[The rest of the text is a personal essay by an author named Anqi about writing novels, publishing challenges, and her perspectives on literature and censorship, which I’ve also translated fully.]
Anqi had been reading romance novels since junior high school, but she was very clear that the stories described in the novels were just fiction, and such things could not happen in real life. Therefore, no matter how immersed she was in a story the night before, she would still obediently get up early the next day and go to school with her backpack.
Teenagers are not as naive as those in power imagine, unable to distinguish between fantasy and reality. I remember during Anqi’s elementary and junior high school days, the social atmosphere was very “closed,” with little external stimulation, and children were innocent. As a result, some children wanted to imitate martial arts heroes climbing walls and leaping rooftops, and ended up climbing onto a roof and falling, resulting in serious injuries.
In contrast, now, would anyone climb onto a roof with a broom, trying to learn how to fly like Harry Potter, and then jump down? Everyone knows that’s fake, right?
This is the transformation between ideals and reality. In stories or movies, we can imagine such things truly exist, but in real life, we know they are fake and will not neglect our real-life responsibilities because of fantasies.
The rating system divides people at the age of eighteen, which is generally recognized as the standard. But I ask, are there no differences between ten-year-old children in the past and now? How much have eighteen-year-old teenagers changed? Are those old norms and standards applicable in today’s rapidly changing, stimuli-rich modern society?
Alas! I truly hope the authorities carefully consider this and not simply shout “ban,” otherwise I fear many authors and artists will disappear from this circle…
After saying so much, I hope it hasn’t affected everyone’s reading mood. Anqi’s next work will be the publisher’s annual book set, so please look forward to it! After completing the book set, Anqi plans to start a new series, roughly describing the story of three poor sisters. Anqi will begin with the eldest sister, and she hopes readers will continue to support her!
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