The first yearbooks，also commonly known as Pishu，were published in China in 1990. Since 1997，when Social Sciences Academic Press became China’s flagship yearbooks publisher，Pishu has grown into a distinct publication genre with its own goals，principles，codes of editorial conduct and evaluation criteria. Over the past two decades，yearbook publishing has evolved with the times. Such rapid development of a type of scholarly publication can be attributed to a number of factors，including rapid development of the country，the growing global appeal of the notion of the “Chinese experience”，significant progress in thinktank development，the increasingly urgent need for a model of discourse that facilitates communications and mutual understanding between Chinese and others，and the easy availability of massive empirical data made possible by Big Data and other digital technologies. Improvements are still desired in many respects，including the persistence of structural imbalance，the lack of rigorous professional standards governing yearbook-related research and editing，over-reliance on second-and third-hand data，poor coordination among research institutions，researchers and publishers，and inadequate marketing. To realize those improvements，we suggest the following：reducing “uncertainty”；making sure data provided are reliable，useful and useable；adopting the highest professional standards and targeting the right research community；honing authors’ data analysis skills；making timely adjustments to publishable titles；promoting digitalization and international cooperation；developing yearbooks into a platform for communication among research institutions，individual researchers，and the publisher，and finally，strengthening advocacy for standardization through the publication of Pishu Manual of Style：the Essential Guide for Writers，Editors and Evaluators.