《兒童世界》與百年現代兒童文學

A Look Back at the Beginning of Children’s Literature in China

A magazine founded in 1922 witnessed a progressive movement in how modern Chinese society saw children

《兒童世界》與百年現代兒童文學

Text and photography by Siyi Chu （褚司怡）

Illustrations by Xi Dahe

In 1923， Ye Shengtao （葉圣陶）， an intellectual who had recently begun writing for children， attached a note of caution to his latest submission to his editor： “Perhaps you might not find it ‘childish’ enough？” His manuscript told of a compassionate scarecrow who helplessly watches an elderly farmer， a fisherwoman， an abused wife， and a carp all suffer misfortunes in front of him， and eventually collapses in the field due to the crushing guilt and despair he felt.

Such a dark tale may not be classified as children’s reading in China today， where some parents have censured the classic novel Outlaws of the Marsh"（《水滸傳》） and even the Xinhua Dictionary for having content inappropriate for minors. But for Zheng Zhenduo （鄭振鐸）， the founder and editor-in-chief of Children’s World magazine， “The Scarecrow” was exactly what the children of a new China should be reading. The story became Ye’s most influential work for how it captured a mature sorrow over social injustices in children’s language， and the magazine itself went on to weather two decades of change—reflecting a wider progressive movement in how modern Chinese society saw children， and leaving its mark on Chinese children’s literature for decades to come.

Children’s World was the first magazine for Chinese children to feature original content written in vernacular Chinese. Zheng， who had been a textbook and magazine editor at The Commercial Press （also TWOC’s parent company） before he founded the magazine， was jaded by what he saw in children’s publishing at the time. “Before， education for children was like an injection， aiming only to fill their head with all kinds of rigid knowledge， rigid disciplines…There were too few books driven by children’s reading [habits]，” he declared in a manifesto before the magazine’s inaugural issue in January 1922.

Young readers who closely followed the magazine in the decades to come would have discovered many delights to fill what Zheng called a “gap” in Chinese children’s publishing： In the year 1927 alone， for example， the content ranged from a biography on Mahatma Gandhi， to a letter between two children discussing the difference between sensations （感覺） and emotions （感情）， to a fable of a chicken convincing a crow to flee from war.

Aiming to cover every aspect of children’s lives and satisfy their curiosities， the magazine was unlike any children’s reading China had ever seen before. In 1926， Lu Xun （魯迅）， arguably the most quoted writer and opinion leader from early modern China， published a critique of the 14th century’s Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars （《二十四孝》） a collection of stories whose sole purpose was to preach filial piety. Other reading materials for children in ancient China such as the Three Character Classic"（《三字經》），"sets of three-character rhymes about history which kids today still memorize， were"similarly stiff and moralistic.

Zheng’s decision to start a new kind of children’s magazine did not happen in a vacuum. The early 20th century was a time of many cultural and political changes to free China from the feudal system and old ideologies. Many intellectuals turned their attention to “liberating children.”

While Lu Xun famously called for parents to abandon the parent-child hierarchy of Confucianism in his 1919 essay “How Do We Be Fathers Now，” his oft-overshadowed brother Zhou Zuoren （周作人） was also at the forefront of this movement. Zhou felt it was absurd that society saw children only as miniature adults ready to drink up the classical canons. In a 1920 lecture at Beijing’s prestigious Kongde School， he advocated for education that followed children’s interests and needs and respected their own agency and independence， instead of “touting conformity in poetry， promoting patriotism in stories， or only thinking about the future.”

Children’s World embraced this ethos by trying to produce content in language and formats friendly to children， often involving generous amounts of illustrations. In a 1937 issue， trying to engage readers in a brief history of Palestine， writer Zhang Dashan （張達善） opens the article with， “Little friend， in the past few months， have you often noticed the name Palestine in the newspaper？ Do you have any questions about this name？ Would you be willing to learn about its meanings？”

In the beginning， Zheng did most of the work himself， from drawing the cartoons to writing the stories. But he began to seek help from his friends at the newly founded Association of Literary Studies， whose members included Zhou， Ye Shengtao， and Bing Xin （冰心）， a female writer who later became perhaps China’s best-known children’s author. Ye’s contributions began with dreamy tales with idealized natural settings and characters who were pure and kind， before he came up with “The Scarecrow.”

Ten years after its publication， Lu Xun lauded “The Scarecrow” for “chart[ing] a new path for China’s children’s stories，” but lamented that “there weren’t any transformations from that point” among Ye’s own works， nor did anyone else follow up with anything equally innovative or biting. “[Children’s publishing] turned backward” toward virtuous tales， wrote Ye Shengtao’s son Ye Zhishan （葉至善） in My Father’s Long Long Life， his 2004 biography on his father.

As its young readers and writers grew， Children’s World also evolved. Compared to the previous decades， for example， Volume 39， Issue 3 from 1937 noticeably engaged more with current events. It opened with the news of the Lugou Bridge Incident， an important event in the war against Japan， and inserted an article about how to protect oneself from poison gas. Even children’s submissions showed traces of patriotism in the 1930s， with the magazine publishing a poem by a fourth-grader called Tian Lianxiang in 1934， asking if their fellow Chinese should “cave in or make sacrifices，” in the face of invaders.

Some scholars， such as Yang Weitong in his master’s thesis at Harbin Normal University， argue that during this period， with chief-editorship long handed over to Xu Yingchang （徐應昶） since 1923， the magazine had moved from “child-centered” to “national salvation-centered” as the country fell into a deepening crisis.

Back in 1923， Zhou Zuoren criticized patriotic content for children via Little Friend， another children’s magazine founded a few months after Children’s World and still printing today. It had printed an issue promoting “Chinese-made goods.” “I am against putting a political opinion of a time into childish minds，” Zhou wrote. “Our hope for education was to raise a child as a ‘person’ with integrity， but the education now wants to turn him into a loyal and obedient citizen—this is terribly wrong.”

During the war against Japanese invasion， Children’s World moved offices from Shanghai to Changsha and then Hong Kong， but eventually stopped printing in 1941. Copies lucky enough to survive the turbulent decades to follow are growing dusty and brittle in the Commercial Press archives.

Now， 100 years since the magazine’s founding， parents and experts are still debating what makes a book suitable for children. In recent years， concerned parents have called on Chinese authorities to ban a sex education book for promoting homosexuality， and Outlaws of the Marsh"for depicting immoral behaviors and condoning violence， among many other works.

To the complaint against Outlaws， however， the Department of Education of Zhejiang Province responded in an open letter to parents， “Outlaws"does not show us a ‘correct’ world， but a diverse world where there are virtues， vices， and give-and-take between them...every move carries the complexity of humanity...which is why we （including children） should read it over and over again.”

Cover designs of Children’s World

A 1937 issue that opens with an illustrated update of current events

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