Learn to Read — Even from China!

Books are no longer the “best companions in time,” as the great Arab poet Al-Mutanabbi once said. In subways, trains, and public spaces, it has become rare to find someone holding and reading a printed book. Instead, the overwhelming majority stare intently at their mobile phone screens. This scene no longer surprises anyone; it has become a routine practice happening everywhere and at all times.

This phenomenon is not limited to either poor or wealthy countries. Mobile phones occupy the hands and minds of everyone. Some governments have treated the matter as a personal issue beyond state intervention, arguing that people’s habits are difficult to change. Other countries have acknowledged it as a problem, but confined themselves to issuing general advice encouraging reading and warning against excessive attachment to mobile screens.

China, however, has taken a different path.

A few weeks ago, a new law aimed at encouraging reading officially came into effect. The law seeks to build a society committed to “lifelong learning” and to raise cultural awareness. Its provisions focus on supporting and promoting digital reading alongside printed books, while also launching initiatives to deliver books to rural and underdeveloped regions.

There is also special attention given to improving access to books for the elderly, people with disabilities, and children. The law calls for the establishment of public reading facilities across the country. The government and the Chinese Communist Party are leading a nationwide campaign encouraging people to read and urging them to spend less time on their phones.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has actively participated in the campaign, repeating the famous words of former leader Mao Zedong: “A person can go one day without food or sleep, but not without reading.”

Xi aspires for China to become a global cultural superpower by 2035, and reviving reading is considered one of the essential pillars of that vision. The Chinese president believes his country’s future depends on mastering the industries of the future, and he sees reading as a generator of innovation.

He has urged the Chinese people to read voraciously, especially classical literature and the world’s great novels. According to Xi, reading such works helps people understand why the world exists in its current form. He also wants Chinese citizens to honor traditions, since reading is regarded as part of Chinese identity.

One may agree or disagree with Mao’s policies in areas such as economics and human rights, but he was deeply committed to eradicating illiteracy in China. In 1921, when the Communist Party was founded, only 22 percent of Chinese people could read and write. By the time Mao died in 1976, the literacy rate had risen to 60 percent. Today, it stands at nearly 99 percent.

The environment, therefore, is well prepared for a return to reading. Yet people cannot simply be forced to read. The most a state can do is encourage them. In this context, China has built a number of libraries that have become global cultural landmarks, while also continuing to support traditional libraries.

Even so, many challenges remain. People increasingly read free books online, while printed books are expensive. There are also restrictions imposed by state censorship on certain types of books. Nevertheless, China is offering — through actions rather than slogans — a model for encouraging people to read.

Both the party and the government believe that reading is a fundamental factor in national progress, not merely a luxury or a pastime. Without cultural development, no economic, technological, or political project can truly succeed.

Originally published in Al Masry Al Youm