ARTS / CULTURE & LEISURE
Cultural figures reflect on enduring power of reading
Editor's Note:
Spring breeze flips the pages, and reading changes life. On Monday, the first day of China's first National Reading Week, the Global Times "Spring Reading" event was held at the Guangcheng Academy in Beijing. Taking literature as its theme and making friends through reading, the event built a bridge for exchanging insights on reading and promoting a book-loving society.
During the event, professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Tsinghua University and former chief editor of the Zhonghua Book Company Zhou Xuanlong, director and screenwriter Yu Baimei, actress Yao Chen, board member of the China Taofen Foundation Liu Yi and renowned writer Bi Shumin drew upon their personal life experiences to offer incisive insights into the significance of reading, interpret the power of reading, and share their personal gains and reflections from reading.
This article is based on their speeches at the event.
I believe the core values of reading have never changed, from ancient times to today. First, the dissemination and acquisition of knowledge; second, the cultivation of values; third, the enhancement of aesthetic appreciation; and fourth, the improvement of expressive ability.
Humanity's capacity for critical thinking, its reading habits, and its humanistic framework are uniquely its own.
No matter how technology evolves in the future, if human beings fail to play a leading role within the framework of civilization, they risk losing the very meaning of their existence. Therefore, I believe that reading will remain the core medium through which civilization, values, and character are passed on. Books will always be a vital vessel for the inheritance of the human spirit.
I also hope that more people will approach reading for what it truly is and maintain confidence in our culture while respecting technological progress.
Liu Yi, board member of the China Taofen Foundation
The power of reading may not immediately change our circumstances, but it can slowly nourish our inner world. It helps us stay clear-minded and fulfilled amid life's hustle and toil, and preserves poetry and passion within the routines of daily life.
Little by little, it makes us better versions of ourselves. This is the simplest yet most precious significance of reading.
There are countless stories of lives transformed by reading. I was once a student who relied on books to make my way from the countryside to the city. My mother, a dedicated teacher, placed great importance on education. No matter how difficult our circumstances were, she never let my schooling be interrupted. Reading became the most important part of my childhood.
From university all the way to earning a PhD, from graduating from Tsinghua University to becoming a teacher myself, the ability to read and learn has always been something I value deeply. It is not a lack of reading resources that we face, especially in the digital age, but a lack of methods and the capacity for deep reading.
A nation that loves reading is a nation full of hope and strength; a society rich in the fragrance of books is one that is civilized and harmonious.
Bi Shumin, renowned writer
I began the most important chapter of my reading life in a place without spring, a place where reading was incredibly rare. At the age of 16, I was assigned to the Ngari prefecture in the Xizang Autonomous Region as a medic. There, at an altitude of 4,500 meters, the mountains were sealed off by heavy snow for as long as nine months of the year.
I exchanged a single book gifted to me by a patient to others and eventually read almost every privately owned book there. Reading has been the greatest nourishment in my life, connecting past and present, nurturing my soul.
Reading is not a miracle achieved overnight, but a quiet accumulation of life, day after day. It subtly reshapes our vision and broadens our horizons, ultimately influencing the course of our lives. It helps us find direction in times of confusion, offers comfort in moments of loneliness, and rekindles our sense of purpose when life feels ordinary.
I finished my life's most important novel To the Mountains We Belong last year at the age of 72. I firmly believe that AI could never write with the depth of personal experience or emotion found in my works.
AI cannot write this now, and within the years I can foresee, it still won't be able to. For me, what matters most is that in my lifetime, I put into words my love for the highest-altitude region of our motherland, and the moving, heroic stories of the border soldiers I witnessed firsthand.
Yao Chen, actress
Reading was my shield against loneliness in my childhood. As I grew older, it became a light that illuminated my inner world. Today, it is the path through which I explore human nature. Reading helps me understand others and see myself more clearly.
Across countless ordinary moments, it has shaped who I am, little by little. In the future, reading will continue to guide me, across time and space, into conversations with countless souls as I seek the deeper truths of life.
We live in an age of unprecedented information abundance, where access to information has never been easier and forms of reading continue to diversify. Yet regardless of how the medium evolves, the kind of deep, immersive reading, engaging with every word and line, remains irreplaceable.
Yu Baimei, director and screenwriter
Reading will be humanity's strongest weapon in the era reshaped by AI.
After many years as a screenwriter, I know that reading has always been my most important tool. For me, finding useful material from different fields of books is a fundamental part of the job. However, in recent years, my reliance on books for writing has dropped sharply, because the age of AI has truly arrived.
With AI here, what should humans do? The answer is simple: read, and keep reading. In this era, what matters most is drawing wisdom and experience from the vast library of human thought. Books may mean less pure knowledge, but books of ideas are more vital than ever.
My only concern in the age of AI is that my son has not yet developed the habit of deep reading.
AI can help us seek information, but the ability to select the answers we truly need is uniquely human. It is something AI cannot fully understand or accomplish.
Spring breeze flips the pages, and reading changes life. On Monday, the first day of China's first National Reading Week, the Global Times "Spring Reading" event was held at the Guangcheng Academy in Beijing. Taking literature as its theme and making friends through reading, the event built a bridge for exchanging insights on reading and promoting a book-loving society.
During the event, professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Tsinghua University and former chief editor of the Zhonghua Book Company Zhou Xuanlong, director and screenwriter Yu Baimei, actress Yao Chen, board member of the China Taofen Foundation Liu Yi and renowned writer Bi Shumin drew upon their personal life experiences to offer incisive insights into the significance of reading, interpret the power of reading, and share their personal gains and reflections from reading.
This article is based on their speeches at the event.
A scene of the Global Times "Spring Reading" event at the Guangcheng Academy in Beijing on April 20, 2026 Photo: Chen Tao/GT
Zhou Xuanlong, professor in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Tsinghua University and former chief editor of the Zhonghua Book CompanyI believe the core values of reading have never changed, from ancient times to today. First, the dissemination and acquisition of knowledge; second, the cultivation of values; third, the enhancement of aesthetic appreciation; and fourth, the improvement of expressive ability.
Humanity's capacity for critical thinking, its reading habits, and its humanistic framework are uniquely its own.
No matter how technology evolves in the future, if human beings fail to play a leading role within the framework of civilization, they risk losing the very meaning of their existence. Therefore, I believe that reading will remain the core medium through which civilization, values, and character are passed on. Books will always be a vital vessel for the inheritance of the human spirit.
I also hope that more people will approach reading for what it truly is and maintain confidence in our culture while respecting technological progress.
Liu Yi, board member of the China Taofen Foundation
The power of reading may not immediately change our circumstances, but it can slowly nourish our inner world. It helps us stay clear-minded and fulfilled amid life's hustle and toil, and preserves poetry and passion within the routines of daily life.
Little by little, it makes us better versions of ourselves. This is the simplest yet most precious significance of reading.
There are countless stories of lives transformed by reading. I was once a student who relied on books to make my way from the countryside to the city. My mother, a dedicated teacher, placed great importance on education. No matter how difficult our circumstances were, she never let my schooling be interrupted. Reading became the most important part of my childhood.
From university all the way to earning a PhD, from graduating from Tsinghua University to becoming a teacher myself, the ability to read and learn has always been something I value deeply. It is not a lack of reading resources that we face, especially in the digital age, but a lack of methods and the capacity for deep reading.
A nation that loves reading is a nation full of hope and strength; a society rich in the fragrance of books is one that is civilized and harmonious.
Bi Shumin, renowned writer
I began the most important chapter of my reading life in a place without spring, a place where reading was incredibly rare. At the age of 16, I was assigned to the Ngari prefecture in the Xizang Autonomous Region as a medic. There, at an altitude of 4,500 meters, the mountains were sealed off by heavy snow for as long as nine months of the year.
I exchanged a single book gifted to me by a patient to others and eventually read almost every privately owned book there. Reading has been the greatest nourishment in my life, connecting past and present, nurturing my soul.
Reading is not a miracle achieved overnight, but a quiet accumulation of life, day after day. It subtly reshapes our vision and broadens our horizons, ultimately influencing the course of our lives. It helps us find direction in times of confusion, offers comfort in moments of loneliness, and rekindles our sense of purpose when life feels ordinary.
I finished my life's most important novel To the Mountains We Belong last year at the age of 72. I firmly believe that AI could never write with the depth of personal experience or emotion found in my works.
AI cannot write this now, and within the years I can foresee, it still won't be able to. For me, what matters most is that in my lifetime, I put into words my love for the highest-altitude region of our motherland, and the moving, heroic stories of the border soldiers I witnessed firsthand.
Yao Chen, actress
Reading was my shield against loneliness in my childhood. As I grew older, it became a light that illuminated my inner world. Today, it is the path through which I explore human nature. Reading helps me understand others and see myself more clearly.
Across countless ordinary moments, it has shaped who I am, little by little. In the future, reading will continue to guide me, across time and space, into conversations with countless souls as I seek the deeper truths of life.
We live in an age of unprecedented information abundance, where access to information has never been easier and forms of reading continue to diversify. Yet regardless of how the medium evolves, the kind of deep, immersive reading, engaging with every word and line, remains irreplaceable.
Yu Baimei, director and screenwriter
Reading will be humanity's strongest weapon in the era reshaped by AI.
After many years as a screenwriter, I know that reading has always been my most important tool. For me, finding useful material from different fields of books is a fundamental part of the job. However, in recent years, my reliance on books for writing has dropped sharply, because the age of AI has truly arrived.
With AI here, what should humans do? The answer is simple: read, and keep reading. In this era, what matters most is drawing wisdom and experience from the vast library of human thought. Books may mean less pure knowledge, but books of ideas are more vital than ever.
My only concern in the age of AI is that my son has not yet developed the habit of deep reading.
AI can help us seek information, but the ability to select the answers we truly need is uniquely human. It is something AI cannot fully understand or accomplish.
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