Work on tangible culture wins Wenjin award

Ten books win this year's Wenjin Book Award including Sun Ji's Tangible Culture in Ancient China. [Photo from Internet]

This year's winners of the Wenjin Book Award, announced by the National Library of China on April 23, are from three main categories - children's books, popular science and social science titles.

Ten books won the top honors that are named after Wenjinge, or the "chamber of literary tastes", one of China's most renowned imperial libraries.

The annual awards announced on World Book Day are meant to "establish a bridge between readers, writers and publishers to create a conducive atmosphere for reading books, and fulfill the duty of libraries to promote culture and educate the people".

Initiated in 2004 and first celebrated in 2005, the award's panel of judges is drawn from a pool of celebrated scholars and journalists.

Zhang He, a senior culture reporter from the People's Daily, says the awards are considered the most honorable in China's book world because it keeps a distance from marketing and media hype, or influence from writers and publishers, and fully focuses on the quality of the books.

Every year, the award selects 10 books from those published within the past 12 months, covering three areas: humanities and social sciences, popular science and children's books. The judging panel also makes dozens of book recommendations for the public.