Yang Hongying Fairy Tales · 2

Author: Yang Hongying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Absolutely top-tier fairy tales! It integrates accurate and profound scientific knowledge into a series of enjoyable and engaging fairy tales. Yang Hongying became famous for her campus novels, such as Bad Boys, Beautiful Teachers, and Boys and Girls. I also joined in the fun and read them, and wow, they were really great—happy, free, liberating, fresh, and sometimes truly so. But when I first heard that Yang Hongying also had a series of science fairy tales, I was quite surprised. To some extent, her science fairy tales are far superior to her campus novels, and perhaps she herself acknowledges this. Her language remains light, rhythmic, and approachable. Moreover, the themes of these fairy tales are very distinctive, making the reading experience particularly outstanding. Open up this book right away! Kids, you’ve just opened the gateway to the of science.
Perhaps in the adult world, Yang Hongying is not a name that many are familiar with, but if you ask today’s elementary school students who they are reading, most will tell you: Yang Hongying. During the SARS pandemic, when the book market was not doing well, Yang Hongying’s new work Beautiful Teacher and Bad Boys sold out 40,000 copies and became the only original work on the recent children’s bestseller list. Yang Hongying’s campus novel series has also become a hot choice for film and television adaptations. Her works A Girl’s Diary, Bad Boys of Class 5-3, and Beautiful Teacher and Bad Boys have been acquired by companies like China Film Group and Beijing Television Drama Production Center for adaptation. Under such high popularity, it’s really hard not to pay attention to Yang Hongying.
Yang Hongying is very aware of how well her books are received. She told an interviewer that not only do young readers appreciate her books, but many parents also started to understand their children after reading them, and some children even bought her books under their teachers’ guidance. Such results were somewhat unexpected for her, as she had originally worried that her books might cause some trouble and attract criticism from teachers or parents. For example, the title Bad Boys of Class 5-3, or the revolutionary and avant-garde teacher in Beautiful Teacher and Bad Boys. The books subtly reflect her reflections on traditional school education and family education.
A significant strength of Yang Hongying’s works is their respect for children’s nature. The language is humorous and vivid, with no obvious moralizing. She believes that children are children, and they grow step by step. If they are made to act like little adults when they are young, they might grow up to say they never had a childhood, which would be a tragedy. Therefore, she says, she is not afraid of people criticizing her work as shallow or lacking depth. She writes for children, and if they enjoy it, she is satisfied. She says, “Why do I write my books to be so light and enjoyable? That’s the responsibility of a children’s literature writer. Because a person’s interest in reading starts with children’s books. If they enjoy reading from the beginning, they will keep reading. Even when they grow older and start reading more serious books, what they are exposed to in childhood is very important.” This realization came from her daughter, who fell in love with reading after starting to read her mother’s books.
A characteristic of Yang Hongying’s works is their idealistic tone. Many of the profound and sharp contradictions she incorporates are skillfully avoided. She is not shy about this: “My work is like a utopia, and I want everyone to strive for it.” She believes that children’s literature must align with children’s reading psychology and must always provide them with bright and inspiring elements. Children’s natural inclinations are full of yearnings, and she gives them space to pursue those aspirations. At the same time, she thinks that since she writes from a child’s perspective, many problems and contradictions should appear as they do to children. She says, “Many of our previous children’s literary works failed because their thinking was too complex and always used an adult approach to solve problems. When I write, I think deeply about many issues, but my readers are children, and a writer cannot simply impose their own thoughts unchanged. My style is to make the profound accessible, to be light and humorous. I want people to reflect and recognize many issues. In my works, there is no sharp opposition, and I don’t force people to be defeated.”