On Thursday, one Chinese publisher reported that they have received orders for over 1 million copies of Stephen Hawking's works after the death of the iconic physicist this week.
According to Hunan Science and Technology Press editor Sun Guijun, the death of the physicist brought the spotlight back to his works and triggered many to order copies of his works. Hunan Science and Technology Press is the only publisher of the simplified Chinese versions of Hawking's works for China.
China's online book retailers JD.com and Dangdang.com also report that Hawking's books are currently sold out in their database and only pre-orders are possible at the meantime.
Hawking's best-seller "A Brief History of Time" was introduced in China in 1992 and after that, 10 more books from the physicists were introduced in the country. Upon its introduction, the Chinese people fell in love with science and Hawking's works.
Sun, who has been editing Hawking's books for Chinese consumers since 1999, said "'A Brief History of Time' has been printed over 30 times and is very popular among Chinese readers."
She adds, "When I first saw him (Hawking) at the University of Cambridge in 2006, I was deeply shocked to see such a great scientist bound to a wheelchair forever. I could hardly believe that he had left us. I sobbed and my mind went black several times. Hawking was great. He soley depended on his mind to express while being unable to speak and write. His personal charisma has long inspired me."
The publisher intends to publish more of Hawking's works in the future to introduce Hawking's works and thoughts regarding the issues he has studied despite his disability.
On Wednesday, Hawking died peacefully in his home in United Kingdom at the age of 76. Many fans of the late physicists had mourned his passing, including those in China.
