Ittookmeaweektoget[TheCalendaroftheForbiddenCity:2016]butIknewitwasworththewaitwhenIsawit.Thedesignlooksclassic,morelikeaworkofartthanacalendar.
ZhangFeifei,Chinesebuyerwhopurchasedtwocopiesofthe“culturalcalendar”
Inadigitalworldaculturalpapercalendarbucksthetrendandbecomesacollector’sitem
ByZhengYang
Abigfanofdigitaltechnology,WangFanhasbeenlivingapaper-freelifeforseveralyears.Likehisurbanizedpeers,the27-year-oldlikestoschedulehislifeandworkwithavarietyofappsonhissmartphone.
Butwhen2015drewtoaclose,Wangfoundhimselfamongacrowdthatwassnappingupanold-fashionedcalendar.
Thenewpinups
TheCalendaroftheForbiddenCity:2016isnomerecalendar.Itisacollector’sitem.AfterhittingthemarketinNovember2015,itsoonjumpedtothebestsellers’listofmanybookstoresandonlinemarkets.
“It’sdefinitelynotforthecalendarpart,becausemyphoneismoreconvenient,”Wangsaid.“It’saboutanostalgicsentiment,aboutcultureandaesthetics.That’ssomethingyourphonecanneverprovide.”
Itcouldbeoneexplanationforthe“culturalcalendar”fever.Thedelicateculturalcalendarscombinethefunctionsofthecalendarwithinformativecontent,usuallythemedonanaspectofChinesecultureandworksofart.Theirpriceisdoubleorthreetimesthatofordinarycalendars,rangingfrom60to200yuan($9-30).
Amongthemostsought-afterculturalcalendarsistheCalendaroftheForbiddenCitycompiledbytheForbiddenCityPublishingHouseownedbyChina’snationalmuseum,thePalaceMuseum,whichishometo1.8millionculturalartifacts.
Eachpageofthecalendarpresentsaworkofartselectedfromover380itemsinthecollectionofthePalaceMuseum,alsoknownastheForbiddenCity,theformerimperialpalaceinBeijing,aswellasotherrenownedmuseumsathomeandabroad.TheyincludetheShaanxiHistoryMuseuminnorthwestChina,theNationalMuseumofChina,theChicagoGalleryofFineArtandUniversityofPennsylvania’sPennMuseum.
Tobringhomethe“redblock,”netizens’nameforthecalendarbecauseofitstraditionalredhardcover,thebuyerwillneedtoshellout66yuan($10)andlotsofpatience.Therewasapresalebeforetheofficialreleaseandthecalendarsoldoutlikehotcakes.
“Ittookmeaweektogetit,butIknewitwasworththewaitwhenIsawit,”saidZhangFeifei,a31-year-oldwhoboughttwocopies,oneforafriendandoneforherself.“Thedesignlooksclassic,morelikeaworkofartthanacalendar.”
ManyproudbuyerspostedphotographsoftheircovetedcalendaronWeibo,aChinesesocialmedianetwork,andpraiseditlavishly.
UntillateJanuary,accordingtothepublisher,about280,000copiesofthecalendarweresoldthroughbookstoresandonlinemarkets.OnJD,oneofthebiggestonlinemarketsinChina,ithasremainedabestselleramongartbooks.
Moneyforvalue
ThefirstForbiddenCitycalendardatesbackto1932.Itwaspublishedforfiveconsecutiveyearsbeforetheprojectcametoanendin1937.Thecalendarwaspopularwiththeliteratiofthattime.
In2010,itwasre-launchedbytheForbiddenCityPublishingHouseandimmediatelygarneredattention.Thisyear,asbuyersweresnappingupcopiesofthe2016calendar,thepriceofthe2010calendar,nowacollectible,shotupto2,000yuan($304),almost30timesitsoriginalprice,inthesecond-handbookmarket.
ThepopularityoftheForbiddenCitycalendarhasgivenrisetoanewboomingnichemarket.Moreandmorepublishershaveseenthegrowingtrendandarevyingtogetasliceofthatcake.
TheZhonghuaBookCo.,forexample,hasbeguntoproduceacalendarthemedonADreamofRedMansions,theChineseliterarymasterpiecewritteninthe18thcentury,since2014.Thecalendarcontainsmorethan100poemsfromthenovelandtheirinterpretation,aswellasover100ancientChinesepaintingsandcalligraphysamples.Thefirstprintorderwasfor50,000copies,whichsoldoutinlessthantwomonths.Inthecompany’sonlinepoll,thecalendarwasvotedoneofthetop10booksof2015.
“Wehavebeenpressingtheprinterforadditionalcopiesbutit’simpossibletoforcethepacebecausethecalendarhastobeboundbyhand,”saidZhuZhenhua,arepresentativeofthepublisher.
AnotherproductfromZhonghua,acalendarcalledTheBeautyofChineseCharacters,providesinformationontheChinesecharactersusedforwriting,theirorigin,andtheevolutionofChinesechirography.Ittoohasbeenaresoundingsuccess.