Teacher-turned-livestreamer inspires viewers to fall in love with books

Hundreds of thousands of bookworms tuned in to Xinhua's livestream interview with teacher-turned-influencer Dong Yuhui on the eve of this year's World Book and Copyright Day, which fell on Tuesday.

Known for his engaging speeches, encyclopedic knowledge and witty ad-libs, Dong shared his personal story and thoughts on reading.

"Inside books, we can find the most intense feelings, the most profound wisdom, the loftiest moral sentiments and the highest aspirations of human beings," the teacher says during the show.

The quote quickly circulated online and featured in media headlines.

The 31-year-old influencer, who was born in rural area of Shaanxi province, is popular on China's video-sharing platform Douyin. He is also a senior partner at New Oriental's e-commerce unit, East Buy.

As an enthusiastic book-lover since childhood, Dong has always peppered his livestream sessions with anecdotes and quotes from renowned figures in history, ranging from Confucius to Shakespeare, from ancient Chinese poet Du Fu, to the late Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez.

"I am reading with Dong right now. So thankful that you have inspired me to read print books once again," one netizen from Guangdong province writes in the interview's comment section on Weibo.

Two years ago, Dong was an ordinary livestreamer pitching agricultural products to online consumers on East Buy's Douyin channel, which was grappling with a lukewarm market response and stagnating subscriber numbers.

During a show in early June 2022, he cited German philosophers Nietzsche and Hegel.

Over 10,000 viewers watched that show, catapulting Dong to unexpected stardom. Within two weeks, the tally of subscribers surpassed 10 million, boosted by Dong's shows. According to a report from East Buy, net profits in the 2023 fiscal year reached 971 million yuan ($136.64 million), with 10 billion yuan in gross merchandise volume.

"Put down the mobile phone and enjoy the fragrance of books. Over the past two years, my biggest takeaway from Dong Yuhui's livestream channel is to fall in love with books and awaken my love of reading," says a viewer from Sichuan province.

In January, New Oriental launched a new Douyin channel for Dong, which currently has over 18 million subscribers. Books and magazines are a major category in the new channel's window display. Thanks to Dong's recommendations in several shows, The Last Quarter of the Moon, by novelist Chi Zijian, has sold nearly 3 million copies through the channel.

In the interview on Monday, Dong also weighed in on the question of how books can change a person's life.

"The life that we refer to here cannot be merely defined by results — what kind of job you get, whether it is decent and well-paid or not, or how much profit you get from reading. That is too narrow a definition. In life, we read to enlighten ourselves."

Xinhua