Chief reporter of Mammoth News·Oriental Today Liang Xinhui
The famous writer Bo Yang has written quite a lot in his life, the most representative of which is "The Ugly Chinese". Thirteen years after Mr. Bo Yang's death and 11 years after his ashes were buried in Henan Fushou Garden, Bo Yang's widow Ms. Zhang Xianghua recently announced that she would refuse to include excerpts of "The Ugly Chinese" in the first-grade Chinese textbooks of middle schools in Taiwan, China, and officially declared to publishers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, "As Bai Yang confessed during his lifetime, he will now permanently stop publishing "The Ugly Chinese." 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 Mr. Bo Yang’s son and CEO of “Bo Yang Cultural Creation” Guo Benzheng.
(Bo Yang)
[1] We all support the decision of our elders. Old thinking needs to be followed up and improved in the trend of progress.
Bai Yang's first name Guo Dingsheng, later renamed Guo Libang, Guo Yidong, was born in , Tongxu County, , Henan Province on March 7, 1920. His ancestral home is Changbei Village, Changcun Town, Huixian County, Henan Province. He went to Taiwan after 1949 and served as deputy editor-in-chief and art professor of Taiwan's "Independence Evening News" . He is well known on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
(Bo Yang)
Mr. Bo Yang wrote many books throughout his life, the most famous of which is "The Ugly Chinese" published in 1985.
In this book, Mr. Boyang strongly criticizes the bad habits represented by the Chinese people in the last century, such as being "dirty, chaotic, noisy" and "fighting among themselves", and refers to the various shortcomings of traditional culture as "sauce vat culture". Bo Yang wrote this book in the hope of letting the Chinese people know their own shortcomings, correct them if they exist, reflect on themselves, and let the Chinese people live with dignity.
"The Ugly Chinese" has been selling well on both sides of the Taiwan Strait since its publication.
However, to the surprise of readers, Bo Yang’s widow, Ms. Zhang Xianghua, recently announced that she would refuse to include excerpts from "The Ugly Chinese" in the first-grade Chinese language textbook in Taiwan, and officially declared to publishers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, "As Bo Yang confessed during his lifetime, we will now permanently stop publishing "The Ugly Chinese."
Zhang Xianghua said that "The Ugly Chinese" should now "retire after success" and will no longer publish this book after the contract with Yuanliu Publishing House in Taiwan and People's Literature Publishing House in mainland China expires in 2024. "I even hope that publishing houses on both sides of the Taiwan Strait will no longer publish this book from now on."
She said: "Bo Yang repeatedly stated during his lifetime that when mainland civilization has progressed, the publication of this book will be abolished." As soon as the news of
came out, it immediately attracted strong attention from readers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. On major e-commerce platforms, "The Ugly Chinese" is hard to find.
"'The Ugly Chinese' will no longer be released after the contract expires in 2024, which triggered heated discussions on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. I feel a little surprised." Mr. Bo Yang's son and CEO of "Bo Yang Cultural Creation" Guo Bencheng said in an interview with a reporter from Mammoth News·Oriental Today that every era has contemporary disputes, and every nation also has emotional concerns. "We were born in the 1960s, and we generally live in poor families. There were too many taboos back then, but now they are all open."
Guo Bencheng said that times and generations are different, and we cannot 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 our elders, because the old thinking needs to be followed up and improved in the trend of progress."
[2] "My father never Denying our Chinese history and culture, he just ‘loves deeply and hurts deeply’”
In fact, since 2016, Bo Yang’s widow, Ms. Zhang Xianghua, has continuously received invitations to authorize Bo Yang’s works to be included in textbooks in Taiwan, but she has rejected them all.
According to Zhang Xianghua, as a former teacher, she really disagrees with the "de-Sinicization" or even "anti-China" of Taiwan's education and new curriculum. She is especially sad about the current "Chinese" and history textbooks, deleting classical Chinese, and replacing "Chinese history" with "East Asian history" perspectives. These are fundamentally the Taiwan authorities' "de-Sinicization" teaching strategy. In such an educational background, Taiwanese teenagers who know little about Chinese culture will not be able to understand Bo Yang's spirit even if they read Bo Yang's article, and will inevitably misread this book. This is also an important reason why Zhang Xianghua decided not to publish "The Ugly Chinese".
(On September 12, 2010, the burial ceremony of Bo Yang’s ashes and the unveiling ceremony of the memorial statue were held in Henan Fushou Garden. Guo Bencheng held 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 once said, 'I know more than others because I know my ignorance', while my father said, 'We are ugly because we don't know we are ugly'. Therefore, in 1985, my father published the book "The Ugly Chinese". He used hatred to The attitude that iron does not make steel strongly criticizes many shortcomings of our national character. The most authoritative "New York Times" in the United States likened his father to the 'Voltaire' of the East. "Guo Bencheng said that after the publication of this book, it caused a strong response in the global Chinese community, and many people launched an angry attack on Mr. Bo Yang.
"Actually, my father has never denied our Chinese history and culture. He just 'loves deeply and hurts deeply'! After reading this book, some intellectuals can be alert, while some conservatives are furious. However, as my father said, 'We really have many virtues, but unfortunately, they are all in books.'" In this regard, Guo Bencheng, who has lived in Taiwan for more than 60 years, also feels deeply.
"With the book "The Ugly Chinese", we can understand our own shortcomings from the book, and how to improve is our most difficult lesson." Guo Bencheng said.
Time flies, and there have been tremendous changes in the past few decades. Looking at China today, 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 were still alive, he would be proud that he had written a work that awakened the people.
[3] His father was buried in Fushou Garden in Henan, and he would return to Zhengzhou from Taiwan every two years to offer sacrifices.
Bo Yang had always been obsessed with his hometown. He once wrote an inscription in Zhengzhou: "Drinking the water of my hometown, meeting the people of my hometown, what becomes more and more mellow is this local feeling." His unwavering affection for his motherland and hometown was vivid on the page. Until his death, his last wish was to bury himself in his hometown.
At 1:12 a.m. on April 29, 2008, Mr. Bo Yang died of pneumonia and respiratory failure at the Gengshin Hospital in Xindian, Taiwan. He was 88 years old.
On May 17, 2008, in accordance with his last wish, the family scattered part of Bai Yang's ashes into the waters of Taiwan's Green Island. Through Zhang Xianghua's efforts, another part of Bai Yang's ashes were buried in Fushouyuan Cemetery in his hometown of Xinzheng, Henan Province on September 12, 2010.
(On September 12, 2010, family members and staff took a group photo after the burial ceremony of Bai Yang’s ashes and the unveiling ceremony of the memorial statue)
At that time, many family members, including Ms. Zhang Xianghua and Mr. Guo Benzheng, participated in the ashes burial ceremony. Mammoth News and Oriental Today reporters conducted interviews at the scene and published reports.
(On September 12, 2010, Bo Yang’s ashes were buried in Henan Fushou Garden. Mammoth News·Oriental News reporter Liang Xinhui interviewed Ms. Zhang Xianghua)
"I have archived your report. Thank you for your attention to Mr. Bo Yang." Guo Bencheng said that he returns to Henan from Taiwan almost every two years, and came back twice in 2016.
"2020 will be my father's 100th birthday, but due to the spread of the epidemic, I cannot make the trip. When both sides of the Taiwan Strait no longer need to be quarantined, I will go back.I'm really looking forward to seeing my eldest and second sisters and all my good friends. "Guo Bencheng revealed that at present, apart from him and his younger brother in Taiwan, the eldest 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 in Zhengzhou.
“I remember that when Zhengzhou was doing subway construction, there was a very serious traffic jam on an elevated ring. One time I was an hour late for a speech, which was really embarrassing for my readers. Nowadays, many subways are open to traffic, and many are under construction, extending in all directions, which will definitely ease the traffic on the ground. "
Guo Benzheng said that the progress of the mainland is well known. He has taken the high-speed rail countless times in the mainland. The biggest feeling is that it is fast and comfortable. "Friends from the mainland 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: It’s half blocked by the building! This shows that the construction of the mainland is advancing by leaps and bounds. "
Today, Guo Bencheng still serves as the CEO of "Boyang Cultural Creation". In recent years, he has cooperated with film companies on some planning and scripts. In addition, he has also compiled two e-books of his work and articles in recent years and put them on the Internet for readers and Internet users. Friends are reading.
At this time, in the Henan Fushou Garden in Xinzheng , although it was early winter, the grass was still green. People came to pay homage to Mr. Bai Yang’s tomb from time to time, and the words “Don’t sing praises for the king” were engraved on the tombstone. The 14 words "Only speaking human words for the common people" are shining brightly.
(Mr. Bai Yang's Tomb)
