Cen Sang, the elder of the Guangdong publishing industry, died at the age of 96

Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Sun Lei Literature and Art

On February 26, this reporter learned from Chen Junnian, former director of the Guangdong Provincial Press and Publication Bureau, that cen Sang, a famous publisher and essayist, died in Guangzhou on the afternoon of the same day.

Cen Sang, born in 1926, is a native of Shunde, Guangdong. He graduated from the Department of Sociology of Sun Yat-sen University in 1949 and successively served as deputy general manager of Guangzhou Film and Theater Company, deputy director of the editorial department of Guangzhou Culture Publishing House, deputy director and director of the literary and art editorial office of Guangdong People's Publishing House, deputy editor-in-chief, president and editor-in-chief.

As the elder of the publishing industry in Guangdong, Cen Sang has discovered and trained a large number of authors, published many excellent books, and has made indelible contributions to the development of Lingnan culture.

Whether it is editing and publishing or literary creation, Cen Sang has made remarkable achievements. In 2005, he was awarded the title of "Famous Publisher of Southern Guangdong" by the Guangdong Provincial Press and Publication Bureau and the Provincial Edition Association, in 2006 he won the "China Publishing Taofen Award", in 2007 he was selected as "Fifty Lingnan Cultural Celebrities Loved by Readers", and in 2015 he won the second "Guangdong Literature and Art Lifetime Achievement Award".

He has made pioneering contributions to the publishing industry in Guangdong

"In Cen Sang's more than sixty years of editing career, how many books he has poured his heart and soul into, and how many writers have received his help, I am afraid it is too many to count." In Chen Junnian's heart, Cen Sang has pioneering achievements in the development of Guangdong's publishing industry.

In the 1950s, Cen Sang entered the Guangdong People's Publishing House to work as a literary editor. He worked as an editor for decades, editing and reviewing countless manuscripts. Emancipated, he has made many pioneering contributions to the prosperity of Guangdong Publishing, such as initiating and participating in the establishment of the New Century Publishing House and the Guangdong Education Publishing House, and participating in the establishment of periodicals such as "Flower City", "Hope", "Hong Kong Style", "Translation of the Sea", "Friends of Middle School Students" and so on.

According to Chen Junnian's recollection, in the 1980s, when Guangdong's publishing industry developed rapidly, Cen Sang successively launched a single edition of dozens of writers who were currently new writers in the literary world, such as Wang Meng, Feng Jicai, and Han Shaogong; published the works of more than 20 writers who occupied an important position in the history of modern literature, such as Ouyang Shan, Qin Mu, Chen Renyun, Chen Huangmei, and He Qifang; and also took the lead in publishing works by Hong Kong and Taiwan writers such as Liang Yusheng and Tao Ran.

In 1981, Cen Sang also pressed Dai Houying's "Man! Although the book was controversial at the time, it became popular throughout the country and was published in more than one million. Chen Junnian said that the publication of these books made Guangdong at that time one of the most active regions in China's publishing industry.

"Lingnan Library" presents the broad and brilliant lingnan culture

"Lingnan Bunko" is a strong stroke of Cen Sang's publishing career.

In 1985, Cen Sang initiated the establishment of a large-scale regional history and culture series "Lingnan Library", and in 1990, he was appointed to prepare for the establishment of the "Lingnan Library" organization and plan topics, and served as the executive deputy editor of lingnan Library (in 2002, he became the executive editor). Before his death, he was in his nineties and still insisted on presiding over the editorial work in the front line.

The last time I saw Elder Cen attend a public event was at the 30th Anniversary Symposium of Lingnan Bunko held on December 11, 2021. Cen Sang personally came to the scene and recalled three visions when he received the task of "Lingnan Library" thirty years ago: first, he could use three hundred topics to show the breadth and glory of "Lingnan Library" from all angles; second, he hoped to launch a number of high-quality works to prove that Lingnan culture is the existence of an entity; third, to make a comprehensive reflection on the territory of the entire Lingnan culture.

"He continued to work for thirty years after his retirement, and this series of books laid a solid foundation for Lingnan culture and made us firmly believe that Lingnan is cultured." Chen Junnian said that without Cen Sang, there would be no set of books called "Lingnan Library".

At present, "Lingnan Library" has published 155 kinds, in addition to winning the third National Book Award, the series of books has won more than 40 provincial and ministerial book publishing awards over the years, and has been recognized as an indispensable authoritative reading for the study of Lingnan culture.

Hand in hand to bring out a lot of well-known writers

Chen Hailie, executive deputy editor of Lingnan Library, saw the publishing spirit of the older generation of publishers from Cen Sang, "Others go to work 'a cup of tea in a newspaper, two smoke rings vomit for half a day', but Cen Lao is so busy that he often walks like the wind when he goes to the bathroom. In the past two years, although his health is not as good as before, his workload has not decreased, and he even recently spent his hospitalization thinking about returning to work. ”

Cen Sang is not only passionate about publishing, but also has his own views on publishing standards. Chen Hailie said: "In the selection of the topic of the publication, Cen Lao stands tall, has high requirements and has a unique vision. He also stressed many times the need to cultivate scholar-type editors, requiring editors to be able to write and edit, and to be a miscellaneous family, constantly enriching and broadening their knowledge fields. ”

Cen Sang has trained many young writers. Chen Hailie said that many well-known writers in Guangdong are now brought out by Cen veterans. The writer Guo Xiaodong wrote after learning of The death of Elder Cen: "Elder Cen went on a long journey again. At the beginning of life, it was Elder Cen who gave us a flower, and then a garden, a boundless sea of flowers. ”

In addition to his editorial work, Cen Sang has long been engaged in amateur literary creation and has been active in the literary world for decades. He has published more than 30 kinds of personal literary works, and some prose works have been collected into the national primary and secondary school language textbooks, and he has continued to work until he is old. Cen Sang's collection of essays, "When You're Still a Flower," has been reprinted twelve times, accumulating more than half a million copies.

Another commonly used pen name in the early days of Cen Sang was "Gu Feng". Chen Junnian said that if you want to sum up Cen Sang's publishing career in one sentence, "it is 'Gu Feng is still filling in the grid, and Cen Sang will always be a flower'." ”