MCLC: Nationalist writer Hua Qianfang

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Nationalist writer Hua Qianfang
Source: Global Times (1/12/15)
Unabashed opinion
By Lu Qianwen
Topical online writer talks about his most popular and controversial work
Our Journey is Oceans of Stars Photos: Courtesy of The Writers Publishing House.
“I was a farmer before, and still am now,” said Hua Qianfang [花千芳]. Despite becoming a red-hot figure after attending a significant forum on literature and art presided over by President Xi Jinping and attended by 76 of China’s most representative writers and artists on October 15, the 36-year-old Hua has remained calm in the face of his new found fame as a writer.
“Although I’m a farmer, I’ve always cared a lot about State affairs,” said Hua at a press conference last Wednesday for his new book Our Journey is Oceans of Stars, a compilation of  his online written works from 2012, which earned him considerable fame at the time.
Overnight success
While online literature in China is seen as non-mainstream, Hua’s works are like a series of non-mainstream islands within the already non-mainstream ocean of online literature. Although the author adopts the trendy writing style aimed at younger readers used by many online writers, his writing contrasts sharply with the works of other online writers in that he focuses mainly on grand subjects like international relations or geopolitics.
By comparison, most other popular online writers concentrate on more relaxed and amusing subjects like fantasy or period romances, genres coveted by investors looking for the next big story to adapt to the big screen or turn into an online game. So of course, while Hua’s rise to fame in 2012 was a big deal for him, it was dwarfed in comparison to typical fantasy writers like Tangjia Sanshao, whose Douro Mainland earned over 20 million clicks online while views for Hua’s Our Journey only reached 2 million.
However the forum in October has made Hua a household name. Seeing as how all the other guests invited to the forum were venerable names in literature such as Nobel Prize winning author Mo Yan, Hua and another young online writer Zhou Xiaping’s (Do Not Disappoint This Era, Your Country, Your Party) places in literary circles were lifted to an all new level.
Patriotic outsider
Rising from a farmer who only graduated from middle school to a widely known writer, Hua’s personal story is like a realistic version of “the Chinese Dream” and in many ways his success reflects the themes expressed in his works.
“Ever since criticism of the social environment or government became a strange trend in certain online forums, I sometimes find that when I post something in favor of either of these two topics, what I wrote gets inexplicably removed [from these forums],” said Hua, explaining how his views make him something of an outsider online. “Words like ‘government’ or ‘CPC (Communist Party of China)’ have become sensitive words in these forums,” he added, going on to explain how praising the good things that the government has accomplished is seen by many as “butt-kissing.”
Surprised and unhappy with this online phenomenon, Hua decided to express his love for his country in a frank way. “The things I write reflect the feelings of a farmer who dreamt of being a writer since age 13 and finally realized his dream,” explained Hua, pointing out that others feel like he does about the positive changes in the country. In fact, before he became a huge hit in 2012, he already had a dedicated online fan base consisting of people who shared his views.
Desiring to ensure most people, including children (in his words, those about 8), could understand his work, Hua took care to use language that would be easy to understand, such as using code names for different countries, like o-nigiri rice balls for Japan and kimchi for South Korea, when talking about international politics.
Despite of his limited education, Hua managed to learn about international relations by studying on his own and visiting and participating in various online forums. “It’s one thing when you write something a little piece at a time, and another thing altogether when you connect all your previous writings together,” Hua told the Global Times, explaining how gathering his scattered online writing into one book has helped to clarify his attitude and beliefs.
Awakening nationalism
While Hua and Zhou’s strong sense of patriotism and concern for the country’s development, something rarely seen in online works written for fun, is most likely what got them invited to the October forum, this has also made them the center of some controversy. Some critics question whether the “positive” feelings conveyed by the two authors is really just catering to the government and therefore possesses little literary value.
“Hua is easily mistaken as belonging to certain political factions that work for the CPC and the government,” said Jin Shikai, an editor with The Writers Publishing House, which published Hua’s book. “But if you read his previous works, you will discover that he is also good at analyzing history, which he did before he came out with his popular Our Journey is Oceans of Stars.”
Having read A Dream of Red Mansions more than 50 times, Hua said this classic book and Romance of the Three Kingdomsare his favorite works of literature and that they had a huge influence on his writing.
Although he never went to university Hua is very proud of the understanding and opinions he has developed about China through his dozens of years of reading and writing. He explained that despite what others think of him he is more than happy to share his ideas with his online writing peers, who he sees as being too shy to express their feelings for the country, or trying too hard to make a name for themselves by blindly criticizing the latter.
“More importantly, his work is awakening many people’s fading national pride,” said Jin.
by denton.2 at osu.edu on January 29, 2015
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