International Companion Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature

as well as the necessity for ‘correctness’ in ideology continues to be taken into account,
but the rigid application of these two criteria is now not so important.
According to the Encyclopedia of Children’s Literature of the World (Jiang Feng 1992)
many publishers, organisations and research institutes are actively supporting and
promoting the development of Chinese children’s literature. Prominent among these are
the Chinese Writers’ Association: Children’s Literature Committee, and China’s
Children’s Literature Research Association, both in Beijing. There are about a hundred
existing periodicals devoted to children’s literature and eight major awards for children’s
books. The recognition for children’s literature in the People’s Republic of China today is
seen in the annual Children’s Literary Works Award of China awarded by the National
Committee of Children’s Literary Works Assessment, comprising such government
bodies as the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Culture and the National Publication
Office.
Although children’s literature in China is enjoying an immense popularity and gaining
recognition as literary works, much of what is published these days are stories that
imitate Western literature. Fantasy and animal characters are popular, whereas realistic
fiction depicting the Chinese way of life, and the struggle against poverty and natural
disasters for example, is too starkly realistic and depressing for children.
The Chinese attitude to children has changed in recent years, with the implementation
of the one-child family policy, and the result is that children are now more pampered
and treated as children, rather than as sources of family income. The education of
children and their reading needs is now fully recognised. However, Chinese children’s
literature can still be considered as being in its infancy, although the next decade will
surely see a new movement in its writing. An impetus to this may come from the
demand for children’s books from the Chinese readership in the predominantly Chinese-
populated countries of Taiwan and South East Asia.

References

Hawkes, D. (trans.) (1974) The Story of the Stone [Dream of the Red Chamber], Harmondsworth:
Penguin.
Hong Xuntao (1986) Tong Hua Xue [A Study of Chinese Tales], He Fei: Anhui Children’s Literature
Publishing House.
Jackson, J.H. (trans.) (1976) The Water Margin [Shui Hu Chuan], Shanghai: Commercial Press.
Roberts, M. (trans.) (1976) Three Kingdoms: China’s Epic Drama, Pantheon: New York.
Waley, A. (1985) Monkey [Journey to the West], London: Allen and Unwin.

Further Reading

In English

Hsia, C.T. (1962) Modern Chinese fiction 1917–1957, New Haven: Yale University Press.
Liu Wuchi (1966) An Introduction to Chinese Literature, Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Lu Xun (1976) A Brief History of Chinese Fiction, trans. Yang Xian Yi and G.Yang, Westport, CT:
Hyperion Press.

824 CHINA