Peking University, Apr. 22, 2014: “Although three decades have past since 1980s, PKUers still retain the love knot for books,” said by Li Guoqing, the CEO of E-commerce China Dangdang Inc., during the Writers Forum of Dangdang’s 8th Online Book Festival on April 15th.

Served also as the opening ceremony of PKU SJC Cultural Festival, the forum, which aims at cultivating students’ reading habit, was sponsored by the School of Journalism and Communications of Peking University (PKU SJC) and Dangdang, one of the largest online retailers in China.

Mr. Li Guoqing, CEO of Dangdang

Mr. Li, as a PKU alumnus, recounted the “crazy stories” he went through during his years at Beida. Determined to finish all books in the university library, he persists in reading one hundred of them per season. Even when serving as the vice president for PKU Student Union, he stuck to his extensive reading plan.

Star writers such as Liu Tong, author of the best-seller Whose Youth is without Confusion, Ma Boyong, known as “the wizard of web fiction”, Yongchun, writer and announcer of CCTV, Qiu Wei, writer and TV presenter and An Yiru, post-80s writer shared their inspiration and motivation from reading as well as the importance of books in their lives.

The site of the Writers Forum

The arrival of the mystery guest evoked a high tide to the event. Jiang Nan, author of a beloved PKU-based novel There They Were came back to his Alma Mater and narrated his experience in reading. “The first three or five years may be gloomy, but if you keep reading, you will understand how significant reading is for ourselves,” he said.

During the dialogue session, guests dived into the topic “Can reading cure our confusion in life” and talked with humor and wit about subjects like height, appearance, fortune.

In the later Q & A session, writers dealt with the questions raised by the students regarding various aspects of life including reading and personal development.

Written by: Chen Runxi
Edited by: Li Wenrui
Source: PKU News (Chinese)