Liang Xinhui, chief reporter of Mammoth News Dongfang Jinbao
Famous writer Bo Yang has written a lot in his life, the most representative work is "The Ugly Chinese". Thirteen years after Mr. Bo Yang's death and 11 years after his ashes were buried in Fushouyuan, Henan, Bo Yang's widow, Zhang Xianghua , recently announced that she would refuse to include excerpts from "The Ugly Chinese" in the first-grade Chinese textbooks of middle schools in Taiwan, China, and that Officially declared to the publishers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, "Yi Boyang confessed before his death that the publication of "The Ugly Chinese" will be permanently stopped now." So, what's going on behind the scenes? Does Ms. Zhang Xianghua's decision represent the entire family? On November 25, a reporter from Mammoth News Dongfang Jinbao interviewed Guo Bencheng, the son of Mr. Bo Yang and the executive director of "Bo Yang Wenchuang".
(Bo Yang)
[1] We all support the decision of the elders, the old thinking needs to be followed up and improved in the trend of progress
Bo Yang was originally named Guo Dingsheng Dong, later renamed Guo Yibang, Guo Libang9, Born on March 7 in , Tongxu County, Henan Province, his ancestral home is Changbei Village, Changcun Town, Hui County, Henan Province. After 1949, he went to Taiwan. He served as the deputy editor-in-chief of Taiwan's " Zili Evening News" and a professor of art, and is well known on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
(Bo Yang)
Mr. Bo Yang has written many books throughout his life, the most famous of which is "The Ugly Chinese" published in 1985.
In this book, Mr. Bo Yang strongly criticizes the inferiority of the Chinese people in the last century, such as "dirty, messy, noisy" and "fighting in the nest", and compares the various disadvantages of traditional culture to " sauce jar culture " . Bo Yang wrote this book in the hope that the Chinese people would know their own shortcomings, and if there were any, they would correct them, reflect on themselves, and let the Chinese people live with dignity.
Since its publication, "The Ugly Chinese" has been a best seller on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
However, to readers’ surprise, Bo Yang’s widow, Ms. Zhang Xianghua, recently announced that she would refuse to include the excerpts of “The Ugly Chinese” in the first-grade Chinese textbooks in Taiwan, China, and formally declared to the publishers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait that “Yi Bo Yang was alive. Explain that the release of "The Ugly Chinese" will now be permanently stopped."
Zhang Xianghua said that "The Ugly Chinese" should now "retire after success", and after the contract with Taiwan's Yuanliu Publishing House and Mainland China's People's Literature Publishing House expires in 2024, the book will no longer be published. "I even hope that the Cross-Strait Publishing House will no longer publish this book from now on."
She said: "Bo Yang repeatedly explained before his death that when the mainland's civilization has progressed, the publication of this book will be abolished." As soon as the
news came out, it immediately aroused strong attention from readers on both sides of the strait, and it was hard to find a copy of "The Ugly Chinese" on major e-commerce platforms.
"The Ugly Chinese will no longer be released after the contract expires in 2024, which has aroused heated discussions on both sides of the strait. I am a little surprised." Mr. Bo Yang's son, "Bo Yang Wenchuang" CEO Guo Bencheng accepts Mammoth News·Orient In an interview with this newspaper, a reporter said that every era has contemporary entanglements, and every nation also has emotional concerns. "We were born in the 1960s, generally in poor families. There were too many taboos back then, but now they are all open."
Guo Bencheng said that the times are different and the age is different, so we should not always be entangled in old thinking. "So, as Aunt Zhang (Xianghua) said, "The Ugly Chinese" should be retired now. We all support the decision of the elders, because the old thinking, in the trend of progress, needs to be followed up and Improved."
[2] "Father never denied our Chinese history and culture, he was just 'deep love, deep pain'"
In fact, since 2016, Bo Yang's widow, Ms. Zhang Xianghua, has been continuously receiving authorization Bo Yang's works were invited to be included in textbooks in Taiwan, but she rejected them all.
According to Zhang Xianghua, as a teacher, she "de-Sinicizes" or even "anti-Chinese" Taiwan's education and new curriculum.I really can’t agree with it, especially saddened by today’s “Chinese” and history textbooks, the deletion of classical Chinese, and the replacement of “Chinese history” with the perspective of “East Asian history”. Fundamentally speaking, these are the teachings of “de-Sinicization” by the Taiwan authorities Strategy. Under such an educational background, even if Taiwan teenagers know little about Chinese culture, even if they read Bo Yang’s articles, they will not be able to comprehend Bo Yang’s spirit, and they will definitely misread this book. This is also an important reason why Zhang Xianghua decided not to publish "The Ugly Chinese".
(September 12, 2010, Bo Yang’s ashes burial and memorial statue unveiling ceremony was held in Henan Fushou Garden, Guo Bencheng was holding his father’s urn)
When Mr. Bo Yang was alive, how did he view "The Ugly Chinese"? Have you mentioned it to your children?
" Socrates said, 'I know more than others because I know my ignorance', and my father said, 'We are ugly because we don't know we are ugly'. Thus, in 1985 , my father published the book "The Ugly Chinese". With an attitude of hating iron and steel, he strongly criticized many shortcomings of our national character. The most authoritative " New York Times " in the United States compared his father to an oriental ' Voltaire '." Guo Bencheng said that after the publication of this book, it aroused strong repercussions in the global Chinese community, and many people launched angry attacks on Mr. Bo Yang.
"Actually, my father never denied our Chinese history and culture. He just said 'the love is deep and the pain is deep'! After reading this book, some intellectuals can be vigilant, while some conservatives are furious. But , as my father said, 'Our virtues are really many, but unfortunately, they are all in the books.'" In this regard, Guo Bencheng, who has lived in Taiwan for more than 60 years, also feels quite deeply.
"With the book "The Ugly Chinese", we can recognize our own shortcomings from the book, and how to improve is the most difficult homework for us." Guo Bencheng said.
Time flies, decades have already seen vicissitudes of change, look at today's China, it has long been out of poverty and backwardness, and its economy, culture, and military have all attracted the attention of the world. If Bo Yang is still alive, he should also be proud that he once wrote a work that awakened the people.
[3] His father was buried in Fushouyuan, Henan, and he would return to Zhengzhou from Taiwan every two years. What is becoming more and more mellow is the affection for the country.” His unswerving feelings for the motherland and hometown are vivid on the paper. Until his death, his last wish was to bury himself in his hometown.
April 29, 2008 at 1:12 in the morning, Mr. Bo Yang died of pneumonia and respiratory failure in Gengsin Hospital, Xindian, Taiwan at the age of 88.
On May 17, 2008, in accordance with his last wish, his family scattered some of Bo Yang's ashes into the waters off Green Island, Taiwan. After Zhang Xianghua's efforts, another part of Bo Yang's ashes was buried in Fushouyuan Cemetery in Xinzheng, Henan, his hometown on September 12, 2010.
(On September 12, 2010, after the burial of Bo Yang’s ashes and the unveiling ceremony of the memorial statue, family members and staff took a group photo)
At that time, many family members including Ms. Zhang Xianghua and Mr. Guo Bencheng attended the ashes interment ceremony. Mammoth News· A reporter from Dongfang Jinbao conducted an interview on the spot and published a report.
(September 12, 2010, Bo Yang’s ashes were buried in Fushouyuan, Henan, Mammoth News·Dongfang News reporter Liang Xinhui interviewed Ms. Zhang Xianghua)
“I archived your report. Thank you for your attention to Mr. Bo Yang " Guo Bencheng said that he would return to Henan from Taiwan almost every two years, and he returned twice in 2016.
"2020 is my father's 100th birthday, but I can't make the trip because of the spread of the epidemic. I will go back when the two sides of the Taiwan Strait no longer need to be quarantined. I look forward to seeing my eldest sister and second sister, as well as all my good friends .” Guo Bencheng revealed that at present, apart from him and his younger brotherThe younger brother is outside of Taiwan, the elder sister is in Xinxiang City, Henan Province, the second sister is in Xi’an City, Shaanxi Province, , and the younger sister is in Sydney, Australia. The whole family keeps in touch.
In recent years, Guo Bencheng, who often travels between Taiwan and Henan, admires the development and changes of Zhengzhou.
“I remember that when Zhengzhou was working on a subway project, there was a serious traffic jam on a circular elevated road. I was late for an hour for a speech, and I am really ashamed of my readers. Now many subways are open to traffic, and many subways are under construction, extending in all directions, definitely It eased the traffic on the ground."
Guo Bencheng said that the progress of the mainland is well known, and he has taken the high-speed rail countless times in the mainland, and the biggest feeling is that it is fast and comfortable. "Friends from mainland China often point to the sky and ask me: Look at the blue sky, how is it different from when you came back last year? I said: Half of it is blocked by buildings! This shows that the construction of the mainland is advancing by leaps and bounds."
Guo Bencheng is still in charge of " The executive director of Bo Yang Wenchuang, has cooperated with film companies in some planning and scripts in recent years. In addition, he compiled two e-books from his work and articles in recent years, and put them on the Internet for readers and netizens to read.
At this time, in Henan Fushou Garden located in Xinzheng , although it is early winter, the grass is lush. In front of Mr. Bo Yang's tomb, citizens greeted him from time to time, and the 14 words "Don't sing praises for the king, only speak human words for the common people" engraved on the tombstone are shining brightly.
(tomb of Mr. Bo Yang)
