Enchanted Forest by Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford is published in Chinese.(Photo provided to China Daily)
The adult coloring book Secret Garden is seemingly losing its position on the book market threatened by other newcomers and for its much-debated negative effects.
The book Secret Garden: An Inky Treasure Hunt by Scottish illustrator Johanna Basford has been a hit among Chinese readers since it was released in China in June.
While two months have passed, it seems that its popularity is fading. Noted Chinese writer Jiang Fangzhou said the book makes people addicted to the null "positive energy" as a way to escape the reality. A Guangzhou bookstore has removed all the Secret Garden series off its shelves saying that the book is meaningless without cultural content. Are all the signs showing that Secret Garden is losing its attractiveness?
Can coloring books really help people relieve stress? Not all.
There is a popular saying among the public that coloring books can help people relieve stress and has much psychological benefits. Some Internet users claim that they can keep away from their cell phones for a whole afternoon by concentrating on the coloring, which not only help them relax, but also achieve self-improvement.
However, some say that the coloring process makes them more stressful as it is hard for them to choose the right color each time and they are always unsatisfied with their works. Some addicts got sick after coloring for too much time and a college girl even fell ill after staying up for coloring until 2 o'clock in the midnight.
Chinese-style coloring book The Assassin Nie Yinniang is catching up.
As soon as the manuscript paintings of the film The Assassin Nie Yinniang was released as a promotion for the film's release on Aug 27, people are amazed by the beauty of the paintings and are crying for its coloring version.
The film producers then published the coloring albums of the script paintings and its first batch of 100,000 was sold out quickly.
The painting album is the script of the film's art director Huang Wenying, who has got inspiration from ancient famous paintings from Tang Dynasty like Court Ladies Preparing Newly-Woven Silk and Portrait of Lady of Guo Going Sightseeing in Spring by Zhang Xuan.
An expert says that the coloring album becoming a hit is expected, as the film's portraying of Tang Dynasty coincident with Chinese people's view of beauty and it recalls people's affection to Oriental beauty.
Pop-up books and other creative books are popping up.
"Any books relative to painting is in vogue," says an owner of a Chinese bookstore. "They occupy more than 50% in the overall sales volume."
For example, the Germany paper artist Felicitas Horst Schfer's book Paper Style: Hairdos, can make readers cut out stereoscopic hairstyle for the figures in the book by following his instructions and using the models. Readers can also cut out pop-up animals in her another book.
Scratch Night View, a creative book published by Korean Lago Design, is another hit recently. It needs readers to scratch down the powdered aluminite on the pictures and the shining night views of noted attractions will be exposed.
What do the experts say？
Chen Hengda, a head at the spiritual growth center at Guangxi Science and Technology Publishing House, says that the drawings from the hit coloring books like Secret Garden are always the authors' improvisation, which requires a high coloring skill, so many people can't feel a sense of achievement and will feel frustration for their efforts, which can only make them more stressful." "Anyway, it's not suitable for everyone."
Yang Zhong, from Chinese Academy of Art, says that the coloring has nothing to do with art and it is only a mechanical and repetitive process, no creation and imagination is involved.
Xu Guosheng, an expert from the Chinese academy of Press and Publication, thinks that coloring book caters to the social reading trend, and has a great advantage in social interacting and social spread. "The hit of coloring books is a sign which predicts the social publishing and social reading will be a major trend in the future."
