CHINA DAILY | HONG KONG EDITION Wednesday, January 6, 2021 | 19 YOUTH Cambodia Celebrating gets rural schools due a modern to NGO KRATIE, Cambodia — In a tiny, remote village, roughly 50 kilometers east of Kratie provin cial town, the villagers had never hoped that they would have a nice concrete school building for story teller their children. But hope came when Chinese run NGO, Cambodia Interna New collection offers complete view of late writer tional Charity Organization, visited the Treap Primary School Wang Zengqi’s literary legacy, Yang Yang reports. in their Treap village in Chet Borei district’s Thmey commune new 20volume collection and decided to build a twoclass of the late Chinese writer room concrete building. Wang Zengqi’s works has Work on the project started in been recently published October and was fully complet byA Zhejiang Literature & Art Pub ed in late December. lishing House, as a way to celebrate Chhourn Kotra, the 24year the 100th anniversary of his birth old headmaster of the Treap Pri day. mary School, said the school had Born in 1920, Wang was a reputed long suffered with a deteriorat contemporary Chinese novelist, ing wooden building with leaky essayist and Peking Opera writer. At ironzinc roofing and termitein the National Southwest Associated fested walls, making it difficult University in 1939, he studied under Our love for him for students to study when it the supervision of Shen Congwen, rains. widely considered to be one of the (Wang Zengqi) is ... “I had never imagined that greatest Chinese writers. He has not a love inspired there would be a nice concrete been especially popular among read school building in the poor and ers for his faithful, vivid descriptions by awe ... It’s a remote village like this,” he says. of people and the details of daily warm love, like the “Generous Chinese people have things, gourmet dishes in particular. made it happen here, and it will The new, 2 millioncharacter col sunshine on a benefit the children for decades lection includes his works of fiction, Wang Zengqi’s writing is the use of winter noon.” to come.” essays, Peking Opera, poetry and let colloquial language, which com Kotra, who has taught at the ters. bined his mother tongue of Gaoyou Li Jingze, vicechairman, school for four years, says that While the essays, fiction and let from Jiangsu province and the Bei China Writers Association there are only two teachers pro ters are often excluded from collec jing dialect, because he worked in viding education to approxi tions of his work, they allow readers the capital for a long time, says Li Er, mately 70 students in the village. to better understand Wang’s per deputy director of the National “We’re very happy that the spectives that form the historical Museum of Modern Chinese Litera Chinese organization has paid background of his works, says Yang ture. An exhibition of Wang Zengqi’s attention to improving the edu Zao, a member of the collection’s edi paintings is currently running at the cation of children here,” he says. torial board. museum. “I believe that they will enjoy Commenting on Wang’s writing, Unlike many other popular writ studying in this new school Li Jingze, vicechairman of China ers in the 1980s, Wang Zengqi building.” Writers Association, quotes a line remains popular among today’s The headmaster says that, from one of his poems; Write rather From top: The newly published 20volume collection of works by readers. besides the building, CICO has diligently, to deliver a little warmth Wang Zengqi; guests at the book’s launch ceremony include Tie Wang Hui, Wang Zengqi’s grand also built a pumping well and to people. Ning (second from left), chairwoman of the China Writers Associa daughter, says that searching his installed four toilets at the “Wang is very modest to talk about tion, and Wang Lang (third from left), Wang Zengqi’s eldest son; name on Baidu, she saw 35.8 million school. himself like this — by writing, he guests visit an exhibition of Wang Zengqi’s paintings at the National results. The online review site, dou Now, my father has “Education is the base for provides warmth to people,” Li says. Museum of Modern Chinese Literature. PHOTOS PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY ban.com, includes more than 200 lis eradicating poverty, so CICO’s “Our love for him is similar. It’s not tings for Wang’s works, all added by almost become a school building project will a love inspired by awe, as it would be readers. He also has many fans on ‘chicken soup undoubtedly contribute to toward a great writer like Lu Xun. observer, but an important partici become a ‘chicken soup writer’. Weibo, just like popular film or reducing poverty in rural areas It’s a warm love, like the sunshine on pant and builder of socialist literary Many anthologies select his essays music stars. writer’. Many of Cambodia,” he says. a winter noon,” he adds. traditions after 1949, and then, about daily life, either about food “More than 20 years ago, many anthologies select Treap village chief Sann Meng “Our love for him contains our again, arguably a leader of the mod and drinks or about sightseeing,” he Chinese language teachers had not says the village is home to about love for life itself, for the beautiful ern literary tradition established in says. heard about Wang Zengqi, but now his essays about 110 households with 425 people, and interesting things, for ordinary the 1980s, Li says. They don’t reflect the whole pic he has become an internet celebrity, daily life, either mostly ethnic minority groups men and women, as well as lan Since Wang died 23 years ago, ture of his writing, however. There which is really interesting,” she says. of Bunong, Kuy and Stieng. guage,” he says. more than 200 of his titles have been was also time when he was furious It might be because “the old about food and Villagers’ living depends on Besides being a man of words who published, focusing on different and wrote articles about social man’s” works are, in general, sin drinks or about growing rice and vegetables, was good at living an interesting life, themes. issues. It was also his view that writ cere. They’re not heavy, or superior, fishing and raising animals, he Wang was a witness to a turbulent “This 20volume collection ers should take social responsibility. but vivid, exuberant, and easily reso sightseeing.” says, adding that the village is century. reflects Wang’s literary view and Although his works in this respect nate with readers, in accurate and Wang Lang, eldest son of almost inaccessible during the He saw, firsthand, the develop writing style in a general sense,” says are limited, they are an important tasteful language, she says. Wang Zengqi rainy season due to the poor ment of the modern Chinese literary Wang Lang, the eldest son of Wang part of his writing career, Wang roads and transport infrastruc tradition after the May Fourth Move Zengqi. Lang says. Contact the writer at ture. ment in 1919. He was not just an “Now, my father has almost One outstanding characteristic of [email protected] “It’s the firstever concrete school building in my village and we’re pleased to get it,” he says. “It will enable the children here to have a proper place to learn.” He says that the construction of the building truly shows the good intentions of the Chinese people toward the children in the farflung area. Officially registered at the kingdom’s Ministry of Interior in March 2020, CICO’s main pur pose is to help construct school buildings in poor and remote areas in order to enable children to have proper classrooms for learning, says CICO’s president Ye Linna. “We want to help children in povertystricken areas of Cam bodia to have a good educational environment so that they can get better education and will con tribute to the country’s develop ment when they grow up,” she says. Treap Primary School is the third school that the organiza tion has helped build, Linna says, adding that the first two, developed in Western Kampong Speu province and Northwest ern Siem Reap province, were already benefiting nearly 200 students.
The organization has also planned to build two more
school buildings in the near future, she says, adding that one Subscribe Now will be in a remote area in North
GBA ern Oddor Meanchey province Pulse and the other in Northwestern GBA Banteay Meanchey province. reater Bay Area daily newsletter G XINHUA