Peng Zhaoping | Gentlemen's Life on Paper
△"Five Gentlemen of Hunan Publishing House"
Only when you do certain things can you live up to the opportunities in this life and the many people in them.
It is such a thing for me to record what the old publishers of Hunan Province have experienced, done, thought and said.
The incident originated from a chat with Zhang Ziyun in mid-2022. At that time, Ziyun was in charge of the human resources and other business affairs of Zhongnan Media in the Party Committee of the Publishing Group. Hearing me talk about a few old things, Ziyun said that there were so many interesting people and things in Hunan Publishing, which was very touching and vivid. It can be sorted out and used for training new employees. You can do this after you retire from the second line. This is to record history. Otherwise, as you old publishers withdraw, these memories will become increasingly faded. Although I agree with Ziyun's words, I still have some hesitations. The next day, I took Chairman Peng Bo's car to attend a meeting. Peng Bo told me that after the party committee changes in November, you will not be so busy. Ziyun and I have discussed that you will take the lead in organizing A team has recorded some old stories of old people in the history of Hunan publishing, which can be regarded as an explanation of history and the future for publishers of our generation. I said, I have been busy for almost forty years and finally retired. I no longer want to take on such a major job. Please understand. Peng Bo just smiled and said nothing more.
Before the Spring Festival in 2023, Peng Bo called me and told me that he had just returned from visiting Mr. Zhong Shuhe in the hospital and that Mr. Zhong’s physical condition made him very worried. "Their generation, this group of people, has made such a great contribution to Hunan publishing and Chinese publishing. It is worth recording! If I don't do this, I'm afraid I will leave eternal regrets."
i I can't even utter a single word of evasion.
During the Spring Festival, all I was thinking about was how to do this—what kind of working mechanism to establish, when to start, who will be the first batch of people to record, who to choose to be responsible for writing, what kind of style to use, and what kind of videos to shoot. What form of presentation and dissemination...
Zhang Ziyun, who proposed this motion, is in charge of organizational personnel in the current party committee of the group. Xie Qingfeng, who helped me clarify my ideas, is the editor-in-chief of Zhongnan Media. Both of them have Ph.D.s, good academic background and writing skills. They are all profound, and it goes without saying that they will review and check the manuscript after it is completed. It also depends on the two monarchs to establish a mechanism to mobilize the enthusiasm of the participants and coordinate resources to form a joint effort from all aspects. I can just take the lead in doing some specific things.
Yang Chunli must be indispensable to do this. She entered Hunan Publishing in the same year as me, and knew many old publishers and publishing events. Moreover, she and I had a plan a few years ago to visit those publishing predecessors, record their stories, and record them. sound and captured their images. It’s just that I didn’t think about writing a book at that time. It was just out of emotion and I wanted to preserve some materialized memories.
I also think of my colleagues at New Curriculum Review magazine. Editor-in-Chief Zheng Yan has been responsible for the interviews and writing of "The Oral History of Chinese Science in the 20th Century: The Oral Autobiography of Huang Peiyun". She, Executive Editor Yu Mengmeng, and editors Xie Yan, Yang Zhiping, and Yang Hongyan are all diligent in reading and thinking, and have good writing skills. He is rigorous and conscientious in his work, has a pure mind, and is sensitive to and cherishes beautiful things. I have deeply felt this during the five years I have been the editor-in-chief of "New Curriculum Review". With them taking charge of the interviews and writing, it makes sense. It is agreed that the shooting and production of pictures and videos will be undertaken by the Video Production Department of Hunan Education Newspaper Group.
The first batch of interviewees were identified in order of age: Zhong Shuhe, Zhu Zheng, Tang Junrong, Tang Haoming and Cai Gao. After the kick-off meeting, the "New Curriculum Review" team began to search for information, read the works of gentlemen, interviewed insiders, communicated with the authors, drafted and optimized the interview outline several times; the filming team and the writing team communicated repeatedly, and based on Write an interview outline, write a script, and draw up a shooting plan. It took a month to prepare for the interview, which was considered relatively sufficient.
But I always feel that there is still something missing.Hunan Publishing is fortunate to have Mr. Wu, but Hunan Publishing not only has Mr. Wu! Hu Zhen, Yang Jian, Yang Deyu, Huang Qisheng, Li Quan'an, Cao Xianjie, Hong Zheng...a group of veteran publishers who have great demeanor, made significant contributions to Hunan publishing, and whose moral articles are exemplary, are also the stars of the 1980s. The dazzling stars in the dazzling Hunan Publishing Sky have fallen, but they have left light in this world. As time goes by, fewer and fewer people will know about their experiences, stories, achievements, ideas, character, and sentiments, and even their names will become less and less known. After discussing with Peng Bo, Zhang Ziyun, Xie Qingfeng, and Yang Chunli, we decided to make another book recording these deceased publishers in addition to the Five Masters. Xie Qingfeng suggested that the writing of this book should be undertaken by editors selected into the Young Editor Talent Pool of Central and South Media, because "there is no better way to cultivate young talents than this."
Between March and April 2023, the young editors in the talent pool were looking for insiders and searching for information on the late publisher. Chunli, I, and Wen Yiping, then director of the Group’s Senior Executive Office, contacted the "New Curriculum" Review" team and the photography team of Hunan Education Newspaper Group completed interviews with five Mr. Tang Junrong, Zhu Zheng, Tang Haoming, Zhong Shuhe and Cai Gao.
Mr. Tang Junrong’s memories follow the timeline of the development of Xinhua Bookstore. He explained many key nodes that we only know exist but don’t know how they existed. He explained them clearly, with details and emotions, and they were very vivid. The 88-year-old has an amazing memory. He remembers that in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, there was a series of 12 volumes of "Must-Read for Cadres"; he remembered that mobile supply in the early 1950s was to change the situation where books were almost impossible to find in rural areas and where some places had no access to books. Primary school textbooks were all handwritten; he remembered the names of a group of rural publishers in various counties in the 1960s and their characteristics... I asked him: "Can you tell us about the key periods in the development of Xinhua Bookstore? The work you have done and the role you have played? Or, can you tell a few of your own stories?" Mr. Tang shook his head and said he couldn't remember. He paused and said, "I am most afraid that you will ask this question. Individuals really don’t play a role, everyone does it together. There are no entrepreneurs in state-owned enterprises, and it’s the state that takes the blame.” Later, Yang Zhiping and Yang Hongyan, who were responsible for writing Mr. Tang's story, went to Xinhua Bookstore and the Xiaoxiang Morning News Agency, where Mr. Tang had served as chief editorial consultant after Mr. Tang retired, to talk with insiders one by one, and then they reconstructed bit by bit a man with a benevolent heart and a wise mind. Tang Junrong is a book seller, a scholar, an entrepreneur, a newspaperman, and a scholar.
No matter what role he plays, Mr. Tang always sticks to two words: culture. He often said, "Book distribution requires culture." When I was young, I worked as an accountant and salesperson in the sales department. I was familiar with the category, author, main content, and publishing company of each book in the store. I read a lot in my spare time and kept writing. After I got to a management position, I used my position as a cultural worker. He innovates mechanisms, builds networks, and trains employees. He still insists on reading and requires his employees to read and understand books. He has served as the editor-in-chief of "China Books Business Daily" for 4 years and as the editor-in-chief consultant of "Xiaoxiang Morning News" for 6 years. He humbly said that he only He did two things: control the guide and maintain the cultural content of the newspaper; after leaving his job, he began to systematically study the development history of Xinhua Bookstore, sorting out the context in the voluminous materials, and verifying the authenticity among the divergent opinions. Searching for details in one's own personal experience has a scholar's method and a scholar's rigor.
A few days ago, Yang Zhiping and Yang Hongyan went to Mr. Tang's home to deliver sample books. Mr. Tang was very happy to see them. Turning over "Five Gentlemen of Hunan Publishing", Mr. Tang said: "Among the five, I am the weakest and have the least to write about. It is the group's favor that makes me one of them." Zhiping said that they felt heartbroken after hearing this, and have been fighting for it for the rest of their lives. Don't argue, don't beg, don't ask for anything, treat others generously, this is what Mr. Tang is like.
Zhong Fu'an, the current deputy general manager of Hunan Xinhua Bookstore, recalled that in Tang Lao's article, he had this emotion: "There is a kind of person in this world, who is kind and mellow, with his own light, shining on the world. I understand this as a Bodhisattva living in the world. Tang There is a 35-year age difference between me and my husband, so we have been friends for many years.I am very lucky that I had the opportunity to meet Mr. Tang when I was a grassroots and ignorant person who first entered the workplace, and lit up the little orange lamp to shine brightly. "
I always believe that people who have been illuminated by others will illuminate others, and the light will ripple away like waves.
I went to Mr. Zhu Zheng's home for an interview. When we met, he said: "You guys do this. It's too late, it's too late! Editors like Yang Jian and Yang Deyu are no longer alive! They can be ranked at the same level as Zhong Shuhe! "
Mr. Zhu is a great researcher of Lu Xun. He published "A Brief Biography of Lu Xun" at the age of 25. In May last year, People's Literature Publishing House also launched an updated version of his "Corrections and Errors in Memoirs of Lu Xun"; Mr. Zhu is also a great editor. In 1984, when Hu Qiaomu, who serves as a member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee and chairman of the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council, also recommended his "Recollections of Lu Xun, Correct and Mistaken Records" in his letter to the Ministry of Education as an editor's reference book. The "Camel Series" planned by Zhu Lao was authored by Li Shu , Yang Jiang, Shu Wu, Sun Li, Huang Shang and many other great people, I was only envious at that time. After this interview more than 30 years later, after knowing the details of planning and drafting, I understood why Zhu Zheng was able to create the "Camel Series". Insights , vision and education, plus an "infatuation" for choosing a good topic, are the secrets, and I lack them.
Mr. Zhu is a good man but not arrogant, and he can follow the good and follow others wherever he grows up. In the mid-1980s, I worked at the Hunan People's When I was an editor at the publishing house, the chief editor was Mr. Zhu. He and the president Dai Chaolun once convened a group of young editors like us to hold a symposium, so that everyone could use their brains to contribute ideas for publishing more good books. When it was my turn to speak, I said , can we publish some translations of humanities and social sciences? Mr. Zhu immediately responded: Great! This is exactly what Mr. Dai and I thought! His attitude inspired me so much that I applied for a translation topic that year. Bridge's "Art and Illusion - A Psychological Study of Painting Representation" was translated by Zhou Yan, who was studying for a master's degree in art history at the Central Academy of Fine Arts at the time. At that time, I had only been working for two years after graduating from college. In many publishing houses, Maybe he is not qualified to independently apply for topic selection and serve as editor. Hunan People's Publishing House and even the entire Hunan publishing industry do not have these restrictions.
Mr. Zhu is straightforward and talked about the inclusion of Yang Jiang's "Memories" in "Camel Series". "Two articles" and "Remembering Money Zhongshu and
" In the middle of the wall of books in the room, 93-year-old Zhu laughed like a child, innocent. And I think of the words in the letter he wrote to the Organization Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in 1982. The sentence "I hope that all injustices and all disasters will end with me... I hope even more that a person will not be put into adversity for no reason." I feel my eyes wet.
Teacher Tang Haoming has loved reading since he was a child, especially reading. His reading preference for literature and history books has not changed even if he majored in water conservancy engineering as an undergraduate and engaged in water conservancy work after graduation, so he later decided to major in classical literature when he took the postgraduate entrance examination. There were three possible destinations after graduating from Central China Normal University. But the one with the clearest attitude was Hunan Publishing, so he came and immediately fell in love with the job of dealing with books. "A person who does work that is consistent with his own interests is the happiest person; if he gets the right time and place, People and achievements are the best life. "From document compilation to literary creation to text interpretation, Teacher Tang has always been based on the position of editor. "The editing profession has given me a broader space than academic research. "
Teacher Tang is famous all over the world but is respectful and modest. He said: "A great editor must be able to lead the ideological and cultural trend of an era through the books he plans and edits. Zhong Shuhe's "Toward the World Series" and Yang Jian's "Chuanshan Complete Book" There is such a height. "In the 1990s, I was fortunate to be named the first outstanding young and middle-aged book editor in the country together with Mr. Tang. He still remembers that it was me who went to Beijing to attend the award ceremony and received the certificate on his behalf. I served as the president of Hunan Children's Publishing House. At the beginning, three senior editors from the agency went to visit Mr. Tang, who was serving as a judge. His wife was receiving some guests in the living room, so he led me to sit down in the study, poured me tea, and listened carefully to my introduction to several editors. Case.Looking back now, he should have been writing the novel "Zhang Zhidong" at that time. Time must be very precious to him, and it must be annoying to be interrupted when writing, but he kept listening to my ramble and sometimes interrupted. After asking a few questions, there was no sign of impatience at all. In 2021, I received a set of manuscripts of the historical novel "Zeng Guofan" from Yuelu Publishing House. When I opened it, I saw that Teacher Tang had modified the text with a red pen, marked the font size and "another paragraph", "the title occupies three lines" and "centered" Waiting for the layout mark made me feel like I was back in the 1980s and 1990s when I was revising manuscripts with a red pen in my hand. I couldn’t help but give Teacher Tang a call to talk about the kindness and emotion this set of manuscripts brought me, and about the red ink of the past. Pens, pencils, and the painstaking efforts to add and delete text when reading the proofs to avoid pushing the version. At the end, Teacher Tang Haoming said with a smile that this was a unique topic among old editors.
Yu Mengmeng, who wrote about Teacher Tang Haoming, wanted to go to Wuhan to visit Teacher Tang's elder brother, Mr. Tang Yiming, who was the dean of the School of Chinese Studies at Central China Normal University, in order to obtain more first-hand materials. Teacher Tang Haoming wanted to facilitate this matter, and knowing that his brother never liked being disturbed, he sent Yu Mengmeng's article and some conversations with him to his brother. Mr. Tang Yiming replied, "I have received it, and this person can be handed over." Meng Mengmeng Meng was able to meet and talk with Mr. Yiming and got to know each other. After that, Meng Meng went to Wuhan to meet Mr. Yi Ming twice. One of them was when Mr. Tang Haoming was invited to give lectures in Wuhan and had a conversation with Mr. Yi Ming. He remembered that Meng Meng had expressed his desire to go together, so he invited him to go with him.
This is the intellectual benevolence of "Knowing the vastness of the universe, but still pity the green grass and trees."
The interview with Mr. Zhong Shuhe was completed sitting around his hospital bed. This is the third time in recent years that I have seen Mr. Zhong lying on the hospital bed. The first time was when Mr. Zhong was hospitalized due to eye disease in 2018, and Yang Chunli and I went to visit him. He mainly talked about his plan to organize his writings; the second time was in 2021 when Mr. Zhong was hospitalized for a stroke, and Wen Yiping and I went to visit him. He talked about Mainly concerns about the prospects of his physical recovery. Before these three times, every time I visited Mr. Zhong, he would sit at the desk in front of the living room window and talk to us energetically about publishing books, studying, studying, writing, crafts, and his childhood. Youth and teahouse years. In 2019, my son was ill. I don’t know how the reclusive husband knew about it. I went to visit him. In the middle of the conversation, he suddenly said, I heard about your child. I know it is difficult, but you must find a way to let him go. Walking by yourself, whether reading or writing, will be effective. As I listened, my heart and eyes were burning. Now that my son has fully recovered, my heart and eyes are still burning when I think of Mr. Zhong’s words.
In this interview with Mr. Zhong, I was worried that his physical condition would not allow us to disturb him for too long, so I asked the "New Course Review" team to compress the interview outline, delete content that may be found elsewhere, and strive to limit the time to one hour. Inside. Unexpectedly, Mr. Zhong still talked about the issues one by one according to the outline he had received in advance. From 9 a.m. to 12 p.m., he choked up twice. This was a situation I had never seen before. I was very sad, but I just lowered my head and couldn't say any words of comfort.
After the Spring Festival, Ziyun invited me to go with him to pay New Year greetings to Mr. Zhong. Mr. Zhong asked the doctor who was doing rehabilitation training for him to wait in the living room and asked us to sit down. Ziyun asked Mr. Zhong if he was satisfied with the newly published "Five Gentlemen of Hunan Publishing". Mr. Zhong said that he was very satisfied, and added that Xie Yan's article about me was very well written, but my experience was not typical and could not be Give benefits to the younger generations. He also told us that in order to train his brain, he tried to make couplets with names every day, but it was difficult to get some names right, so he had to barely get them right. It was just a game. He looked at Ziyun and said: I have already prepared your work. "Zi Chan is so benevolent that his surname is preserved, and his righteousness is high and his righteousness is low." Zichan is a good official who has a benevolent heart and implements benevolent policies. "Preserving the surname Zi" means making the people live; the second line is easy to understand. He also told me that you haven’t figured it out yet. When my new book arrives, I will write it in the book and give it to you.
A few days later, Liu Shaolong, who was in charge of Lao Gan work in the Zhong Lao Tuo Group, sent over his new book "Essays on Nian Lou". I opened it, and there was a handwriting written by Zhong Lao Tuo "The play is embedded with the name of Zhao Pingjun" - Zhaozhong shares the same joys and sorrows, and the ordinary and simple show the beauty." The inscription is "Ninety-four-year-old Zhong Shuhe."On the next page, there is also a line: "Thank you to the group for bragging for me. In fact, I feel unethical in the name of the toilet."
looks like a quickie but is still thoughtful, sensitive and kind, so harmoniously coexisting in the gentleman's temperament, It has enlightened so many people’s consciousness and warmed so many people’s hearts.
Teacher Cai Gao started creating picture books in the 1980s. Over the past 30 years, he has created many classic picture books that are famous at home and abroad. He is a milestone figure in the development history of Chinese picture books. This year, he participated in the International Andersen Award for the first time and was shortlisted. Short list. Teacher Cai became a children's painter at a high place in order to become a children's book editor at a high place. She said that an editor must become a leader in the professional field in order to have a dialogue with the author from a high place, so she created "Seven Sisters" in the fifth year of entering the publishing industry to participate in the China Children's Book Illustration Invitational Competition and win the award; she said that readers Her vision needs to be cultivated, so she refuses to compromise on topic selection, text, drawings, or printing. In the 1990s, she planned, edited and published "Where is Deng Deng", which was China's first floor book. "Deng Deng lives in a courtyard/the courtyard is in East Street/East Street is in Beijing/Beijing is a city in China/China is the earth A country in the world/The earth is a star in the universe..." These infinitely interpretable words written by Ma Yi for her children moved Teacher Cai, but the progressive sense of space and the rhythm of reciprocation moved Mr. Cai. It was too difficult to express the simple and profound philosophical feelings on paper. She couldn't find a suitable person to take over, so she had to take her daughter Xiao Aozi, who was studying at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, to take charge of the painting. The mother and daughter traveled through long and torturous days and nights together, and finally made the book into the ideal shape in their minds.
Teacher Cai is very imaginative. In the late 1990s, Teacher Cai and I worked together at Hunan Children's Publishing House. One day, she talked to me about a thought that flashed through her mind: What are the love letters of primitive people? She narrated slowly while thinking about it: A primitive man was running in the jungle holding a piece of tree bark in his hand. He was eager to deliver the bark to his sweetheart. On it, there was something he wanted to tell her, that was A string of symbols should have a beast, and what he wanted to express was that he would hunt beasts for her all his life... Later, when I saw the cartoon "The Flintstones", I would think of the "Love Letter of the Primitives" that Teacher Cai improvised.
In Teacher Cai’s eyes, trivial things also have meaning. She said that she went to the small garden on the roof every morning to "catch the sun." "Catching the sun will bring light to everything in the day." She said, "Flowers, grass, insects, and fish are the things that make the world meet." She said, "People are kind to each other." There will always be a feeling for the things I write. The works will not be anxious, and neither will I. Good things are not afraid of loneliness." These words came out of her mouth like pearls, but they were simple but not clumsy.
After the first snowfall this year, Teacher Cai sent several snow scenes of the small rooftop garden. Black camellias and red pomegranates were wrapped in white snow. The composition and color were beautiful. In another picture, snow falls on a nylon net that may be used as a fence. The fine knots seem to be covered with white flower buds, which is wonderful.
This is Cai Gao, her interest, her words, her works, her books, her ordinary days, her whole person, are all soaked in bright poetry and glowing.
Such shining people, such people who are modest and rigorous in their studies, well-informed and serious in their work, knowledgeable and simple in temperament, rich in experience and simple in mind, have consolidated the foundation of Hunan Publishing and achieved the prosperity of Hunan Publishing. The published "Five Gentlemen of Hunan Publishing" and the soon-to-be-published "Nineteen Gentlemen of Hunan Publishing" are intended to completely record the gentlemen's life on paper, but it is still difficult to show their grandeur and profoundness. However, the lamp is hung up. , the road is bright.
△The "Hunan Publishing Five Gentlemen" all-media project team took a group photo with the five gentlemen
Article | Peng Zhaoping, President of the Hunan Provincial Editors Society and the founding editor-in-chief of "New Curriculum Review"
