Society

China's most famous blogger launches mag

By Wang Yan (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-07-07 07:40

A girl glances at her newly-purchased magazine named Party, which has been compiled by China’s most popular blogger, Han Han, in Changsha, Hunan province, on Tuesday. [CHI TU / FOR CHINA DAILY]

CHANGSHA - China's most popular blogger Han Han on Tuesday launched his bimonthly magazine, which sold like hotcakes on the first day it reached the stands.

Han is the chief editor of the periodical named Duchangtuan, or Party, which is priced at 16 yuan ($2.4).

The 120-page Chinese magazine contains more than 30 pieces of fiction, essays, poems and photographic work.

It begins with an essay named Green Train, written by Zhou Yunpeng, a blind poet, who penned his memories about trains. Han has also written a piece of fiction in the first issue of the magazine with his typical sense of humor.

The magazine has already topped the amazon.cn book-selling list. The website shows that the magazine will be delivered two weeks after the order is placed due to excessive demand.

On Taobao.com, a popular Chinese online retail market, a retailer in Beijing reported 667 purchases by Tuesday afternoon.

The magazine arrived at Hunan Book Town late on Tuesday afternoon, with a special sales counter set up at the entrance. "We got 140-plus copies. Sales are good," said a person manning the counter.

Many readers look forward to reading criticisms on social evils - the reason Han's blog posts became famous across the country - in the magazine, according to an ongoing online survey on igeng.com.

A total of 38,220 responses were collected by 6:15 pm on Tuesday, of which 80 percent said they would buy the magazine and 70 percent hoped to see some sharp criticism in it.

Han said in January that the launch of the magazine would be delayed, as some of its bold contents had failed assessments by relevant authorities.

Han Han

Dai Yuancheng, a 26-year-old marketing executive at a foreign firm in Beijing, is more realistic about his expectations from the magazine.

"I certainly look forward to reading some controversial articles, but I won't be disappointed if I don't get that," he said. "I can imagine the difficulties in publishing such articles (in China),"

Related readings:  China's Han Han ranks 2nd in Time poll  Chorus of approval for Han Han  Han Han mews for peace after first roar in Year of Tiger  My pen pal Han Han

Dai said he was expecting quality articles in the magazine because Han, as an opinionated person with original thought, will attract a number of celebrities to contribute pieces.

In an article published on his blog on June 10, Han said he would not give any media interviews about the magazine in order to lower the public's expectations.

He said the magazine will just be a work of literature and he cannot bear the responsibility of changing society.

"If you watch a literary film while expecting a war movie, you'll be disappointed no matter how good the literary film is," Han said.

In the preface to the magazine, Han wrote: "The happiest thing for a writer is to make works that are not filled with regrets like reality is; the happiest thing for a reader is to touch his or her ideals with eyes."