Research on Prose

Author: Jia Pingwa
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-01-01
Features: The Beauty of Literature has been published for a hundred issues. This day should be our celebration, as lively as a child's full moon and a birthday for an adult. But the child in the full moon, adorned with lanterns and greeted by guests, is utterly unaware, while the birthday adult is busy entertaining, unsure whether the celebration brings joy or exhaustion. Eight years have passed, and the chaotic life has left behind a neat hundred issues of the magazine. Life is a bitter wine, and each issue is an inexhaustible snack to go with it. In my memory, when my daughter was young, I would come home at midnight every day, and she would already be asleep. As I took off my shoes, seeing a small pair of leather shoes among the adults' shoes in the living room filled me with warmth and tenderness. But as my daughter grew up and went to school, she brought me not only the heavy burden of supporting her but also the significant responsibility of raising her. The Beauty of Literature was founded in September 1992. At that time, creative writing, particularly prose, was not in a "hot" phase; instead, it seemed somewhat stagnant. Since the late 1970s, the New Period literature had gradually flourished, with poetry and fiction receiving extensive exploration and practice, while the prose field remained neglected. Prose writing had become a mere appendage to fiction and poetry, with prose columns in newspapers and magazines merely decorative. It seemed that some professional prose writers knew they were famous but were unclear about what they actually wrote. Could we dare to create a prose magazine? Many questioned and opposed it, but the (blank space) gave us an opportunity, though the fear of (blank space) lingered like a shadow behind us. Like a lone night traveler singing loudly to brace himself, we boldly declared "Great Prose" on the cover of the first issue. Our foundation was the core team of the magazine, all seasoned editors and renowned writers in the local area. Proposing the concept of "Great Prose" may not have been a perfect name, but it was undeniably a response to the (then-current prose predicament), a dissatisfaction with the decline of prose, and a consensus to break through, guide writing, and transform readers. We knew we were not theorists, nor were we seeking to sensationalize for the magazine's survival; we simply aimed to transform, like turning a caterpillar into a butterfly or a seed into a tree. In a sense, "Great Prose" was not just a slogan but also our guiding principle for editing. Because we were insignificant and publishing a provincial magazine from a foreign province, it took us much more effort—more firewood, even billowing smoke—before our flame finally rose. Our primary work lay in maintaining the independence of the prose field, returning what belonged to fiction to fiction and what belonged to poetry to poetry. This work was not to purify prose but, on the contrary, to expand its horizons and broaden its paths. These issues may now seem natural, but at the time, every step was extremely difficult and sparked fierce debates in the prose community. Some mocked us: "Are all the articles in The Beauty of Literature great prose?" We couldn't call the foundation of a house a house while building it, but once the house was built, we could say the foundation was part of the house. We had been developing various special collections, such as those for overseas writers, regional domestic writers, specific genres, and thematic works, striving to break the so-called circle of professional prose writers and the circle of intellectuals. Regardless of who the author was or what genre the writing fell into, as long as the prose was well-written, we included it. We wanted to make prose no longer the ivory tower of professional prose writers or the spiritual garden of intellectuals, but to give it more (sense of the times) and (sense of life). We preferred roughness over artifice, refused to pander to politics, convention, or trendy fashion, and insisted on passion and vitality. We published a people's magazine, yet the process of editing elevated our spirits. We focused on building modern Chinese prose and redefining the aesthetic of the prose form. We had moments of joy and confusion. When our principles and practices gradually gained recognition and support from writers and readers, and were echoed by many newspapers and magazines, we realized that a magazine with a soul, independence, and autonomy would naturally attract assistance. (Excerpt) Jia Pingwa August 25, 2000, Xi'an