Fairy tale of dogs and elves

Author: Karel ?apek (Czech)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-04-01
Features: How 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. A few years later, I revised this concept and made a new definition: The mission of children's literature lies in providing humanity with a sound foundation of good human nature. I now prefer this statement 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 Children's Books of the Double-Sailed Ship," selects classics of world children's literature, which are undoubtedly a spiritual feast for young people. These books are the ones I call the "books of books." I once called such books "royal books." Now, let's first discuss the basic aspects of this so-called sound foundation of good human nature—moral sense.
Literature was chosen by humanity as a spiritual form precisely because it was discovered to be beneficial for the transformation and purification of human nature. From its inception to the present, literature has played an immeasurable role in shaping and refining human nature. In the spiritual world of modern humanity, many beautiful and radiant elements come from literature. In the wonderful qualities of human beings today, we can discern the traces left by literature with just a little reflection. Without literature, there would be no world today, no modern humanity. Without literature, humanity would still be lost in vastness and dimness, still entangled in the confusion of ignorance, still surviving in a purely animalistic existence devoid of taste and interest. Literature must have moral sense, and children's literature must have it even more. It must be acknowledged that inherent human nature is far from being so lovely and beautiful. In fact, it may be the opposite. Human nature is filled with a large amount of evil elements. These elements hinder humanity from advancing to higher levels of civilization. To maintain the existence and development of humanity, the elite among humans realized that morality must be upheld in human society. The emergence of this concept made it possible for humanity to progress toward civilization. Over the centuries, the meaning of morality has evolved and changed, but it has gradually settled into some fundamental and constant elements: selflessness, integrity, compassion for the weak, helping those in need, opposing tyranny, resisting bullying, pursuing equality, longing for freedom, respecting individuality, and nurturing benevolence. 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 to have more power than any other spiritual form in helping humanity cultivate taste. "The waves rise gently, white birds descend leisurely." "Sparse shadows slant across the clear water, faint fragrance floats in the twilight." "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 elements of taste into people's blood and souls. Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe, Tagore, Hemingway, Turgenev, Lu Xun, Shen Congwen, and Kawabata Yasunari—each generation of outstanding literary figures, with their noble and refined words, has transformed our lives into lives of taste. They have turned lifeless existence and mediocre objects into things 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 views have always been consistent—I believe that the power of beauty, the power of aesthetics, is no less than the power of thought. Even the deepest thoughts can become common knowledge, but only one thing never ages—beauty. However, in the current context of China, there is a very strange phenomenon: "beauty" has become an overly sentimental 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 has no role or responsibility in elevating the taste and refinement of a nation? Let's leave adult literature alone for now; 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 dire straits. The gap in aesthetic education is one of the great failures of Chinese education. The consequences of this failure are far-reaching. When Cai Yuanpei served as the Minister of Education of 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 almost rejected. Later, it was merely accepted as a principle for primary and secondary schools rather than as a national education policy. Over time, the understanding of aesthetic education became increasingly narrow, eventually being reduced to being equated with fine arts 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 off. China's education system became incomplete.
Emotional education. Classical literature has always entrusted itself to a core word: moving. Classical literature has spent centuries writing about moving people. But after the rise of modern literature, it no longer does so. 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 raised concerns among anthropologists. One reason for these concerns is the decline in 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. Various signs indicate that the process of modernization is not perfect. The benefits humanity enjoys today from 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 human nature for the existence of human society. And this "foundation" must necessarily include a crucial element: compassion. If we consider these three aspects—moral sense, taste, and emotional education—the works selected for "Classic Children's Books of the Double-Sailed Ship" are ideal models. They strike a balance among the three. This balance is also a balance of the human spirit, a balance of humanity.