WEBVTT 00:28.405 --> 00:30.001 I've always wanted to be a writer 00:30.001 --> 00:31.958 since I was very young. 00:32.476 --> 00:36.305 I tried to fulfill my dream one step at the time 00:36.841 --> 00:39.366 and I eventually became a story writer. 00:41.606 --> 00:43.942 Writing is my life. 00:44.442 --> 00:47.631 From the day I started writing to today, 00:47.631 --> 00:51.420 7:00-9:00 pm has always been my writing time. 00:53.196 --> 00:55.234 If you wanted me to get a job, 00:55.234 --> 00:58.622 I might refuse to do it if I didn't get paid. 00:58.633 --> 01:00.530 But if you wanted me to write, 01:00.530 --> 01:03.424 I'd do it if I didn't get paid. 01:07.786 --> 01:09.685 Children's literature is 01:09.685 --> 01:12.065 reasonable nonsense 01:12.495 --> 01:15.293 and sensible absurdity. 01:15.878 --> 01:19.299 These two phrases guided me into children's literature. 01:19.305 --> 01:22.509 There's no framework in writing. 01:22.509 --> 01:25.506 Anything can happen in a story. 01:25.506 --> 01:28.383 You can put in any imaginative ideas. 01:28.925 --> 01:31.947 Ferris Wheel Library left a deep impression on me. 01:32.281 --> 01:34.836 To have a library on a Ferris wheel 01:34.836 --> 01:36.118 is very special and fun, 01:36.322 --> 01:38.313 because the Ferris wheel will turn 01:38.313 --> 01:40.006 when you're reading. 01:40.382 --> 01:43.075 I wish our school could be like that. 01:43.075 --> 01:45.043 When the Ferris wheel is turning, 01:45.384 --> 01:48.188 it means the library is open. 01:48.194 --> 01:52.896 The barrel flying ship is built by Uncle Chou. 01:53.655 --> 01:55.999 He used thick wooden blocks 01:55.999 --> 01:59.100 to make a huge round barrel. 01:59.457 --> 02:01.977 The commissary lady is meaner than our teachers. 02:01.985 --> 02:05.615 She wants customers to pay with the exact amount. 02:05.735 --> 02:08.519 And she just won't give your change back. 02:10.910 --> 02:12.227 Eluded Elementary School 02:12.230 --> 02:16.245 I wrote this book based on the idea 02:16.983 --> 02:19.976 of what kind of elementary school I wanted to go 02:20.945 --> 02:24.156 and what I wanted my school to be like 02:24.282 --> 02:27.121 if I were a student. 02:31.673 --> 02:33.181 A lot of the inspiration for my writing 02:33.184 --> 02:35.588 came from the school where I'm teaching. 02:36.030 --> 02:40.025 I often walk around on campus in circles, 02:40.389 --> 02:42.952 thinking how to develop my stories. 02:45.408 --> 02:47.245 Do you know what tree it is? 02:47.246 --> 02:49.538 It's a mango tree. 02:49.544 --> 02:50.469 You guys are awesome! 02:50.469 --> 02:52.501 What do you do under the mango tree? 02:52.827 --> 02:54.934 We play hide and seek. 02:54.934 --> 02:55.941 What else? 02:55.941 --> 02:57.931 Climbing up a chair. 02:57.932 --> 02:58.780 What else? 02:58.780 --> 03:01.179 Climbing up the mango tree. 03:01.184 --> 03:03.028 Picking mangos. 03:04.288 --> 03:07.482 I often see the kids playing, 03:08.172 --> 03:09.589 picking mangos 03:09.589 --> 03:11.340 or playing hide and seek under the tree. 03:11.340 --> 03:13.109 I love this place. 03:13.109 --> 03:14.041 I don't know why 03:14.041 --> 03:17.179 but this tree makes me feel good. 03:18.192 --> 03:19.372 I feel this place 03:19.372 --> 03:23.103 is the Summer Valley in my book. 03:23.105 --> 03:26.036 The scene of the kids playing under the tree 03:26.063 --> 03:30.611 is the same as that in Summer Valley. 03:36.271 --> 03:38.587 I think it's impossible for story writers 03:38.592 --> 03:40.701 to stay away from kids 03:41.397 --> 03:45.061 because of the things that happen to them, 03:45.061 --> 03:47.589 the ways they handle issues, 03:47.589 --> 03:49.431 their attitude when dealing with things, 03:49.431 --> 03:54.354 and how they overcome themselves in the face of difficulties— 03:54.354 --> 03:58.971 Things like that are worthwhile for us to learn humbly. 03:59.865 --> 04:03.476 That's why what happened to them 04:03.476 --> 04:05.350 became the stories in my books. 04:08.059 --> 04:09.155 What's after yi yan? 04:09.155 --> 04:09.998 Jiu ding. 04:09.998 --> 04:11.034 Yi yan jiu ding. 04:11.034 --> 04:12.666 When a person keeps his words 04:12.666 --> 04:13.767 or a person's words hold weight, 04:13.767 --> 04:15.805 it means yi yan jiu ding. 04:15.805 --> 04:18.439 When we put a proverb in an article, 04:18.769 --> 04:21.452 it's like having a dessert 04:21.452 --> 04:24.635 after a big meal. 04:24.746 --> 04:25.680 What do you think about it? 04:26.500 --> 04:27.282 Is that good? 04:27.282 --> 04:27.930 It's good. 04:27.930 --> 04:29.744 Awkward classic literature 04:29.744 --> 04:32.366 is kind of hard for the kids. 04:32.690 --> 04:35.873 I try to digest and absorb it first 04:35.873 --> 04:37.951 before I create something of my own. 04:37.951 --> 04:40.782 I want the kids to be able to get it. 04:40.784 --> 04:42.434 So when I'm writing, 04:42.434 --> 04:45.061 I write from the views of the kids. 04:45.067 --> 04:47.235 Through this kind of guidance, 04:47.881 --> 04:47.883 I think they'll be able to absorb 04:47.883 --> 04:51.688 I think they'll be able to absorb lots of knowledge from my writing. 04:51.688 --> 04:52.842 It's indeed... 04:52.939 --> 04:55.932 A silver tongue. 05:06.993 --> 05:09.472 Our teacher told us to get in the habit of reading. 05:10.098 --> 05:13.226 Our teacher encouraged us to read more non-textbooks. 05:13.226 --> 05:16.817 I feel that my teacher was an important basis 05:16.817 --> 05:20.274 for my last stage of inspiration in elementary school. 05:20.439 --> 05:23.280 After being taught by my teacher for a while, I started to fall in love with writing. 05:23.465 --> 05:26.004 I like the feeling between me and writing 05:26.540 --> 05:28.171 and the impression I get when I see it. 05:28.403 --> 05:31.401 I believe children's books can lead them 05:31.401 --> 05:33.644 to a secure place. 05:33.656 --> 05:36.248 When they sit down to read a book, 05:36.790 --> 05:40.755 I think it's when they'll gain something. 05:40.755 --> 05:45.780 If they can enter the world of books, 05:46.033 --> 05:48.796 they'll keep reading one after another 05:48.802 --> 05:52.449 after they get the pleasure of reading. 05:53.061 --> 05:55.325 So I hope they can start 05:55.671 --> 05:57.462 from the books they understand 05:57.462 --> 05:59.000 and then slowly 05:59.005 --> 06:02.025 increase the level of difficulty. 06:02.025 --> 06:06.066 I think it'll be helpful for them. 06:08.749 --> 06:09.686 Ready. 06:09.686 --> 06:10.670 Go! 06:12.007 --> 06:16.066 Writing is a galloping horse. 06:16.066 --> 06:20.148 It can take us to places we want to go. 06:20.148 --> 06:21.533 Through writing, 06:21.533 --> 06:24.325 we can explore a broader world.