Xi Shu

(né Xi Xiaoping)

b. 1963, Nanchang, Jiangxi

Bookseller

Xi Shu is a book retailer and tycoon and the most prominent master of ink-pen calligraphy. His name ‘Xi Shu’ is a homophone for ‘learning calligraphy’. A mathematics graduate from Fuzhou Normal School in Jiangxi, Xi gave up his two-year teaching career for ink-pen calligraphy. In October 1985, he initiated the first national ink-pen calligraphy exhibition in Beijing which brought him instant fame. Two years later, Xi returned to Nanchang, his home town, to become the editor for a well-known humanities journal published by the Jiangxi College of Social Sciences.

In 1992, Xi started the Ink-Pen Handwriting Institute in Jiangxi, promoting his unique technique, dubbed the Three-S System’, which won the Jiangxi Social Science Research Award. His slogan ‘Learning how to write? Look nowhere but to Xi’ triggered a nation-wide craze for learning ink-pen calligraphy. In only five years, his followers numbered over 1 million. Xi became the first person to commercialize ink-pen calligraphy in China.

In 1995, Xi founded Beijing Xi Shu Booksellers, which soon grew into China’s first private chain of bookstores, and second only to the Xinhua Bookstore. His success won him a nomination as one of the ‘Ten Most Outstanding Youth of China’ in 1996. In July 1997, Xi Shu established China’s first national book club, the ‘Good Book Club’, which claims over 140,000 members. In March 2000, Xi set up the Jingqi Online Bookstore, the largest in China, and the first to solve the issue of online payment and distribution. Along with the book club and network of over 300 bookstores, the online outlet caught the attention of the well-established Hong Kong distributor, the Tianjuan Holding Company Ltd. In November 2001, Xi and the company formed a joint-venture, and he became its CEO. By the end of May 2002, Xi Shu Booksellers had opened 689 bookstores in over 300 cities, through either direct or licensed retailing arrangements.

HU MINGRONG