A symposium on the publication of the collected editions of Xu Guangyao's "Plains Fire" and "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" was held at the People's Literature Publishing House a few days ago. Mr. Xu Guangyao's son and filmmaker Xu Dan participated in the theme dialogue, and the 96-year-old Mr. Xu Guangyao specially recorded a video for the conference.
"Plain Fire" is the first book published after the establishment of the People's Literature Publishing House in March 1951, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the publication of "Plain Fire" in the Humanities Society and the 60th anniversary of the first publication of "Little Soldier Zhang Ga", the Humanities Society recently launched a hardcover collection of two works. Compared with the previous version, the two books not only added a number of texts such as Xu Laotan's creation, but also accompanied by many precious photos, and the book "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" also invited the famous oil painter Xu Chunzhong to specially draw more than ten illustrations.
Zang Yongqing, president of the People's Literature Publishing House, said that "Plain Fire" is the "book of opening the society" and also the "book of honor" of the Humanities Society; "Little Soldier Zhang Ga" has been printed nearly seventy editions (times) since the new edition of the Humanities Society, about one million copies, providing important support for the majority of readers, especially children and young people, to remember history and look forward to the future.
Born in 1925 in Xiong County, Hebei Province, Xu Guangyao joined the army at the age of 13 and joined the Party in the same year, a veteran of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, and the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, and served as secretary and chairman of the party group of the Hebei Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles. In 1947, he began to publish works, including the novel "Plain Fire", the novella and the play of the same name "Little Soldier Zhang Ga", and the essay collection "Last Night's West Wind Withered Bishu".
Mr. Xu Guangyao, 96, said in the video that the two books are loved by people and the Humanities Society has done a lot of work. In order to commemorate the special fate of "Plain Fire" and the Humanities Society, he is willing to hand over the lifelong copyright of the book to the Humanities Society, so as to contribute to the development of the Humanities Society and the cause of Chinese literature.
In the dialogue session, Guan Renshan, a well-known writer and chairman of the Hebei Writers Association, said that contemporary writers, especially young writers, should learn from the older generation of writers, learn from their noble personality, the rigor of creation, the promotion of realist traditions, and the excavation of the beauty of the times.
Xu Guangyao's son, Xu Dan, also participated in the conversation, saying, "My father is my idol. In his eyes, this is not only because Mr. Xu Guangyao wrote many classic works, but also because his father joined the Eighth Route Army at the age of 13 and was a soldier who had experienced hundreds of battles and was born into death. Talking about his father's behavior, he summed it up in three words: "true", "positive" and "real". Xu Dan said: "'True' has several meanings, such as his truth, this truth includes telling the truth, recording the real history, and being a person is also more sincere." Regarding "righteousness", he said that his father was an upright person, with a sense of justice and firm faith, and his works were mostly main themes and positive energy, and most of them praised heroes. Regarding "real", Xu Dan said that his father was a real person and did things more solidly. He said that the father used these words to teach his children and future generations, and there were many excellent qualities in the father that were worth learning for a lifetime.