Continuation of historical context to ensure "sufficient literature to collect" CCTV website | News | Historical context to ensure

CCTV News: When we were young, we couldn't do without a "Xinhua Dictionary" when reading and literacy. It can be said that this dictionary not only plays an indispensable role in people's cultural life, but also reflects the changes of the times from a certain perspective. In the "Version Linlang" special exhibition, different versions of the Xinhua Dictionary since the founding of New China were displayed, evoking memories for many people.

As the first modern Chinese dictionary in New China, the Xinhua Dictionary began compilation in 1950 and was officially published in the first edition in 1953. This year marks exactly 70 years.

The Xinhua Dictionary focuses on pronunciation, form, and vocabulary, and is the first dictionary in New China to provide examples and definitions in vernacular Chinese. In 2016, the Xinhua Dictionary was selected for the Guinness World Records and was rated as the "most popular dictionary" and "best-selling book" in the world. One important reason for being popular with readers for a long time, enduring and enduring is to keep up with the times and make timely revisions.

After the official approval of the "Chinese Pinyin Scheme" in 1958, the "Xinhua Dictionary" published by the Commercial Press in 1959 adopted the Chinese Pinyin character detection method for the first time. The 11th edition of the Xinhua Dictionary added words such as people's livelihood, well-being, and harmony. With the development of the times, the content of the dictionary is also keeping up with the times. The 12th edition of the Xinhua Dictionary not only added new words such as "like", "QR code", and "screenshot", but also added new meanings and usage for words such as "cute", "pinyin", and "bei". In addition to regular revisions, this version of the dictionary also comes with a QR code, allowing readers to scan the code, read books, write strokes, listen to correct pronunciations, and achieve digital reading.

"The Little Book" tells a "big story"

New Year paintings, comic books, and promotional paintings are the distinctive collections of the National Version Museum. After the establishment of New China, comic strips, as a popular form of cultural dissemination, were deeply loved by readers. The editions and drawings of many classic comic books, such as "Li Ling Stele", "Mother in law pricks the word", "Man Jianghong", "Jiao Yulu", have become the highlights of the "version of the beautiful" thematic exhibition.

Experts told reporters that among the many comic strips on display, "Inscription of Mother-in-law" has the highest print count, with over 4 million copies printed and distributed by the People's Fine Arts Publishing House alone.

Comics, also commonly known as "Little Man's Book". The palm sized "Little Man Book" is not only illustrated, but also easy to carry and suitable for reading.

Wang Liming, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China Publishing Association: There are two versions of this "little book": one is suitable for children to read, so it is called "little book"; Another reason is that its visuals are small and the characters it depicts are small, also known as the "Little Man Book".

How did short and concise comic strips come about?

Wang Liming, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China Publishing Association: Comic adaptation is a profession, and many people were engaged in comic adaptation back then. For example, "The Legend of Yue Fei" is an adaptation of the book "The Legend of Yue Fei". It aims to grasp the plot of the story, enrich the psychological state and image of the characters, and extract the plot, which is very effective. After adapting into a script, ask the painter to draw according to the script. Although we see less now, when we look back, it has injected many positive and noble works into our nation, inspiring our morale and moving forward.

The "Red Classic" with Devoted Effort

After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, classic red works such as "Three Reds and One Creation" and "Green Mountains and Forest Protection" have had a wide impact on society. The concentrated display of different versions of books and their manuscripts in the "Version Linlang" special exhibition allows us to see the hard won nature of each literary work.

Wang Liming, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China Publishing Association: Eight types of books, namely "Three Reds and One Creation" and "Green Mountains and Forest Protection", are displayed at this booth. "Three Reds and One Creation" refers to the four books "Red Sun", "Red Rock", "Red Flag Handbook", and "History of Entrepreneurship", which were published by China Youth Publishing House at that time. "Qingshan Baolin" refers to "Song of Youth," "Great Changes in the Mountains and Towns," "Defending Yan'an," and "Forest Sea Snow Plain." It was a subsidiary of the People's Literature Publishing House and published by the Writers' Publishing House at that time.

On the booth, the reporter saw different versions of these books, author manuscripts, and edited proofreads.

On the manuscript of "Red Rock" in the exhibition booth, there are numerous traces of revisions by the author and editor. Whether it is the movement and adjustment of chapters, the careful use of words and sentences, or the modification and processing of punctuation in every corner, it can reflect the wisdom and rigor of the creator.

Wang Liming, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China Publishing Association: The red characters on the top are written by the editor, and the red ink is painted by the assistant editor. You can still see the characters below in red, but if you draw them in blue or black, you won't be able to see them. The editor of the publishing house, along with the author himself and the local government, went through countless revisions before publishing this book.

Wang Liming, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of the China Publishing Association: "Defending Yan'an" is not the author's manuscript, but the editor's proofreading. The manuscript written by the author has been transformed into lead, and there are still traces of a large number of editors still working on it. This book has already been arranged in its entirety. Just make one change at the beginning and rearrange the following version once. We had a technique at that time, which was to change a character and add another character. If we changed a character but couldn't add another character, we had to increase the spacing between the characters and try not to push for inversion.

These eight novels became well-known bestsellers shortly after their publication, marking the peak of publication in New China. They have been continuously reprinted and reprinted for many years, with a total of hundreds of prints, and have been selling well.

Continuing the historical context to ensure that "literature is sufficient to represent it"

2500 years ago, Confucius once exclaimed, "In Xia Li, I can speak of it, but Qi is not enough to conquer it. In Yin Li, I can speak of it, but Song is not enough to conquer it. If there is not enough literature, then I can conquer it.". The lack of literature resulted in the blurriness of Xia and Yin rituals by the time of Confucius. If "literature is sufficient to prove it," Confucius said, I can still prove it.

Today, the National Version Museum is guarding the historical context that "documents are sufficient to represent" and keeping history continuous. In the long history of the development of Chinese civilization, the carriers of versions are constantly changing, and every version that remains today demonstrates the profound cultural soft power of the Chinese nation.