On December 15, Zheng Yuanjie announced through Weibo that "Fairy Tale King" will be discontinued in January 2022, and the December issue will be the last issue this year. As soon as the news came out, generations of big readers and young readers all regretted it.
One person, one book, Zheng Yuanjie and The Fairy Tale King, is a unique presence in the history of Chinese publishing. In May 1985, "Fairy Tale King", which specially published Zheng Yuanjie's works, was launched, and the first issue published children's literature works such as "New Biography of the Bull Devil King", "A New Cow Added to Chess", "Pipilu in the Summer Palace", "Lu Xixi Sent Wang Zhaojun Out of the Plug" and other children's literature works. No one expected that this writing would be 36 years.
The inaugural issue of Fairy Tale King
Yesterday I saw a news: "100,000 Whys" was published on the 60th anniversary, a total of 6 editions were launched, and the total circulation exceeded 100 million, which is a remarkable data. However, Zheng Yuanjie's "Fairy Tale King", from 1985 to this month, has been published in 495 issues and has printed more than 200 million copies.
There is no doubt that Zheng Yuanjie is a miracle. In his own words, it is "character paranoia", otherwise it will not last this day. "Fairy Tale King" is as important as "100,000 Whys" and has influenced the hearts and minds of generations. For many children, in the most fragile and sensitive period, Pipilu and Lusisi are the "third force" outside of parents and teachers, and they are the ideal partners in their hearts.
A naughty, personality-like, but sometimes unsociable child is also worthy of love and has a future. This kind of value conveyed by Zheng Yuanjie's works is a useful supplement to school education. It is not too high to give "Fairy Tale King" a high evaluation.
"Fairy Tale King" was suspended, Zheng Yuanjie made a preview a month ago, and explained the reason: "At the age of 66, I have limited energy, and I can only devote all my energy to fighting with the 7197328 Pipiru trademark, the 8229932 Fairy Tale King trademark, and the 5423972 Shuk trademark by stopping writing the monthly magazine "Fairy Tale King". ”
In fact, for a long time in the past, rights protection was the most important work of Zheng Yuanjie besides writing, and he was already an expert in copyright and trademark rights. Writing is a person, and litigation is also a person. But defending his rights was more complicated and difficult than writing, eating up most of his energy.
In the past 30 years, China's market economy has developed rapidly, and as laws have become more and more perfect, the protection of trademarks and copyrights has continued to strengthen. However, Zheng Yuanjie, who is "one person", is still unable to stand up to the malicious squatters who flock to the market and are not profitable. It is not difficult for readers to imagine how Zheng Yuanjie would feel when she saw the "Pippilu" brand mountain pepper pork skin.
Zheng Yuanjie's rights protection should, of course, be supported. In the whole thing, what I feel most is actually the "loneliness" of his rights protection. Most of the time, he went to court alone.
It is entirely true to praise him for teaching himself to become a "legal expert" and a champion of human rights. But many people also can't figure out, if there is a team to fight a lawsuit, isn't it better? With Zheng Yuanjie's influence and economic strength, it is completely possible to organize a legal team of 50 people, or cooperate with a super law firm to jointly fight lawsuits and make high claims.
But Zheng Yuanjie's personality is lonely and heroic, and he doesn't want to do that. In fact, the creation and publication of "Fairy Tale King" can also be "team-style". As long as the character's personality and storyline are roughly determined, whether it is writing or painting, you can find a team to complete it. There is no shortage of such "creative methods" on the market, but Zheng Yuanjie is not moved, which is very respectable.
There is a huge market for children's books, and children's stories can be developed into cartoons and other forms. The intervention of capital and team can make "Fairy Tale King" into a big IP, or even an industry. But for 36 years, he is still a person who created "The Fairy Tale King", which is Zheng Yuanjie's stubbornness.
It can be said that Zheng Yuanjie, as a "figure of the times", is somewhat incompatible with the current context. He chose his own way to fight alone, very hard, but finally completed two outstanding works for the reader - one is "The Fairy Tale King", and the other is "Zheng Yuanjie": a cultural freak, a lonely hero, who does not compromise with reality.
It's a pity that Fairy Tale King is out of print, but it's not the 1980s and there are enough books for kids. This suspension is also respected, which is a tragic farewell. Trademark rights protection is also a thing worth fighting for, and I hope that Zheng Yuanjie will go all the way better.