Chapter 26 It should be time to act quickly

Since "People's Daily" published the editorial "Massive Creation, Publishing, and Distribution of Children's Books" on September 16 this year, writers seemed to wake up from a dream, and everyone's attention turned to a literary field. "Unpopular", everyone discovered that behind this "unpopular", there are 120 million new Chinese children who are hungry, thirsty, anxious and noisy!These "will be the executors of the second five-year plan or the third five-year plan" should receive our first care and attention, but they have been "indifferent" and "belittled" in recent years!This is an intolerable thing!

Now, the general situation has improved greatly. Various literary and art journals and publishing houses are calling for writing for children with great fanfare and planning to publish children's books. Many writers are also preparing to "write for children". Children's literature creation The team has been strengthened. As a writer of children's literature, I cannot but feel extremely grateful and gratified. Many of our writer friends have very high levels of thought and great artistic skills. They even feel that their children have no books to read, but when we ask them to "write for children", They always seem to find it difficult.I think children's toys are not very easy to do.In fact, although juvenile and children's literature has its particularity, it is not very difficult for an experienced writer to master it skillfully and successfully.

The field of children's literature is very broad, and there are many aspects. Whether it is writing novels, writing poems, writing plays, writing essays... Writers can write for children, in factories, in rural areas, in the army, and in frontiers ...Writers who experience life can also write for children; because what children ask for is not just dumbbell-style works "from home to school, school to home", they are interested in exploring geology, opening up frontiers, building water conservancy, planting forests, Building railways, consolidating national defense...all feel a strong interest.

Therefore, under the conditions of "the form is free, the materials are abundant, and the skills are ready-made", all the writers need is a heart that loves children!As long as we imagine that we are speaking to a group of children, we will naturally write words suitable for children to read. I always feel that the words of "persuasion" have been exhausted by everyone, and now we don't need to persuade each other, but it's time for everyone to act quickly! Another thing is my own personal painful experience.Every time we go abroad, people always ask us to talk about "the achievements of New China", because people from all corners of the world are envious of our achievements.Because I am a children's literature writer, when they talk to me, they always ask me to report the achievements of New China's children's literature. They are also eager to translate the works of New China's children's literature, but our achievements are small. Our team It is weak, and our "masterpieces" are, after all, only the few that won prizes at the Children's Literature and Art Awards Conference in 1954.As for people asking about my own works... Needless to say, I will bear the pain and shame myself and repent!

In the end, I just want to repeat, no matter from which point of view, it is time for us to act quickly! (This article was originally published in Issue 4 of "Dueshu Monthly" on October 24, 1955.)