When books indicated the dawn of a new era

For many middle-aged and senior Chinese intellectuals, it was much before the end of 1978 that they first got a whiff of a new era of books approaching.

In the spring of 1978, the country's restrained academic circles first realized emerging signs of changes to the rigid academic policy, even though the milestone 3rd Plenum of the 11th Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, which would map out China's reform and opening up blueprint, was convened months later on Dec 18 that year.

In March 1978, the government released a piece of news that the country's paper reserves would be used to reprint 35 popular Chinese and foreign works and publish a batch of long-anticipated books.