China Books and Periodicals

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Located in South San Francisco, China Books and Periodicals, Inc. is the oldest distributor of books, periodicals, and other cultural products from the People's Republic of China in the United States.

Founded in 1960 by Dr. Henry Halsey Noyes (1910-2004). Noyes, who was born in Guangzhou, China into a third generation [Presbyterian] missionary family, moved away from China when he was eight, but vowed to "settle the unfinished missionary business of the Noyes family." Author of Hand Over Fist and China Born and former professor in English, Noyes’ action to distribute material from the PRC during the [Cold War] shocked Americans, who, at the time, knew very little about the PRC. Since 1969, China Books has sold over a million copies of the Little Red Book or Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong. At the height of business, before the June Fourth Movement in 1989, China Books thrived with stores in San Francisco, Chicago and New York and over 50 employees.

The growth of China Books during such a tumultuous political time can be credited solely to the passionate efforts made by the Noyes family. In 2003, China Books was bought by Sino-United Press Hong Kong and China International Publishing Group Beijing, and works closely in one office with Cypress Books and Long River Press.

Presently, China Books focuses on improving language study, and has teamed up with the Chinese American International School in San Francisco to help new programs establish quality Mandarin programs.

[edit] References and external links

Official site
Publisher's Weekly. China Takes Over China Books: The Longer Story. Published November 10, 2003. This article is about the sale of China Books to Sino United Publishing and China International Publishing Group.
Publisher's Weekly."Looking for China's Murakami" Published September 24, 2007. This article is about the potential market of books from China
Publisher's Weekly.Digging to China Published October 16, 2007. This article is about the cultural differences between Chinese and American publishers.