The new bookshelf | "The Tree of Emperor Xiu": interpreting a tree in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" into a story, writing a fairy tale of Chinese

Cover news reporter Zhang Jie intern Li Xinyue

Three unhappy lambs, one wants to throw away sorrow, one wants to forget fear, and one hopes not to be angry again. They heard that there was a ten thousand year god tree on the top of the ShaomuRo Mountain called "Di Xiu Tree", and eating the fruit of the "Di Xiu Tree" could throw away all bad emotions. The three lambs rushed to the top of the Shaomu Mountain, and sure enough, they saw the "Di Xiu Tree". The "Tyryu Tree" told them a story. Once upon a time, there were three unhappy lambs. The first lamb wants to throw away sorrow, the second lamb wants to forget fear, and the third lamb wants to stop getting angry. They ate the Tyryu fruit. The lambs really have no worries, no fears, no anger. But because there was no worry, the first lamb forgot to hoard grain and find a burrow, and when the harsh winter came, the lamb lay on the snow-covered ground cold and uncaring, and its body grew weaker and weaker until it was covered with ice and snow. The second lamb, without fear, ran directly to the tiger to give it a hug, which turned out to be a "hearty lunch" for the tiger. The third lamb was no longer angry. When the local rat came to steal the corn, it did not stop it completely, in order to help the gopher find a large bag to steal all the corn, and the lamb had to starve.

This is the content of a Chinese-English picture book called "Di Xiu Shu" published by the Chinese Translation Publishing House in September 2021. In an easy-to-understand way, the book combines fantasy materials, ink paintings with Chinese characteristics and traditional Chinese philosophical spirits to tell the story of the three lambs and the emperor immortal tree.

Nourish modern education with the "seeds" of classical Chinese culture

Readers familiar with the Classic of Mountains and Seas know that the "Di Xiu Tree" is a fantasy existence in the Classic of Mountains and Seas. In the Classic of Mountains and Seas and the Zhongshan Classic, there is a description of this passage: "The mountain of the few rooms is made of hundreds of herbs." On it there is a wooden yan, its name is Emperor Xiu, the leaves are like Yang, its branches are five Qu, huanghua black and solid, and the servants are not angry. "That is to say, the fruit of this tree, after eating it, can calm the mood and forget the sorrow." Anger" refers not only to anger, but to various psychological emotions. The story in the Chinese and English picture books of "Emperor Xiu Shu" is extended from these dozens of words in the "Classic of Mountains and Seas" and is newly interpreted.

This work is planned by Yang Liu, vice chairman of the Child Development Committee of the China Tao Xingzhi Research Association and author of "A Gift for Children's Life", with Ming Xia, a children's literature writer, as the main writer, Yu Yan as the main writer, and Yu Jie, a senior expert in young children's English education, translating it into English for Chinese and English comparison. The illustrations in the book are in the Style of Chinese Pastel Ink Painting. The original text of the Classic of Mountains and Seas reads, "The Mountain of the Little Room, made of hundreds of herbs." On it there is a wooden yan, its name is Emperor Xiu, the leaves are shaped like Yang, its branches are five Qu, Huanghua is black, and the servants are not angry" was written by Mr. Lu Zhiwen in a seal book.

Reading the story in this picture book, we can get a lot of insights: in this world, there is no absolute paradise, and there is no absolute carefree. People should learn to live in peace with their emotions and accept their normal emotional fluctuations. The understanding of a picture book can be multi-directional. Yang Liu, the book's chief planner and one of the book's authors, also focuses on interpreting the story from the perspective of pedagogy and psychology, "recognizing yourself, accepting yourself, accepting yourself with appropriate mood swings, appropriate sense of distress, and worrying, is a normal psychological phenomenon." This is a question that can be viewed from a scientific point of view. ”

If the child's negative emotions continue, it will affect the physical and mental health and interpersonal relationship development. Why does "The Tree of Emperor Hugh" emphasize the positive effects of negative emotions? Ming Xia, the main writer of the picture book, said: "The emotional ecology dominated by an emotion, whether it is happy or sad, is unhealthy. Emotional pluralism is a gift from God to humanity. Only when children learn to respect bad emotions can they achieve true happiness. ”

The allusions in the Classic of Mountains and Seas are newly compiled and integrated into modern thinking

In today's vigorous promotion of excellent traditional culture, using simple stories to let children understand the spirit of traditional culture is a topic worth exploring. Taking traditional cultural factors as seeds, interpreting them into stories with modern psychopedagogical factors, and incorporating allusions from the Classic of Mountains and Seas into modern thinking, "Di Xiu Shu" provides a good case.

Why choose the elements of the traditional classics of the Classic of Mountains and Seas and draw them into picture books, Lu Zhiwen said: "Many of us have read Greek myths and Grimm fairy tales, but in fact, in China's traditional cultural system, there are also many myths and stories suitable for telling. The Classic of Mountains and Seas is a naturalist, full of imaginative and artistic myths and rare animals, which is very suitable for weaving fairy tales as a seed. The "Classic of Mountains and Seas" is too rich in content, and the "Di Xiu Shu" is to pluck a seed to explain the results of storytelling. We plan to continue to do this series. The name of this series is 'Mountains Without Mountains, Boundless Seas'" Mingxia said: "The series of "Mountains Without Tombs and Boundless Seas" is to continue the tradition of Chinese literati, select fantasy materials from the "Classic of Mountains and Seas", and create original picture books with Chinese spirit. ”

It is worth noting that this series will be used in Chinese and English versions. Yu Jie said: "The purpose is to let readers from other countries in the world understand this story with traditional Chinese colors." ”

Veteran educator Zhu Yongxin praised the preface: this is "an elegant, ingenious and childlike combination"

The picture book "Di Xiu Shu" was highly praised and strongly recommended by veteran educator Zhu Yongxin, who also wrote a recommendation for it, which was included in the book when it was published. Zhu Yongxin wrote: "How to use simple stories to let children understand the spirit of traditional culture is a big and difficult topic in today's promotion of excellent traditional culture. The Tree of Tysukio provides a good example. The fantasy materials of the Classic of Mountains and Seas, the ink paintings with Chinese characteristics, and the traditional Chinese philosophical spirit are an elegant, ingenious and childlike combination. Zhu Yongxin also mentioned his feeling after reading, "I read this story. It feels very classical, as if it is interpreting the view in the Analects that "no one has far-reaching worries must have near-term worries"; it also feels that it is very modern, as if it is teaching children to correctly understand negative emotions. Maybe. It is neither classical nor modern, because the story itself has broken down the barrier between classical and modern. Zhu Yongxin mentioned that he said in "Making Chinese: Reading and National Education": "A good children's book is not simply a story that moves children. Behind these stories, there are often the most important topics of human beings, the noblest wisdom and the most simple virtues. ”

In life, we all know that not only children have emotions, but every adult will face the problem of managing their own emotions. In Yu Yan's view, "although 'Di Xiu Shu' is a children's picture book," it is actually not just suitable for children to read. Adults can also get insights and inspirations from it.

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