Berkshire Publishing Goes to China: 2008-9

While Berkshire Publishing is known for its global outlook and award-winning publications about the whole world—whether in sport, religion, history, or culture—the company is also a point of reference for information about China, preparing readers for the opportunities and challenges of the twenty-first century.

Berkshire China publications are both print and online, and range from major reference to lively popular works. Berkshire is collaborating with Chinese publishers and experts to make exciting original works available for the first time in English, with a reach that extends from ancient history to modern popculture, and from economic analysis to the nuances of cross-cultural communication.

With the Beijing Olympic Games only months away, the Berkshire team is also putting final touches on China Gold: China’s Quest for Olympic and Global Glory, a lively full-color paperback volume that uses sports as a way to introduce China and its history and culture to the global audience that will be riveted by the Games and eager to know more about the country that will have such an impact in the years and decades ahead.

Berkshire publishes a monthly journal, Guanxi: The China Letter, about doing business in China, and will soon publish a landmark reference, the five-volume Berkshire Encyclopedia of China, the first major Western publication to integrate Chinese history with a wide range of contemporary issues, from blogging and Internet use, to human rights and overseas returnees (the “sea turtles” or hai gui). The Encyclopedia of China even looks to the future with articles on renewable energy and the 2010 World’s Fair in Shanghai.

Berkshire’s cooperation with Chinese companies is developing quickly, and the encyclopedia is going to become the centerpiece of an important Chinese-U.S. reference partnership, developing online and print resources for Chinese readers as well as for Western students and researchers. These resources will include an extensive online Encyclopedia of China, scholarly and general publications on China and sustainability, and a bilingual biographical reference that incorporates both traditional approaches and Web 2.0 tools—including reader comments, Q&A with expert authors, and blogs.

While most Berkshire publications are on the massive side, the company is also delighted to present a fun, fresh look at China in a series of 12 small and gorgeous gift books. The Kailun Chinese Zodiac Collection is the result of a national art design competition organized by ZHANG Xiaoping (Black Horse) and published by the Guangdong People’s Publishing House in Guangzhou (Canton), China. The judges, a select group of famous designers, come from all over China. Each book is a compilation of the winning designs for a particular year of the Chinese zodiac, measuring 6"x5" and printed in full color with special textured and metallic covers. A new book comes out every Chinese New Year and will continue to come out until 2012, the Year of the Dragon.

The English edition has a new name: the Kailun Chinese Zodiac Collection. Kailun 凯伦 means ‘triumphant human relationship,’ an apt name for a series of books that celebrates the creative spirit, comic perspectives, and cultural connections. (Kailun is also the Chinese name of Berkshire’s founder, Karen Christensen—chosen by a business card translation company back in 2002 simply because it sounds rather like Karen.)

For the first time these highly acclaimed design books are available outside China, and world rights are available from Berkshire. The English edition includes added information on the history of Chinese Zodiac, characteristics and attributes of each sign, information on patterns, colors and themes that link these modern interpretations to Chinese history and culture.

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