Chapter 5 Interview: Fairy tales are for everyone

Xinhua News Agency 2004-02-27 Interviewer: Gong Yu Interviewee: Ke Yunlu Morning Post News Ke Yunlu used to be crowned with the titles of "the most controversial writer" and "the most face-changing writer", but when he came back with a new book, he was positioned as a "marginal" writer.Yesterday, Ke Yunlu sent an email to the Morning Post reporter, talking about the original intention of his creation and recalling his childhood. Reporter: The book analyzes many foreign fairy tales. Under what circumstances did you come into contact with these fairy tales, and what kind of feelings did they bring to you at first?What prompted you to write this book?

Ke Yunlu: I was born in a family of intellectuals. In the era of material scarcity, reading was a happy time that I can recall in my childhood and adolescence.Fairy tales were an important part of my childhood.Of course, a child cannot have the vision of today's author, but those stories and characters have subtly entered into the soul of a teenager, unconsciously affecting the growth of his personality.To this day, I am grateful for the influence these stories have brought to me, which can be called "truth, goodness and beauty". Most of what I analyze in the book are selected from those widely circulated folk stories.Such as "Wolf is Coming", "The Ugly Duckling", "Cinderella", "Little Red Riding Hood", "Snow White", "The Story of the Fisherman and the Goldfish" and so on.As a writer, I often think that those excellent fairy tales are not only read by children today, but also by my childhood and youth, and even our parents are under the shadow of these stories.So, why can such stories with such simple plots be circulated for a long time, impressing generations of readers?This can be said to be one of the origins.

Reporter: I would like to ask, do you have children in your family?What kind of works do you read to them?Would you tell them fairy tales like that? Ke Yunlu: My child is an adult. He was very naughty when he was very young. In the words of his grandma, "As long as you open your eyes, you can't stop for a minute." But only books can calm him down.I pay great attention to my child's reading and often buy books for him.In addition to fairy tales, he will also be asked to read some science fiction works to broaden his horizons.At the age when he still needs to be coaxed to sleep, the child often falls asleep in stories and nursery rhymes.I think this is very beneficial to his growth throughout his life.This makes him kind, generous, and imaginative.

Now, my kids are grown up, but I still really enjoy playing games with them.Storytelling was one of the "means" I was able to engage children.I can talk about "Little Red Riding Hood", "Wolf is Coming", and "The Little Match Girl", of course, not in the right way.It is written for readers with a certain understanding, especially for young people.I hope that the analysis of these stories will help young friends recognize themselves and get rid of some complexes that have troubled them. Reporter: You also position yourself as a "marginal" writer, can you reveal where the "marginal" will be the next focus?

Ke Yunlu: First of all, "marginal writer" is not my definition of myself, but I agree with this statement.Before that, there were also "the most controversial writer" and "the most face-changing writer" for me. These statements all reflect the impression given by some of my works. Whether it is "marginal", "controversial", or "face-changing", it all shows my exploration and change in my creation, and I like exploration and change.I once wrote in a book: "God has given everyone the power of creation, invention, and discovery equally. However, not all people cherish this power. When you are not eager to invent or discover , When you don’t desire to create, you bind yourself with a lot of prejudices, and you give up the right to invent, discover, and create. The history of human beings is the history of continuous invention, discovery, and creation. However, we see that human history, and a history that often misses inventions, discoveries, and creations."