"And they lived
happily ever after," is how a
kid's fairy tale usually ends,
but a number of classic fairy
tales have been adapted here in
China with different endings: the ugly
duckling does not grow up into
a swan but gets caught by a
peasant woman and made into a
dish; Cinderella is burnt to death
as a burial object of the
prince; and the sleeping beauty turns
out to be a witch who takes
revenge on the prince that gave
up on trying to save
her.
Such adapted fairy tales
also include The Little Mermaid, Snow
White, Little Red Riding Hood and
Beauty and the Beast. Compared with
the original versions of these
classics, they contain more of the
dark side of life that occurs
in modern-day society. And because
they have such dark endings, they
have been dubbed "dark fairy tales"
by Chinese netizens.
Are
adaptations appropriate?
As one
of the most widely spread adapted
versions, the new The Ugly Duckling
tells about a duckling, who after
listening to the original version as
told by his duck-professor, believes
he must be the one that will
become a swan. Turned down by
his mother, the duckling leaves home
and lives alone near a river,
waiting for the wonderful day to
come.
But one day, as he
falls asleep, a peasant woman comes
and discovers him. She is so
happy to see the duckling because
she is preparing a big dinner.
So she catches the duckling and
roasts him.
While these "new"
stories are widely spread online and
from printed books, they raise
controversial discussions on whether they
are appropriate for
children.
Wang Yimei, a
children's writer in Suzhou, Jiangsu
Province, revealed her opinion in a
phone interview with the Global Times.
She said that in the early
stages of a child's growing up,
the things he or she are
exposed to must be those things
that reflect the bright sides of
life. Otherwise, it will bring
negative influences to that child's
later life.
And Wang also
believes, there are more bright sides
than dark sides in life itself,
and those who came up with dark
adaptations are only using their
narrowed opinion to mislead the
children.
Wang's point of
view gets shared by Tong Haiqing,
a senior editor at Shanghai-based
Juvenile & Children's Publishing
House.
"[Concerning for] the
reading psychology of children, [reading
material providers] should bring them
things that are bright and beautiful,"
Tong said, adding that the perception
of children is still limited;
therefore they are easily influenced
by what they get without the
benefit of proper
judgment.
Also, Tong does not
think the new adaptations are good
enough to exceed the classics. "Having
been handed down for centuries, the
classics contain meaningful educational
benefits. [If there is no good
cause,] I don't think the later
generation should carelessly adapt
them."
Supporting
voices
Yet, there are
opposing opinions both among professionals
and common people.
A staff
member surnamed Zhao at Blossom Press,
one of the publishers of the
adapted The Ugly Ducking story, told
reporters from Shanghai Morning Post
that they were made aware of
the controversy around the story and
reread the piece several times but
did not think there was anything
inappropriate.
"It is a fairy
tale that is down-to-earth," she said,
adding that there's no single
writer for the new version of
the story, but that it was
adapted by a group and was
examined carefully before being
published.
Also, some supporters
argue that dark fairy tales can
help raise children's awareness of
possible bad things they might come
across in daily life, especially since
recent years have seen more and
more violence against children in
China.
In a reader's
opinion column in the Southern
Metropolis Daily, an opinion holder
with the name Wang Pan took the
"dark version" of The Ugly Duckling
as one example and wrote, "In
real life, many children, [just like
the duckling,] are rebellious. They do
not listen to parents' warnings and
leave home alone, and later meet
some accidents." Wang believes it is
more meaningful to warn the children
than make them daydream of becoming
a swan.
A series of
Hollywood cartoons, such as Corpse
Bride (2005), Coraline (2009), and ParaNorman
(2012), are also used as supporting
examples of the need to provide
dark stories for
children.
Loopholes in the
industry
Aside from the
discussion about whether these adaptations
are good or bad, the issue
reveals some editorial shortcomings in
the children's publishing
industry.
In an article
published on review.qianlong.com, the
children's book market has long
been mixed with unhealthy
books.
The article stated that
when unhealthy reading materials are
published, it is a direct result
of failures all along the industry
chain - author, editor, publisher and
seller: Responsibility extends to related
regulatory departments as well for
their lack of supervision.
Yang
Hongying, a popular children's author
in China, agrees on this point.
She told the Global Times that
having worked in children's publishing
for more than 20 years, she found
in the Chinese mainland there are
still few professional children's book
recommenders who work for the genuine
interest of the readers.
"In
many cases, some books are recommended
because the seller can take more
commission from that," she
said.
Also, while disapproving
of the "dark versions," Yang believes
that adaptations have appeared in the
market because the foreign classics
are no longer applicable to the
lives of modern Chinese
children.
"So some people can
make a selling point by adding
in something more relevant to the
society. But those made under the
guise of a classic can do more
harm."
