As a die-hard fan of science magazines and a science fiction author, Zhao Yang has witnessed their development since childhood.

From Scientific Pictures, to Scientific American (Chinese edition), all have broadened his scope and inspired his curiosity. For his post-graduate studies at the Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, he has chosen to read the history of science.

But, Zhao, who is pursuing a postgraduate programme at the institute for the History of Natural Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, nowadays seldom reads popular science magazines because, he explains, "they haven't changed much for years."

Zhao is not alone in these sentiments and it is a problem popular science magazines have to confront.

Glory and decline

Since the founding of New China in 1949, science magazines have served as an important medium for popularizing scientific knowledge.

Their heyday was in the late 1970s right after the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), when there was a general enthusiasm for learning the sciences to make up for the lost time and opportunities of the chaotic epoch.

Magazines such as Scientific Pictures, I love Science, Knowledge is Power, Geography Knowledge, and Aeronautics Knowledge became household names among children, students and researchers.

Take for example, Knowledge is Power whose circulation reached 570,000 in 1978 shortly after it resumed publishing. In 1983, Scientific Pictures boasted an even higher circulation of 886,000.

However, with rising living standards and the changing demands of readers, science magazines went into decline in the middle 1980s.

In 1984, Scientific Pictures had a circulation of 711,000, down nearly 100,000 on the previous year.

Gone, it seemed, were the good old days of science magazines. Some, such as Tree of Wisdom and Young Explorer, vanished altogether as competition intensified and the market economy kicked in.

Faced with a fight for their very survival, in the 1990s many magazines began to change their layout and introduce new content as part of their reform measures.

Li Quanke, editor-in-chief of the Chinese National Geography, formerly Geography Knowledge magazine which was founded in 1950, regarded the changes from personnel reshuffling to writing style at his magazine as "revolutionary."

But, he said, "It really worked."

Today, the Chinese National Geography, which offers a wide spectrum of in-depth articles writing from the point of view of anthropologists, archaeologists, historians and sociologists, with colour photographs printed on glossy paper, is enjoying a rising reputation through its increased readership.

From a circulation of around 10,000 before the magazine embarked on sweeping reforms in 1998, it now claims a circulation of 382,000. The fact remains, however, that sales of most science magazines in China are a far cry below the colossal circulation numbers of popular digests or family-type magazines, such as Reader or Family, which sell millions.

The Chinese edition of international science magazines, such as Newton Scientific World, Popular Science, Popular Mechanics and Scientific American have also not fared particularly well in China.

According to Zhou Guozhen, editor-in-chief of the Scientific American (Chinese Edition), there are a variety of underlying problems -- the loss of their appeal among the readership and lack of professional talent.

Readership

Most science magazines still retain their traditional appearance and content, one that is serious and staid, and this has put off many young readers.

In sharp contrast to colourful fashion magazines with a focus on entertainment, traditional science magazines always tend to impart knowledge through rather unimaginative, lesson-like essays.

"They are too serious for ordinary people to understand and read," said Zhao Yang.

Such stereotypical writing styles have impeded equal communication between readers and writers.

"Science is serious but that doesn't mean its form of media should also be serious," argued Li. "Such writing styles result in one effect -- no one likes to read science magazines, even less will people think it necessary to buy them."

Dearth of professionals

The biggest problem which plagues science magazines is the lack of talented writers.

Writing science articles is a tough job which requires not only basic scientific knowledge, but also high writing skills which can convey profound knowledge in a simple and interesting way.

"We often have to rewrite the experts articles to make them readable and interesting," said Li.

In addition, the remuneration for science articles is far lower than that in other fields such as fashion magazines and newspapers.

"Though I enjoy writing science fiction or articles, I do not expect to make a living through a full-time profession in this field," said Zhao Yang, whose work often appears in the popular national press.

Translations of articles from the foreign media are commonplace in this field. But these have their limitations and invariably do not touch on domestic issues and subject matter.

Furthermore, the different expressions between languages can result in awkwardness of usage in translation. And since many translators have no scientific background, mistakes are inevitable.

"In science articles, a slip will cause big errors. That's why our editors should use their scientific knowledge to review the translation carefully," said Zhou Guozhen.

Another problem that has impeded the growth of science magazines comes from their long reliance on institutional subsidies. They are often produced by research institutes or associations who have yet to learn to compete in a market economy.

"Most important is the change in our concept," said Li. "We focus on how to provide more information and tell the stories of the real people behind the hit topics that the readers are concerned with."

Every topic is discussed by a group of experts and editors and writers have to do careful fieldwork before putting pen to paper, as it were.

Future development

Despite the problems, many insiders believe that the market potential in the sector is huge.

According to China Reading Weekly, there is at least one science magazine in every province and the municipalities of Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin. With an average circulation of 20,000 each, it is estimated that there are nearly 600,000 readers in China, who form a solid basis for further development.

"There are still various channels to tap this potential such as derivative products of the magazine," said Chen Xiao, a media investment insider.

For instance, the Chinese edition of Scientific American has published a series of English-language books related to the contents of its magazines, which have reaped handsome profits.

Similarly, the Chinese National Geography has issued Mystery, a science magazine targetted at children and students, which has given momentum to developing educational resources.

(China Daily July 29, 2003)