Children of the Railway

Author: [British] E. Nesbit
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-04-01
Features: 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 ago, 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 character. I now prefer this statement because it is broader and more in line with the spiritual world of children's literature. In other words, the purpose of children's literature is to lay a "spiritual foundation" for people. This series of "Classic Children's Books from Twin Sails," selects classics of world children's literature, which are undoubtedly a feast for the spirits of young people. These books are the kind I mentioned that can provide humanity with a sound foundation of good character. These books are books within books. I once called such books "King Books." Now, let's first discuss what the basic aspects of this so-called sound foundation of good character are—moral sense. The reason literature was chosen by humanity as a spiritual form was initially because people discovered that it could be beneficial in transforming and purifying human nature. From its inception to the present, literature has played an immeasurable role in transforming and purifying 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 as it is today, no humanity as we know it. Without literature, humanity would still be lost in vastness and dimness, still troubled by ignorance, still surviving in a purely animalistic existence devoid of emotion and taste. Literature must have a moral sense, and children's literature must have an even stronger moral sense. 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 contains a large amount of evil. These elements hinder humanity's progress toward higher levels of civilization. To maintain the existence and development of humanity, the elite among us realized that morality must be upheld within humanity. The emergence of this concept made it possible for humanity to move 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, yearning for freedom, respecting individuality, and nurturing kindness. These moral principles, along with other spiritual forms (such as philosophy, ethics, etc.), 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 develop taste. "The waves rise gently, white birds descend leisurely." "Sparse shadows slant across the clear water, faint fragrance floats in the dusk." "The orioles also love the coolness of the new season, singing through the shadows of green mountains." With concise words, literature can instantly inject the elements of taste into the blood and soul of a person. Dante, Shakespeare, Goethe, Tagore, Hemingway, Turgenev, Lu Xun, Shen Congwen, and Kawabata Yasunari, one generation after another, with their noble and refined words, have transformed our lives into lives of taste. They have turned pale and ordinary life into something worth appreciating. Taste has changed human nature, elevating it in quality. And the cultivation of taste should begin in childhood. Taste should belong to the realm of aesthetics. My views have always been consistent. In my consciousness, there is something very important: I believe that the power of beauty, the power of aesthetics, is no less than the power of thought. Even the deepest thought can become common knowledge, but only one thing never ages—that is, 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. No matter how I think about it, I can't 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. It is essential to lay this foundation. Without it, human nature would be in very poor shape. The gap in aesthetic education is one of the great failures of Chinese education. This failure has far-reaching consequences. When Cai Yuanpei served as Minister of Education in the Republic of China, he proposed the idea of promoting 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 nearly rejected. Later, it was only accepted as a principle for primary and secondary schools, not as a national education policy. Over time, the understanding of aesthetic education became increasingly narrow, until it was finally reduced to being synonymous with art 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 were the lower half, while worldview and aesthetic education were the upper half. However, the 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 since the rise of modern literature, it no longer does this. The reason classical literature moves us is precisely its spirit of compassion and its compassionate sentiment. Human society has evolved to where it is today, gaining much but also losing or damaging much. There has been significant loss and damage in various emotions—passion, enthusiasm, compassion—even among children raised in this material and cultural environment (so-called "new humans") have become a source of widespread concern among anthropologists. One reason for this concern 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 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 character for the existence of human society. And this "foundation" naturally includes a crucial element: compassion. If we consider these three aspects—moral sense, taste, and emotional education—the works selected in "Classic Children's Books from Twin Sails" are ideal models. They strike a balance among the three. This balance is also a balance of the human spirit, a balance of humanity.