Childhood of Dogs and Elves - Classic Childhood of Two-Masted Ship

Author: Karel ?apek
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: Many years ago, at a national conference in Yantai, Shandong, I proposed a view: Children's literature writers are the shapers of future national character. In recent years, I revised this concept and offered a new definition: The mission of children's literature lies in providing humanity with a sound foundation of good character. I now prefer this formulation because it is broader and more aligned with the spiritual world of children's literature. Another way to put it: The purpose of children's literature is to lay a "spiritual foundation" for people. This series, "Classic Sailing Ship Children's Books," selects the classics of world children's literature, which are undoubtedly a spiritual feast for young people. These books are the ones I call the "books within books." I once referred to such books as "royal books." Let us first discuss the fundamental aspects of this so-called sound foundation of good character—moral sense.
Literature was chosen by humanity as a spiritual form precisely because it was discovered to be beneficial in transforming and purifying human nature. From its inception to the present day, literature has played an immeasurable role in shaping and refining human nature. In the spiritual world of modern humanity, much of the beauty and radiance comes from literature. In the exquisite qualities of human beings today, we can discern the traces left by literature with just a little reflection. Without literature, there would be no modern world, no modern humanity. Without literature, humanity would still be lost in vastness and dimness, entangled in the confusion of ignorance, and living in a purely animalistic existence devoid of taste and interest. Literature must have moral sense, and children's literature must have it even more so. It must be acknowledged that inherent human nature is far from being lovely or beautiful. In fact, it may be the opposite. Human nature is filled with a significant amount of evil. These elements hinder humanity's progress toward higher levels of civilization. To sustain human existence and development, the elite among humanity realized that morality must be upheld within humanity. The emergence of this concept made it possible for humanity to advance toward civilization. Over the centuries, the meaning of morality has evolved and changed, but it has gradually settled into some fundamental and enduring elements: selflessness, integrity, compassion for the weak, helping those in need, opposing tyranny, resisting bullying, pursuing equality, yearning for freedom, respecting individuality, and nurturing kindness. These moral principles, along with other spiritual forms (such as philosophy and ethics), effectively restrain the evils of human nature and continuously improve it.
Taste. Literature seems more powerful than any other spiritual form in cultivating taste in humanity. "The waves rise gently, white birds descend leisurely." "Sparse shadows slant across the clear water, faint fragrance drifts in the dusk." "The orioles also love the coolness of the new season, singing over the shadows of green mountains." With concise words, literature can instantly inject the essence of taste into the blood and soul of people. Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe, Tagore, Hemingway, Turgenev, Lu Xun, Shen Congwen, and Kawabata Yasunari—these generations of outstanding writers, with their noble and refined words, have transformed our lives into lives of taste. They have turned pale and ordinary existence into something worthy of our appreciation. Taste has changed human nature, elevating it in quality. And the cultivation of taste should begin with children. Taste belongs to the realm of aesthetics. My stance has always been consistent: in my consciousness, there is something very important—I believe that the power of beauty, the power of aesthetics, is no less than the power of thought. Even the deepest thought can become commonplace, but only one thing never ages—beauty. However, in the current context of China, there is a very strange phenomenon—"beauty" has become a very affected term. This is extremely strange. I simply cannot understand: what is wrong with people? Why do they avoid and denigrate beauty? What is the mindset behind it? Is it truly that literature is completely ineffective in elevating the taste and refinement of a nation, that it bears no responsibility or duty in this regard? Let us leave adult literature alone for now and let it be. But when it comes to children's literature, we must speak up. Without laying this foundation, it is not possible. Without it, human nature would be in very poor shape. The gap in aesthetic education is one of the great failures of Chinese education. This failure has far-reaching consequences. When Cai Yuanpei served as Minister of Education in the Republic of China, he proposed the idea of promoting the five types of education (moral, intellectual, physical, worldview, and aesthetic) at the National Education Conference. Aesthetic education was included among these. However, it sparked fierce debate and was nearly rejected. Later, it was merely accepted as a principle for primary and secondary schools, not as a national education policy. Over time, the understanding of aesthetic education became increasingly narrow, until it was finally reduced to being equated with art and music. In Cai Yuanpei's view, the five types of education formed a perfect system for cultivating a superior human nature. Moral, intellectual, and physical education constituted the lower half, while worldview and aesthetic education formed the upper half. However, this upper half was cut in half. China's education system became a flawed one.
Emotional education. Classical literature has always entrusted itself to a core word: moving. For centuries, classical literature has written about nothing but moving people. But since the rise of modern literature, it no longer does this. Classical literature moves us precisely because of its spirit of compassion and its compassionate sentiments. Human society has evolved to this day, gaining much but also losing or damaging much. There has been a significant loss of emotions—passion, enthusiasm, compassion—even among children raised in this material and cultural environment (so-called "new humans") have become a source of widespread concern among anthropologists. One reason for this concern is the fading of compassion (they have not yet developed a spirit of compassion). We have seen that today's children seem to have little impulse to engage in such noble behaviors. The signs indicate that the process of modernization is not perfect. The benefits humanity enjoys today as a result of modernization have come at a great cost. The weakening of emotions is a prominent example. We have asserted that literature lies in providing and creating a sound foundation of good character for the existence of human society. And this "foundation" must necessarily include a crucial element: compassion. If we consider these three fundamental aspects, the works selected for "Classic Sailing Ship Children's Books" are ideal models. They strike a balance among the three. This balance is also a balance of the human spirit, a balance of humanity.