Comments on the Forum

For years， we have been clinging to a lonely stage， which is not an easy job. For Kunqu， a time-honored Chinese opera genre， it is difficult to create new repertoires that closely follow the pace of the time. However， with encouragement from the forum hosted by President Xi， we will spare no efforts to create more good works related to everyday life and the general public.

—Yang Fengyi， director of Northern Kunqu Opera Theater

For the publishing world， the forum hosted by President Xi provides new food for thought. According to the latest national reading survey， Chinese adults read only an average of 4.77 books a year. At the forum， Xi mentioned his own reading list as a young man， which stirred a huge sensation on the internet， especially among young people. Reading needs to be encouraged and promoted， with joint efforts from the government， society， and the entire publishing world. Only by doing this can a reading society be realized.

At the same time， the forum also pointed the direction for the publishing industrys further development. As Xi put it， literature and art shouldnt be slaves to the market， which reflects his hope for both the literary and art workers， and his request for the publishing market.

—Cai Jianfeng， president of Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press

As President Xi put it， nowadays， literary and artistic creation aims for quantity over quality. We are seeing many passable works， but very few excellent ones. Xi said that when he met friends from artistic and cultural circles and asked their feelings about the cultural atmosphere in China today， many responded to him with the word “fickle”. We should settle down and concentrate on creation.

— Tan Lihua， president of Beijing Musicians Association

If literature and art only create economic value but offer no spiritual nourishment， they are no different from ordinary commodities. However， the unique features of literature and art lie in their spiritual values， with elite culture emphasizing improving demand and mass culture emphasizing meeting demand.

In terms of function， literary and artistic creation should try to suit both refined and popular tastes. In terms of the market， the market is easily influenced by sensory needs and can veer off the right path. Actually， work targeting the masses can also be refined， and still provide spiritual food.

Now that the development of literature and art has entered a new phase， President Xi speech is tremendously encouraging for literary and artistic professionals， urging them to invest more heart into further improving their work. Generally speaking， we really havent seen that much quality work today. I believe Xis speech carries considerable guiding significance for literary and artistic creation.

—Chen Shaofeng， vice president of the Institute for Cultural Industries， Peking University

In recent years， with the rise of internet literature， an impressive quantity of literary works has witnessed rapid growth， yet it is even more difficult to find excellent works. One reason for this phenomenon lies in unlimited access and lack of barriers for internet literature. We should set basic access criteria for internet literature. I hope that in 2015， more regulations and rules will be unveiled. Only by doing this and playing by the rules will we achieve a “new normal” for literary and art circles， and a healthier artistic ecology will gradually form.

—Xie Mian， vice president of Beijing Writers Association and vice president of Chinese Association of Contemporary Literature

I am particularly interested in the “scooping out the rotten part of an apple” theory mentioned by President Xi. Actually， “scooping out the rotten part of an apple” is a metaphor used by Lu Xun （1881-1936）， a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. The original meaning is that critics should not only criticize bad works， but also discover excellent and good works. Mao Zedong mentioned this in 1975 too. My first impression about the forum hosted by President Xi was the absence of critics. They were absent from both the forum and the cultural ecology of China today.

I think todays absence of literary criticism was not common even in the past century， which forms a huge contrast with the prosperity of artistic creation in terms of quantity.

—Xu Zidong， professor with the Chinese Language Department， Hong Kong-based Lingnan University

>> Literature and art are the bugle call for the advance of the times， most capable of representing the spirit of an era and apt to guide the mood of an era.

>> Boosting literature and art ultimately requires the creation and production of excellent works that live up to this great nation and these great times.

>> Art should not be a “slave” to the market and should not reek of the “the stench of money.”

>> Excellent art and literary works should not only be artistically outstanding and morally inspiring， but also popular in the market.

>> Artists should neither lose themselves in the tide of market economy nor stray from whom they serve， otherwise their work will lack vitality.

>> The status-quo of “quantity over quality” in art has created “a plateau without summits” and led to a cookie-cutter approach in production and consumption. Problems such as plagiarism and lack of originality persist.

>> Popularity should not require vulgarity， and hope should not be covetous – pure sensual entertainment does not equal spiritual elation.

>> Art and literature are “projects” to mold souls， and artists and writers are “engineers” of the human soul. Excellent art and literary works should be like sunshine in a blue sky and a breeze in spring， inspiring minds， warming hearts， cultivating taste and cleaning up undesirable work styles.

>> The true value of a masterpiece lies in its intellectual depth， artistic exquisiteness and skillful production.

>> The creation of art can fly on wings of imagination， but artists must be grounded on solid earth. Of the hundreds or thousands of ways of creating art， the most fundamental， crucial， and reliable method is immersion with the people and finding roots in life.

>> Pursuit of the true， the good and the beautiful is the mission of artists， and the best works aim to touch people， baptize their souls and enable them to find beauty in nature， life and their minds. We must， through literature and art， spread truth， goodness and the beauty， promote charitable values， guide people in strengthening their powers of moral judgment and their sense of moral honor， and yearn for and pursue a life of stressing morality， respecting morality and abiding by morality. As long as the Chinese people pursue truth， goodness and beauty generation-after-generation， our nation will eternally improve and forever be sated with hope.