of which cannot be addressed by their
parents.1 In One Hundred Thousand Whys, the solutions to these most fre-
quently asked questions can greatly satisfy children’s curiosity. This book
uses questions to drive scientific interest and has become a precious gift for
many Chinese children; furthermore, as a result of reading this book, some
people have been inspired and finally become famous scientists. For exam-
ple, Jingzhong Zhang, a famous mathematician and a member of the CAS,
once remarked that he had been so impressed with One Hundred Thousand
Whys in his boyhood that he kept rereading it. When encountering some
interesting or unknown questions, curiosity drove him to think and study
further, and even to read other books to seek answers. The reading of One
Hundred Thousand Whys became scientific enlightenment for him (Chen,
2004).
Curiosity does not only belong to children; it is proved to also be the
source of truth and the initial drive to explore the world. Many Nobel Prize
winners, in their biographies, attribute their first steps on the road of science
Wang and Du 685
to initial curiosity (Agar, 2017). The aside made by Albert Einstein in private
correspondence in 1952, ‘I have no special talents. I am only passionately
curious,’ has now become a meme.
The questions in One Hundred Thousand Whys are not only interesting
but also effective in introducing basic scientific knowledge. For example,
“Why are beverage bottles usually not full?” This is because a full beverage
bottle may explode when being heated; accordingly, the scientific principle
of thermal expansion and cold contraction is explained. “Why can a vac-
uum bottle preserve heat?” This is due to the fact that the vacuum interlayer
can block thermal transmission; accordingly, three modes of thermal trans-
mission, namely, conduction, convection, and radiation, are introduced in
detail. “Why cannot birds be electrocuted by high-voltage power lines but
people can?” This is because people who stand on the ground can form a
loop when touching the power lines; thus, the knowledge of voltage and
current are introduced. “Why do we always use the decimal system in
counting?” This is because a man has 10 fingers; accordingly, the related
mathematical knowledge of scientific notation is elaborated. “Why cannot
food be placed in some plastic bags?” This is because colored plastic bags
are always colored by benzene, and benzene is a kind of strong carcinogen;
accordingly, chemical and biological knowledge, as well as health commu-
nication, are explicated.
Unlike many traditional textbooks and popular science books, in which
boring principles are first introduced and the applications are followed, One
Hundred Thousand Whys first arouses the readers’ concerns and interests
using daily questions; then, the readers are driven to seek solutions, and thus,
profound impressions of the relevant scientific knowledge are made, which
can even stay in people’s memories all their lives.
In terms of knowledge structure, One Hundred Thousand Whys includes
all-round sciences in an encyclopedic format. Systematic learning can con-
tribute to civic scientific literacy. The first edition included eight volumes—
mathematics, physics, chemistry, astronomy and meteorology, zoology,
agriculture, geological mineralogy, and physical hygiene. By the time of the
sixth edition, the book had been expanded to 18 volumes and 3 issues—a
basic issue, a special issue, and a hot issue: The basic issue includes mathe-
matics, physics, chemistry, astronomy, geonomy, and life; the special issue
includes zoology, botany, paleontology, medical science, architecture and
traffic, and electronics and information; and the hot issue includes brain and
cognition, ocean, energy and environment, aerospace and aviation, weapons
and national defense, and disaster and protection. Each volume in each edi-
tion serves as an introduction to each discipline. Therefore, if you read this
686 Science Communication 40(5)
set of books completely, you can learn the basic knowledge of various disci-
plines systematically.
According to research reported in Science and Engineering Indicators
(National Science Board, 2006), a person’s scientific literacy depends
directly on whether he or she has received formal education. However, fur-
ther investigation of influential factors revealed that science education in
Chinese schools was not yet perfect and after-class study played an impor-
tant role in the cultivation of scientific literacy (Ren, Zhang, & He, 2013). In
Chinese education, characterized by exam-oriented education and cram-
ming, One Hundred Thousand Whys effectively makes up the deficiencies of
schools in scientific education, owing to its vivid form and comprehensive
content.
As a classic, popular science book, One Hundred Thousand Whys strongly
influences its readers in the Chinese Mainland. Today, with its revised publi-
cation half a century later, it can still provide insight for the propagation of
scientific understanding.
Acknowledgments
We thank Mr. Xingfan Hong (the deputy editor in chief of the Juvenile and Children’s
Publishing House) and Mr. Yonglie Ye (the most important author of the book) for
providing detailed information. We also thank Prof. Guosheng Wu of Tsinghua
University and Dr. Jane Gregory of the University of Cambridge for helpful discus-
sion. The editor has been helpful with respect to the final version of the article.
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research,
authorship, and/or publication of this article: The article is supported by Korea
Foundation for Advanced Studies (International Scholar Exchange Fellowship 2017-
2018) and the National Social Science Foundation of China (#14CXW011).
Note
1. See Elsworthy (2017).
ORCID iD
Guoyan Wang [Link]
Wang and Du 687
References
Agar, J. (2017). 2016 Wilkins-Bernal-Medawar lecture the curious history of curiosity-
driven research. Notes and Records: The Royal Society Journal of the History of
Science, 71(4), 409-429.
Cai, Y. (1924). The development of Chinese education. London, England: East &
West.
Chen, T. (2009). The study on the publication of science books of introduced version
over the 30 years of Chinese reformation and open-up (Master’s thesis). Hunan
Normal University, China.
Chen, T. (2004). Special Function of Popular Science Books. Science-Technology
and Publication (2).
Chen, X. (2006). Publishing industry of China. Shanghai, China: Fudan University
Press.
Dong, R. (1962, February 23). One Hundred Thousand Whys. People’s Daily, p. 6.
[Link]
Elsworthy, E. (2017, December 3). Curious children ask 73 questions each day—
many of which parents can’t answer, says study. Retrieved from [Link]
[Link]/news/uk/home-news/curious-children-questions-parenting-
mum-dad-google-answers-inquisitive-argos-toddlers-chad-valley-a8089821.
html
Marshak, I. Y. (1938). One hundred thousand whys (C. Dong, Trans.). Beijing, China:
China Youth Press.
Jiang, X. (2006). On the development of science popularization concepts. Journal of
Shanghai Jiao Tong University (Philosophy and Social Sciences), 14(3), 40-45.
Liberation Daily. (1962, March 21). One Hundred Thousand Whys is very popular,
p. 1.
Liu, T., & Zhou, N. (2011, September 30). The new version of One Hundred Thousand
Whys is recruiting questions. Liberation Daily, p. 5. [Link]
journal/2011-09-30/page_05.htm.
Liu, X., & Shi, Y. (2009). Historical statistics of popular science books in China from
1949 to 1965. Academics in China, 02, 246-251.
Ma, G. (2014). Thoughts on the publication of original children’s popular science
books. Publishing Research, 5, 38-40.
Marshak, I. Y. (1938). One hundred thousand whys (C. Dong, Trans.). Beijing, China:
China Youth Press.
National Science Board. (2006). Science and engineering indicators 2006. Arlington,
TX: National Science Foundation.
Needham, J. (2006). Joseph Needham’s Chinese science and technology history.
Beijing, China: Science Press.
Ren, L., Zhang, C., & He, W. (2013). Constructing and analysis of the model of how
the factors affect the scientific literacy of Chinese citizens and a comparative
investigation. Studies in Science of Science, 7, 983-990.
Tang, B. (2008). One Hundred Thousand Whys: How was a classic made? Editors
Monthly, 6, 40-46.
688 Science Communication 40(5)
Tao, X. (1991). The universal set of Tao Xingzhi (Vol. 1). Chengdu, China: Sichuan
Education Press.
Wu, G., & Qiu, H. (2012). Popular science publishing in contemporary China. Public
Understanding of Science, 22, 521-529.
Yang, L., & Shen, Q. (1963). The Chinese natural science society history. In Historical
data collection (p. 62). Beijing, China: Historical Data Press.
Ye, Y. (2015). Stories behind One Hundred Thousand Whys. Shanghai, China:
Juvenile and Children’s Publishing House.
Yu, Q., & Rao, Z. (2003). An interview with Wang Guozhong, chief editor of “One
Hundred Thousand Whys.” In A series of interviews on science writers (pp. 252-
253). Shanghai, China: Shanghai People’s Publishing House.
Zhang, S. (2016). The status and thinking of popular science book publishing: An
analysis of the popular science books list in 2015. Editorial Journal, 3, 79-83.
Author Biographies
Guoyan Wang is a research associate in the Department of Science and Technology
of Communication Policy, University of Science and Technology of China. She is a
scientific committee member of Network for Public Communication of Science and
Technology (PCST) and is also the vice president of the Chinese PCST society. Her
research and practice are closely focused on communication and visualization of sci-
ence. She is the author of 2 books and 37 scientific journal articles.
Junfei Du is a professor and executive dean in the School of Journalism and
Communication, Nanjing University. He is the president of China New Media
Communication Association (CNMCA), the founder and chief editor of China
Computer-Mediated Communication Studies as well. His research field is communi-
cation and Chinese issues. He has published 12 books and more than 80 academic
papers.
View publication stats