Chapter 116 Postscript of the new version of "Little Orange Lantern"

The forty-six short essays and poems in the new edition are all my works between 1953 and 1965 after liberation, mainly for children.Among them, only the long poem "Because We Are Young" (1972) and the essay "Cherry Blossoms and Friendship" (1973) were written for a wall newspaper and foreign language publications, and were not published in China. published in newspapers. I read the proofs of the new edition from the beginning, and the characters and environments described in those essays came to my eyes all at once! Here are the children of our socialist motherland, as well as the children of our friendly countries and regions; there are many scenes of the prosperity of our socialist motherland, and there are also mountains and rivers all over the world that make me miss the low mountains and rivers.I seem to see these black-haired or blue-eyed children talking and laughing around me... and the achievements of the socialist construction of the motherland and the mountains and rivers abroad are more like majestic and beautiful pictures. in front of me.These warm and beautiful memories brought tears of gratitude to the corners of my eyes.I admit that I didn't write well about the characters and the environment I saw, but I do have a sincere heart to love Chairman Mao and the Chinese Communist Party led by him, the socialist motherland, and children.It is this heart that drives me to write these works.

When the "Gang of Four" was rampant, I, an old literary and art worker, was of course a black-line figure under the "black-line dictatorship of literature and art". Even such inconspicuous children's books were not able to meet readers.The "Gang of Four" was smashed, the haze was swept away, the sky was clear, the earth rejuvenated, and a hundred flowers bloomed!Amid all the blooming flowers, it also reopened.This flower is very small and inconspicuous at first, but it also bravely stands behind the brilliant and splendid ranks to accept the review of the broad masses of the people, especially young readers!It hopes that with the help of readers' criticism, new branches of this old tree can bloom flowers that are more beneficial to the physical and mental health of young readers.Because the healthy growth of our revolutionary successors is the top priority of building our country into the four modernized socialist powers by the end of this century, I, an old literary and art worker, also want to "grow old and grow strong", in the limited years, to contribute to this Make an infinite effort on a top priority!

April 29, 1978. (, People's Literature Publishing House, first edition in July 1978.)