China News Agency, Beijing, September 21, title: "Father of Ma Liang": Who Said China Has No Fairy Tale (Part 2)
Author Hong Huaqian
Editor's note:
In 1955, Mr. Hong Xuntao published the story of "Magic Pen Ma Liang" in the third issue of "New Observation". This fairy tale, which almost everyone is familiar with, is still in primary school Chinese textbooks, enlightening the growth of children from generation to generation.
September 22, 2022 is the 21st anniversary of the death of Mr. Hong Xuntao. China News Agency "East and West Questions" specially published an article written by Hong Xuntao's son Hong Huaqian, to commemorate this master of fairy tales in China and the world.
Mr. Hong Xuntao (1928.4.9-2001.9.22) was born in Pujiang, Zhejiang.
Painted by artist Liu Dan.
Hong Huaqian provides pictures
Why does the "magic pen" "bloom"
His father, Mr. Hong Xuntao, spent his childhood in poverty and war.
When he was in elementary school, supplies were very scarce, and the pen was a rarity.
Who has a shiny pen in the pocket of his clothes, it is very arrogant.
"As a child, I really wanted a pen like that, but I didn't have one," he said. Once, his uncle gave him an old pen.
Although the nib of the nib has long since become rough, the barrel of the pen leaks, and the callus on his middle finger is full of ink stains when he writes, and if he is not careful, the pocket of his clothes will also drip with ink, but he still likes it very much.
The pen followed him around, wandering around.
I didn't read books since I was a child, but my father knew some ancient and modern Chinese and foreign stories from the book's catalogue.
He especially likes the story of Wang Mian. Wang Mian was born in poverty. During the day, he helped people herd cattle while teaching himself to paint. At night, he went to read under the ever-bright lantern in the temple, and finally became a scholar capable of poetry and prose.
His father lived a hard life, and he admired such a hard-working child who was willing to study hard. He took him as an example and encouraged himself from time to time.
In 1995, Hong Xuntao (right) attended the 3rd Asian Children's Literature Conference in Shanghai with translator and writer Ren Rongrong.
Hong Huaqian provides pictures
The obsession with the pen in childhood made my father wish, "to write a story with the pen as the main line. Write a story about what happened when a boy had a magic pen."
In fact, "Ma Liang" was originally called "Feng Liang".
"Feng" was taken from my mother's surname.
Later, because "Feng Liang" was not very catchy to read, my father removed the two radicals and changed it to "Ma Liang".
In 1959, the picture book "Magic Pen" written by his father and the director of "Havoc in Heaven", Wan Laiming, was published by the Children's Publishing House.
In 2017, a total of 3.586 million copies were issued, creating a miracle in the history of publishing.
In 2019, after more than half a century of panning, Changjiang Children's Publishing House republished, evoking the childhood memories of generations.
Hong Xuntao's and Wan Laiming's picture book "Magic Pen" was published by Children's Publishing House in 1959, and a total of 3.586 million copies were issued in 17 years.
Republished by Changjiang Children's Publishing House in 2019.
Hong Huaqian provides pictures
During his more than 60 years of literary career, his father's writings totaled more than 5 million words, covering various genres of literature. Some of his works were made into movies, compiled into texts, and translated into many languages.
In 1955, the Shanghai Film Studio produced the puppet animation "Magic Pen", with Jin Xi, a disciple of the puppet master Deenka, as the director and his father as the screenwriter.
The film won the first prize for children's entertainment at the 8th International Children's Film Festival - this is also the first time that a Chinese art film has won an international award.
From the birth of "Magic Brush" to 1986, a total of 31 Chinese cartoons have won 46 awards at various international film festivals.
In June 2017, "Magic Pen" went abroad again on behalf of Chinese art films and participated in the theme unit activity "Salute to Chinese Animation" at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, which is known as the "Oscar in the animation industry".
In the art film industry of the last century, "Magic Pen" ranks among the top echelons in the world.
To this day, it is still star-studded on the international art film stage.
The handwriting of Mr. Hong Xuntao.
Hong Huaqian provides pictures
From fairy tales to fairy tales
In the summer of 1982, the then Ministry of Culture began to hold ten "Children's Literature Workshops", each of which invited my father to lecture on fairy tales. His lectures were vivid and enthusiastic, and were welcomed by students from all over the country.
At this time, my father has begun to think about the "nationalization of fairy tales".
"Nationalization is an important issue in the creation of fairy tales. Don't mistakenly think that only folk fairy tales are nationalized. Nationalization is not just a matter of form. Nationalization includes geographical environment, national psychological characteristics, temperament, language, habits, etc. ."
From left, fairy tale master Hong Xuntao, comic master Le Xiaoying, and animation master Wan Laiming exchanged literary and artistic creations together.
Hong Huaqian provides pictures
"At present, Astro Boy has become a hot spot in our Chinese social life, from movies, TV, dramas, to newspapers, magazines, comic strips, to hotel curtains, restaurant tablecloths, and children's floral clothes. He is everywhere. This is not our glory, but our shame, and the shame of our Chinese fairy tale writers. We China should have our own fairy tale image. The phenomenon that foreign fairy tale images have been occupying our Chinese fairy tale positions can no longer continue. down."
Later, writers' associations in many provinces and cities, related colleges and universities, etc., all invited my father to talk about the basic theory of fairy tales and the current situation of creation, and some even organized his speech into a book and printed it out.
It is inevitable that some of the words are different from the original meaning of the father, or the meaning is unclear because of the simplicity.
My father thought, why not put his creation aside for a period of time, and write a book on fairy tale theory based on the lecture records?
In 1986, "Face the Wall for Three Years", after three revisions to the draft, the 500,000-word theoretical work "Fairy Tales" was finally written.
The three parts, theory, history and commentary, account for five-sixths of the whole book. The article collects a large number of historical materials, and introduces and discusses many famous Chinese and foreign fairy tale writers and works.
Hong Xuntao designed the cover for his theoretical book.
Hong Huaqian provides pictures
In order to sort out the development of fairy tales and outline the progress of Chinese modern and contemporary fairy tales, my father read and studied a large number of modern works and new works.
While writing "Fairy Tales", he edited the good works he read into "Chinese Fairy Tale World: Selected Children's Fairy Tales", "Ten Fairy Tales", "Ancient Chinese Fairy Tales", and "Chinese Fairy Tale World: New Era Selected Fairy Tales". "" Chinese Fairy Tale World: Selected Novel Fairy Tale" and other monographs were published.
Some people advocate that "fairy tales are from abroad", and say that Chinese fairy tales are imported products from abroad around the "May Fourth" period.
In the book "Fairy Tales", my father retorted angrily: "We want to talk about the history of Chinese fairy tales, and we must not say that China only began to have fairy tales after the name 'fairy tales'... Everything in the world , there is always something before the name, there is never a thing, there is a name first, and then there is a thing... Just like the term 'air', it may be only in modern times, or it may also be passed down from abroad. However, it cannot be said that there was no air in our ancient China, and it was only after the term was passed down from foreign countries that China had air. This is in any case unreasonable."
There are also special chapters in the book to introduce the creative process of senior fairy tale writers such as Ye Shengtao, Zhang Tianyi, Yan Wenjing, Chen Bochui, He Yi, Jin Jin and Bao Lei.
The book calls Ye Shengtao "a precursor to fairy tales and a great man of fairy tales", that Zhang Tianyi's language is "a unique family among fairy tale writers", and that reading Yan Wenjing's fairy tales "is like drinking a cup of fine green tea, refreshing and refreshing. People's throat and palate last a long time", praised Chen Bochui as "a genuine writer of children's literature", praised He Yi "as a giant who held fairy tales on his head", and praised Jin Jin's writing style "simple, literary Like a person", analyzing the characteristics of Bao Lei's works stems from his "achievements in film and drama creation".
"Fairy Tale Ten" is published by Haiyan Publishing House.
Ye Shengtao, Zhang Tianyi, Ye Junjian, Yan Wenjing, Chen Bochui, He Yi, Jin Jin, Bao Lei, Ge Cuilin, Hong Xuntao.
Hong Huaqian provides pictures
Gao Hongbo, the former vice-chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, believes that in the field of Chinese children's literature, my father has combined creative practice with theoretical research.
"At that time, Hong Xuntao was the first person to systematically discuss the genre of fairy tales; in this sense, he was a very rare writer of children's literature."
On November 20, 1988, "Fairy Tales" and "Ten Fables" won the monograph award of the "First National Children's Literature Theory Award" by the China Children's Literature Research Association.
In 1988, his father's representative fairy tale "The Origin of the Wolf's Brush" won the first (1980-1985) National Excellent Children's Literature Award by the Chinese Writers Association.
To say that the originality of Chinese fairy tales is weaker than that of foreign countries, in the final analysis, it is a question of cultural self-confidence.
Malaysian writer Nian Hong said: "Andersen of Denmark, Lindgren of Sweden... have all written moving fairy tales for children all over the world. In China, Ye Shengtao, Hong Xuntao... also left many hundreds of thousands of children in the world. A fairy tale you never tire of reading."
From Ye Shengtao to Hong Xuntao, Chinese fairy tales have gone through an extraordinary century of ups and downs from generation to generation.
Hong Huaqian provides pictures
Chinese fairy tales have gone through ups and downs and linked the past for a hundred years, and a large number of famous masterpieces have emerged.
Just like "Magic Pen Ma Liang", tear off the time label, break the space barrier, and often "paint" always new, so that the world can feel the pulse of fairy tales that originated in China.
Isn't this a shining, everlasting human heart through an interesting story?
(Finish)