Selected Essays by Winners of the 7th New Concept Composition Competition

Author: Tian He Feng Wei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-06-01
Features: The New Concept Composition Competition, with the purpose of "Facing the New Century and Cultivating New Talents," was pioneered by the magazine Menghua in the summer of 1998. It is jointly organized by ten renowned universities: Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University, Beijing Normal University, East China Normal University, Nanjing University, Nankai University, Wuhan University, Xiamen University, and Sun Yat-sen University. The competition invites top domestic writers, professors, editors, and humanities scholars to serve as judges. The New Concept Composition Competition primarily targets middle school students. It does not restrict themes or formats, advocating for writing about familiar subjects and expressing personal thoughts, while encouraging students to unleash their creativity and imagination. The competition is held annually. The inaugural event launched in January 1999, and to date, it has completed five editions. The number of participants has grown from over 4,000 in the first edition to over 40,000 in the fifth edition, with the competition expanding to remote provinces such as Xinjiang, Tibet, Qinghai, Yunnan, and Gansu, as well as overseas Chinese communities. The breadth and depth of the themes have also significantly improved. Over 30 outstanding liberal arts talents have been selected for key universities through the competition. After each edition, renowned writers, professors, and senior editors provide commentary, and the New Concept Composition Competition Anthology (Volumes A and B), published by the Writers' Publishing House, has been ranked among the top national books of the year multiple times. Starting from 2001, two additional editions of the New Concept Composition Competition were launched, featuring 12 special collections of distinctive essays and selected anthologies from the first to the fourth editions. The New Concept Composition Competition does not charge any participation fees and is exclusively sponsored by Shanghai Tobacco (Group) Company, with the "Zhonghua Cup" serving as the competition's title. To ensure that students from impoverished regions can attend the second round of competition in Shanghai, the magazine has provided round-trip travel expenses for students from other provinces since the second edition. The New Concept Composition Competition marks the first collaboration between the literary and education sectors. Its development aligns with the educational principles advocated by the National Education Conference, emphasizing "innovation and the improvement of comprehensive qualities." It has achieved socially recognized positive effects in inspiring students' creativity, fostering a love and interest in Chinese language and literature among Chinese students, and motivating talented young people to participate in competition. At the same time, it has significantly promoted the selection of liberal arts talents by universities and the reform of Chinese language education in middle schools, earning it the title of: "The Olympic Competition of Chinese Language in China."