Pearls on bamboo leaves

Author: Guo Feng
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. After the founding of the People's Republic of 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 write short essays of this type. Not long ago, a literary friend of mine in Beijing even asked me for the Selected Prose Poems for Children I had compiled with Fan Fazai, which was published by China Children's Publishing House in 1985 and was once included in the National Red Scarf Reading List. It is now difficult to find this book. From this demand, I felt as if I heard 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 to curate 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 Guo Feng about this, the elderly Mr. Guo was very pleased. As a pioneer of contemporary Chinese children's prose poetry in our country, he quickly sent me his manuscript. Although this series only contains seven books, they are quite representative. In terms of content, the works reflect both the local flavor of Southern Fujian and the grassland sentiments of Northern Inner Mongolia; there are the clapping and singing of green leaves in the forest, as well as the toasts of lotus pods in the lotus pond; there are the fishing songs of the East China Sea and the fairy tales of the countryside; there are the customs and cultures of ethnic minorities on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, as well as the laughter and joy of children in the Jiangnan water towns; there is the thirst for knowledge in schools, and the call of nature. In short, they are rich and diverse. Each work has its own unique characteristics—some emphasize structure, some are devoted to natural beauty, some possess a rhythmic sense of repetition, some blend scenery and emotion with aesthetic beauty, some are filled with fairy-tale elements, and some contain profound philosophical insights. With their own innocence and poetic hearts, the writers have created distinct children's worlds of love and beauty. 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.