Bidding farewell to "Fairy Tale King", Pipilu and Rusisi are still risking | the Beijing News Quick Review

▲ Zheng Yuanjie: "Fairy Tale King" magazine was discontinued in January 2022. Photo/Screenshot of Weibo

Founded in 1985, "Fairy Tale King" is going to say goodbye to readers.

On December 15, Zheng Yuanjie announced on weibo that "Fairy Tale King" will be discontinued in January 2022, and this year's December issue will become his masterpiece.

For many post-80s and post-90s people who are influenced by "Fairy Tale King", although they have long stopped watching it, they can still feel a little sad and unwilling to hear the news of the suspension of publication.

Because, for many people, "The Fairy Tale King" was the enlightenment of their own literature, and it was also the first surprise they gained from fairy tales - it turned out that fairy tales could still be written like this.

The year 1985, when Fairy Tale King magazine was founded, was the era when various ideological trends poured into the literary world and a hundred flowers blossomed, and the threshold for journal publishing by publishing institutions was lower than before.

Moreover, the Shanxi Provincial Communist Youth League Committee, the competent unit of the magazine, did not stipulate the fixed direction of writers' creation, so that writers have a relaxed creative space.

Therefore, Zheng Yuanjie broke the dull situation of children's literature creation at that time, stood in the position of children to reflect the voice of children, which was refreshing, and his works immediately swept the country.

At that time, Zheng Yuanjie's creation was nothing more than a "pioneer novel" in the field of children's literature. From today's point of view, his early works may not be so "avant-garde" in thought, and the language is not "sharp", but compared with that era, "Fairy Tale King" has become a unique and popular children's literature brand in the hearts of children.

Zheng Yuanjie likes to use a unique perspective to examine the things we are accustomed to. In the field of traditional children's literature, writers like to portray images that have become fixed, and will stereotypically divide the image into good and bad aspects.

For example, animals will be divided into good and bad, puppies, kittens, small white rabbits, etc. are representatives of traditional good animals, while big bad wolves, mice, sparrows are often spurned objects, and Zheng Yuanjie wants to portray the traditional image, so in his works, there are a lot of contrasting images, the big bad wolf becomes kind, the little mouse becomes brave, and the little sparrow is also a protected object.

Whether it is the image of an animal or the image of a person, Zheng Yuanjie's portrayal is different. Under this unusual description, young readers can understand a lot of truths from it, and things in the world cannot be simply summarized as good or bad.

When children read such words, they can think more about the things they experience around them, and this kind of thinking change that breaks the traditional concept has reference significance for young readers and adults.

In Zheng Yuanjie's pen, the so-called "naughty children" are amiable, cute, uncomplaining, and even appreciated, such as the classic Pipilu series.

In the process of describing "naughty children", Zheng Yuanjie encourages children's various whimsical ideas, praises this natural nature, and fights against the oppression and discipline of the adult world with "naughty children", and jointly opposes the strangulation of children's nature by rigid rules.

"Fairy Tale King" justifies the name of "naughty children" under the traditional education system, calls for the most authentic nature of children, and lets children feel the beauty and tolerance of the world in literary works. This direction of writing, both then and today, is worthy of affirmation and contemplation.

Zheng Yuanjie and "Fairy Tale King" achieved great success for a period of time, and its brand effect also formed a huge appeal, which not only brought him huge commercial benefits, but also promoted the expansion and stability of the readership. In today's Disney brand popularity, Chinese children can also proudly own the brand of local cartoon characters, thanks to this "Fairy Tale King".

The Fairy Tale King is out of print, but Pippiru and Rusisi are continuing their unfinished adventure. Shuk and Beta still drive their planes and tanks to meet different friends all over the world and live happy and free lives. "The Fairy Tale King" left an indelible mark on the hearts of readers of that era, and Zheng Yuanjie's unique fairy tale kingdom also accompanied generations of young readers to grow up slowly.

Perhaps, people who can read "The Fairy Tale King" in their childhood are happy, because when they meet those fairy tale characters, they also plant a goodness and innocence in their hearts.

One day, we will all say goodbye to everything that is innocent, we will say goodbye to our childhood, and today, we will say goodbye to "Fairy Tale King". The Little Prince says, "Every adult was once a child." "May every adult remember his childhood, the childhood that accompanied the fairy tale."

Beijing News special writer | Zhao Qingyuan (Media Person)

Edit | Ma Xiaolong

Proofreading | Xue Jingning