Selected Works of Shi Tiesheng

Author: Shi Tiesheng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Shi Tiesheng's writing style is also personalized. He blends written language with folk dialects from Beijing and occasionally includes dialects from northern Shaanxi. Dialogue adapted to character identities is mostly colloquial, while narration tends to use written language. Novels often employ colloquial language, while essays predominantly use written language. Moreover, interestingly, he uses the framework of written language to structure his thoughts, while colloquial language functions almost like annotations, deconstructing certain rigid written expressions. The 20th century was an extraordinary century. The social life of the 20th century was turbulent and underwent profound changes, and the Chinese-language literature of the 20th century was also vast and dynamic. The 20th-century Chinese-language literature, which succeeded the 19th century and paved the way for the 21st century, actively expanded and innovated through close ties with social life and in harmony with the spirit of the times, writing a brilliant page in the five-thousand-year splendid symphony of Chinese culture. It is a spiritual reflection of an ancient nation rejuvenating its vitality and a cultural treasure of profound significance, etched in history. The Chinese-language literature of the 20th century will undoubtedly become an important part of the Chinese cultural tradition for future generations to inherit, and the outstanding works of the 20th century will be remembered as classics. Organizing and publishing important writers and works of 20th-century Chinese-language literature is undoubtedly an urgent historical task before us. Moreover, under the current overly dominant "marketization" that makes literary production increasingly complex and an overly "entertainment-oriented" cultural environment that degrades literary reading, such a historical task aimed at accumulating outstanding cultural achievements and promoting classic works has become even more important and urgent. In the spring of 2005, with a shared purpose and similar interests, Beijing Yanshan Publishing House, which has established a strong brand image with the "World Literature Library," received support and assistance from authoritative literary research institutions centered around the Institute of Literature of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Under the general planning of renowned literary critic and publisher Bai Ye, Ni Peigeng, as well as scholars and literary critics Chen Juntao and He Shaojun, the "60 Outstanding Chinese-Language Writers of the 20th Century" project and selection campaign was launched. The creation and launch of the "60 Outstanding Chinese-Language Writers of the 20th Century" series aim to review and showcase the abundant achievements and significant progress of 20th-century Chinese literature through the collaboration of renowned writers and their masterpieces, further promoting the accumulation of advanced culture and the dissemination of classic works, and meeting the reading needs of new generations of literary enthusiasts. To ensure that the selection and publication of the "60 Outstanding Chinese-Language Writers of the 20th Century" series reflect both the academic insights of literary experts and the valuable opinions of literary readers, we adopted a combination of expert selection and reader voting, adhering to principles of objectivity, fairness, and openness, striving to integrate the views and requirements of all parties and reflect the actual development of 20th-century Chinese-language literature, as well as the general consensus of literary scholars and the reading preferences of readers for 20th-century Chinese-language literary works. Based on the above selection principles and objectives, after expert recommendations, we carefully selected 100 writers and their representative works as candidates. Subsequently, we invited 25 experts in modern and contemporary Chinese literature to form the "60 Outstanding Chinese-Language Writers of the 20th Century" selection committee, who conducted written, named voting based on the 100 candidate list, and determined the expert selection results based on the number of votes. To incorporate the perspectives and reading intentions of a broad readership regarding 20th-century Chinese-language writers and works, we received strong support and full cooperation from the highly popular "Sina News · Reading Channel" domestically, launching a two-month "" () for the "60 Outstanding Chinese-Language Writers of the 20th Century." Thousands of readers actively participated in and engaged with this selection, with some even posting insightful commentaries on the message board, demonstrating their concern for the selection process and expressing their personalized reflections on 20th-century Chinese literature. On December 16, 2005, the reader selection results were officially announced on the "Sina News · Reading Channel." The two selections above indicate that while readers and experts share similar views on the fundamental issue of selecting the best and promoting classics, there were ultimately certain divergences in value orientation. To ensure that the selection and compilation of the "60 Outstanding Chinese-Language Writers of the 20th Century" could objectively reflect the opinions of both experts and readers, after repeated consultations, we decided to combine the results of the two selections, each weighing 50%, to produce the final ranking table (see selection results on the following page). The writers selected for the "60 Outstanding Chinese-Language Writers of the 20th Century" series are included in "Selected Works" format. In addition to the works, we also invited relevant experts to write research-oriented prefaces and compile bibliographies of the writers' creative works, all aimed at providing readers with necessary guidance and additional information to understand the writers, their creative characteristics, and their positions in literary history. The publication of the "60 Outstanding Chinese-Language Writers of the 20th Century" series aims to encompass the essence of 20th-century Chinese-language creation, showcase works of classic significance, and create a premium bibliography suitable for collection. It embodies the dedication of dozens of experts and carries the heartfelt hopes of tens of thousands of readers who love modern and contemporary Chinese literature. We hope it can withstand the test of time and history, as the friends who support this endeavor wish: the "60 Outstanding Chinese-Language Writers of the 20th Century" will become a classic collection in major libraries, a must-read for students of liberal arts in higher education and literary enthusiasts, and be widely recognized by the world.