Picturing the past

Recently published, the first print run of 20,000 sets has already sold out. So Li Jia, editor in charge of the book from the Children's Fun Publishing Co Ltd, has been busy supervising the second print run of 30,000 sets.

Children's Fun Publishing cooperated with the National Museum of China and the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts to create the books. NMC provided authoritative and accurate texts, while the CAFA team provided the illustrations. It took three years to complete the first five volumes.

In 2014, NMC began organizing public lectures for children ages 4 to 8, explains Zhao Jing, deputy director of the education and publicity department of NMC.

"We found this series of lectures makes it easier for young children to walk into museums and learn about the history of our country."

She adds that, "unfortunately, only a small number of children can attend our lectures, so we thought it was a good idea to make books based on them, which will enable us to reach a wider audience."

They decided to create a range of picture books so that young children, with the help of parents, will have their interest piqued by the vivid pictures, Zhao says.