by Du Guodong
BEIJING, June 3 -- Many people might be doubtful when
a professional racecar driver in his 20s says he will launch and edit a magazine
targeted at intellectuals, but the youthful Han Han seems set to defy his
detractors.
When the 27-year-old Han, also a celebrated writer,
disclosed on his blog that he planned to launch a magazine and invited
contributions ranging from essays to poetry to opinion pieces, he received more
than 10,000 submissions within five days.
According to Han's blog, the magazine aspires to
break away from traditional business models that underpay and overwork writers
by offering compensation that is 10 to 40 times higher than the industry
standard. Han plans to pay contributors two yuan per Chinese character.
"I have cherished the idea of starting a magazine for
a long time, and I want to do it now, and it is scheduled to be published in
July or August," Han told the Global Times, "and in the current publishing
industry, it is unfair for writers to be saddled with such a meager payment,
which are harmful to the authors' personality and writing style."
As for the exact content of the magazine, whose title
has yet to be finalized, Han declined to make any comment. "The specific stories
will come to light when it is published," he said.
"Not only a mere magazine of literary works, the
magazine is to be published for young intellectuals," added Lu Jinbo, the
publisher of the magazine.
A leading writer in China, Han first came to
prominence in 1999, when his essay on the Chinese national character won first
prize at the country's New Concept Writing Competition. Over the past ten years,
Han has published more than ten novels and essay collections, many of which
proved to be bestsellers.
Born in Shanghai in 1982, Han dropped out of middle
school and turned to writing, publishing his first novel The Triple Door in
2000, in which he strongly criticized China's educational system, saying that
education in China was akin to "taking a bath with clothes on." The novel turned
out to be a bestseller and remained at the top of the country's bestseller list
for ten months in a row, selling two million copies in all.
"Han's work elegantly mocks and satirizes the current
educational system, with his poignant style and unbounded talent," said the
literary critic Bai Ye in a review when the novel was first published.
Buoyed by such a critical perspective, Han has become
one of the best selling authors in China, constantly critiquing things that
seemed unjust and wrong to him, while still retaining his humorous tone. Han's
penchant for highlighting social injustice and corruption earned him the title
as the "the living Lu Xun," in reference to one of China's most celebrated
writers and social commentators.
Han says that he does not envision himself as China's
next Lu Xun. "I don't like the new cap, and I don't like to read Lu Xun either,
I want to be myself," Han said.
"Han usually comes up with insightful opinions on the
matters happening around him, from whom we can ascertain a brand new personality
- be yourself," said well-known artist Chen Danqing, who is also very active in
social issues.
Han's individualistic lifestyle and popular works
have elevated the young writer to nothing less than a phenomenon and idol for
the country's younger generations.
"It is really a pity for us to have so many rules to
abide by," Han said about the need to be oneself.
When he is not prepping for his magazine launch or
writing, Han is a professional Formula 1 racer and has snatched several
championships in China throughout his career, including the China Circuit
Championship in 2007. "Car racing and writing provides me with different
satisfactions," added Han.
(Source: Globaltimes.cn)
