Green Leaf's Song

Author: Fan Fajia
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: In China, writing prose poems specifically for children is a new literary phenomenon that emerged after the May Fourth New Culture Movement. Since the founding of New China, especially in the past two decades, this genre has developed rapidly. In recent years, when I participated in recommending and compiling primary school Chinese textbooks and extracurricular reading materials, I heard that both teachers and students loved this exquisite prose poetry. Some children's publications occasionally asked me to contribute short articles of this type. Not long ago, a literary friend of mine in Beijing's publishing industry asked me for the Selected Prose Poems for Children I had compiled with Fan Fajia, which was published by China Children's Publishing House in 1985 and was once included in the National Red Scarf Reading List but is now hard to find. From these demands, I felt a call for the prosperity of children's prose poetry creation. Therefore, I decided to compile a series titled Exquisite Contemporary Chinese Children's Prose Poems, selecting several distinctive writers and curating their children's prose poems for separate volumes. This idea was quickly supported by Mr. Xie Qingfeng of Hunan Children's Publishing House. After telling this to Guo Feng, the elder was very pleased. As a pioneer of contemporary Chinese children's prose poetry in our country, he soon sent me his manuscript. Although this series only contains seven books, it holds significant representation. In terms of content, the works feature both the rustic charm of Minnan and the grassland emotions of Inner Mongolia; the clapping and singing of green leaves in the forest, as well as the toasts of lotus pods in the pond; the fishing songs of the East Sea, and the fairy tales of the countryside; the customs and cultures of ethnic minorities on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, and the joyful laughter of children in the Jiangnan water towns; the thirst for knowledge in schools, and the call of nature. It is truly rich and diverse. Each work has its own unique characteristics—some emphasize structure, some revel in natural beauty, some possess a rhythmic sense of repetition, some blend scenery and emotion, some are filled with fairy-tale elements, and some are rich in philosophical depth. With their own childlike hearts and poetic spirits, the writers have created distinct worlds of love and beauty for children. Their different personalities and styles make this series vibrant and colorful. I believe that the publication of this series will be beneficial for promoting the development of children's prose poetry in China, enriching children's reading, and enhancing their aesthetic and cultural literacy.