In this era of interconnected information, words are no longer solitary expressions but dialogues and resonances among countless souls. We believe that every sincere piece of writing deserves to be seen, and every reading experience is a warm encounter.
On the evening of August 15th, Citic Press Corporation and the "Angel Looking Homeward+" project jointly launched the "Writers' Night" event, themed "Everyone Creates, Everyone Reads." The gathering brought together writers, scholars, creators, and story enthusiasts to share life fragments, traces of the times, and heartwarming stories and reflections through an open mic format.
The event officially introduced the new cultural project "Angel Looking Homeward+" and its derivative MOOK trial issue "100 Chinese People's Dreams." Renowned media personality Qiu Bing returned to the cultural stage as a key collaborator of the project, delivering heartfelt shares. Chen Wei, Party Secretary and Chairman of Citic Press Corporation, and Wang Shuai, Honorary Partner of Alibaba, delivered opening remarks. Distinguished speakers included Li Hongbing, former Deputy Director of People's Daily Shanghai Branch and Special Professor at Fudan University School of Journalism; Ni Minjing, Director of Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, Shanghai Natural History Museum, and Shanghai Astronomy Museum; Mao Jian, Professor at East China Normal University and writer; Zhang Mingyang, historical writer; Zhou Li, Deputy Director of Huaxi Village Committee and Deputy Party Secretary of Huaxi Industrial Group; and Chu Xiaohong, founder of Xi'an Care Fund of Shanghai Charity Foundation and public welfare advocate serving critically ill children and their families. This was not merely a reading exchange but a reunion of old friends, a collision of ideas, and a tribute to the content era.
"Angel Looking Homeward+" aims to promote universal creation, recording Chinese stories scattered throughout streets and markets, utilizing integrated publishing methods for multi-media development to form a product matrix including books, MOOKs, video podcasts, and more. Citic Press Corporation hopes to use this project to record historical changes over the long term and explore new models of integrated publishing, allowing Chinese stories embedded in daily life to be more widely disseminated and preserved.
Qiu Bing (Founder of "Angel Looking Homeward"): Everyone Creates
Everyone seeks dreams, and in dreams, there is no distinction between East and West. Once upon a time, writing and literature seemed to be the exclusive domain of Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Mo Yan, and Yu Hua. Suddenly one day, Qiu Bing started writing, ordinary people began writing, and over 100 authors from "Angel Looking Homeward+" started writing too. When ordinary people write stories of ordinary people, has literature become cheaper or more cost-effective? Has literature come alive or the opposite? I think this is a question, and I have a rough answer to share with you: Many people have a book they really want to read called "The Brothers Karamazov." The first page quotes several lines from the Gospel of John in the Bible: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." I think this might answer the question.
Chen Wei (Party Secretary and Chairman, Citic Press Corporation): Bringing Reading into the Human World
We've always wanted to answer a question: whether traditional reading still has meaning today. Last year's Citic Publishing Writers' Night theme was "Hello, Shanghai," and this year it's "Everyone Creates, Everyone Reads." When Teacher Qiu Bing once shouted "My heart surges as before," he stood at the forefront of media reform in Shanghai. Over the years, he has wandered and returned here, launching "Angel Looking Homeward+" with Citic Publishing, and his heart still surges. We hope to dedicate the finest works for everyone to read together, but that's not enough. We also hope everyone will join us in creating excellent content together. In the inaugural issue of "Angel Looking Homeward+," "100 Chinese People's Dreams," a 61-year-old Guangzhou caregiver, Aunt Shen, wrote: "In my dream, my lover carried me across a glass bridge. Lying on his back felt fragrant and secure." These mere 20 words made my heart flutter as a reader. Why? Because every ordinary person's most simple expression is human warmth and cold, the true essence of daily life.
The philosophy of "Angel Looking Homeward+" - "Everyone Creates, Everyone Reads" - is to let ordinary people's overlooked voices penetrate the noise of the internet and let lonely souls find each other in words. As a leading company in business books, Citic Publishing's development has accompanied China's commercial society's growth step by step. From "Who Moved My Cheese?" to "Steve Jobs Biography," these are footprints of our efforts to promote business enlightenment. In today's social atmosphere calling for warmth, we hope to work with authors and media professionals to enter the human world, into thousands of households, building a cultural platform that truly reaches every family.
"Angel Looking Homeward+" should not just be a literary temple for a few cultural elites but should become a gardener for our entire city's reading culture. Shanghai is a readable city, not only because of its beautiful architecture but also because of the warmth and daily life created by Shanghai citizens. I believe life's greatest happiness is finding something you can persist in doing. I hope Teacher Qiu Bing and media professionals present can make content creation a lifelong career and walk happily forward.
Wang Shuai (Honorary Partner, Alibaba): Writing Makes My Life More Complete
Honestly, both Qiu Bing and I, including many people in "Angel Looking Homeward+," are not strictly professional writers, but why do we write?
I used to be very confident in my memory. I never took notes in meetings for years and didn't suggest others take notes when I hosted meetings because I felt it would prevent people from truly "listening." But now I'm over 50, and I find I can't remember many things or people. Life seems incomplete. This was my initial motivation for writing - to write things down and record everything.
This "100 Chinese People's Dreams" from "Angel Looking Homeward+" is very interesting. I've been dreaming frequently lately, dreaming of when my daughters were five or six years old, constantly clinging to me. I wonder why I always dream of their childhood appearance? Because they've grown up now and haven't "paid attention" to me for years. So I occasionally look at photos of their childhood, feeling very nostalgic. I think this is also the benefit of recording - it can help complete and enrich your life in some form.
Li Hongbing (Former Deputy Director, People's Daily Shanghai Branch; Special Professor, Fudan University School of Journalism): We Are Experiencing a Contemporary May Fourth New Culture Movement
I feel both honored and lost coming here today. Chen Wei, Wang Shuai, and Qiu Bing all say they've escaped from media, while I'm relatively incompetent, having persevered in media for over 30 years.
Qiu Bing is like the "jumping woman" in Chekhov's story, but he's a "jumping man" who's particularly successful. He always catches the zeitgeist: graduating into mainstream media, founding metropolitan newspapers, doing online media, then short videos, and now launching "Angel Looking Homeward+." I often have many unrealized ideas, but Qiu Bing can make every dream come true, which I greatly admire. The ambition of "Everyone Creates, Everyone Reads" is enormous. Now everyone is outputting, but how many are willing to read what others write? Qiu Bing can make people focus their attention. Qiu Bing covers many topics, but they fall into two categories: Sichuan-Chongqing culture and the media world. Despite his wanderings, he always cherishes his former love - journalism.
Chen Wei shares a similar understanding and original intention toward content. When I lead students in book clubs now, I find most recommended books are from Citic Publishing, such as "Sapiens Trilogy," "A Brief History of Tomorrow," "Guns, Germs, and Steel," "Steve Jobs Biography," and "Elon Musk Biography." These are books my students and I have carefully read. These quality contents maintain consistency from beginning to end.
Currently, everyone has a microphone, everyone is expressing, everyone is creating. I recently visited a small mountain village in Anhui for field research. We knocked on doors of 100 rural households and were shocked to find that even illiterate elderly women browse TikTok, most enjoying stories about "domineering CEOs falling in love with janitors." These women also have TikTok accounts with many followers, presenting their lives - much like ordinary people in "100 Chinese People's Dreams" dreaming of Peng Yuyan. The Republican era also had 100 writers describing their dreams, but the dreams in this book are completely different. The vivid ordinary people in this book couldn't be presented during the Republican era.
From Weibo's 150-character creations to literati entering internet creation, I think this rivals the May Fourth New Culture Movement. Li Bai lived in an era of grinding iron rods into needles for literary creation. Today we might be grinding years into powder, but this powder is addictive like drugs. We're also fortunate to live in such an era. Though we're not with Li Bai or Su Dongpo, we're with content creators like Qiu Bing and Chen Wei.
Ni Minjing (Director, Shanghai Science and Technology Museum, Shanghai Natural History Museum, Shanghai Astronomy Museum): From Writing to Dinosaurs, Both Need Appreciative Audiences
I recently visited a school and experienced the power of current AI. Homework can now be graded by machines, and essays are directly scored when fed into machines. I asked them: with such powerful technology, your school's Chinese language college entrance exam scores must be excellent. They said it's getting worse. Why? Students say they put all their effort into writing emotionally rich stories, but teachers don't even look at them - they're graded by AI. This is another kind of awkwardness. Now many AIs might be creating, and eventually, AIs might be reading too.
We're currently hosting China's most expensive exhibition at Shanghai Natural History Museum - the China Dinosaur Exhibition, featuring top-tier dinosaurs from across the country and globally that have never been exhibited before. Recently, a celebrity visited, and I introduced these dinosaurs, starting from the Mesozoic Era when dinosaurs lived, explaining the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. Then he yawned loudly, which was quite discouraging. This is like the AI grading situation - if my creation can't move people, it's essentially wasted.
Everyone knows our Earth has existed for 4.6 billion years. If we imagine these 4.6 billion years as one year, when did life begin on our planet? About in February or March, like when flowers bloom in spring. When did dinosaurs appear? Dinosaurs appeared on December 10th, lived on Earth for 15 days, and became extinct on Christmas Day. Later, humans appeared at 6 PM on December 31st. When did human civilization begin? In the last 30 seconds before midnight, and industrial civilization only lasted 3 seconds. Why create the China Dinosaur Exhibition? Human industrial civilization in just 3 seconds has already damaged our Earth terribly. We don't want our fossils to be displayed for viewing 200 million years from now, so we invite everyone to visit our China Dinosaur Exhibition at Shanghai Natural History Museum.
Mao Jian (Professor, East China Normal University; Writer): I Want to Have Dinner with Ximen Qing and Invite Pan Jinlian to Accompany Us
Speaking of this "100 Chinese People's Dreams," let me talk about dreams today. Those of us born in the 1970s spent at least 20 years writing "I have a dream." When the women's volleyball team won three consecutive championships, we wanted to become volleyball players. After watching "Doubt," we thought getting leukemia seemed quite romantic. Later, we took the right path - after reading martial arts novels, we hoped to become Qiao Feng or Yang Guo, but we were also afraid of death and didn't want to break our arms. Later we discovered that those of us in class who wrote compositions well actually didn't achieve our dreams, while those who didn't write their dreams well achieved great careers.
Even today, we're still writing about dreams. Once in an interview, someone asked about my dreams. I said I wanted to have dinner with Ximen Qing and invite Pan Jinlian to accompany us. Sometimes when feeling ambitious, I also want to write about becoming Lu Xun, but when I start writing, I still feel too vulgar and don't dare write it, turning Lu Xun into Lu Da. So I think those who write about dreams are indeed quite shameful and late-blooming.
I just saw my good friend Master Bao. Master Bao has a dream - he wants to open a temple, but he can only do fortune-telling and name analysis, and no one throws money in front of him. Regardless, I've known Master Bao for 30 years, and he hasn't gained a single wrinkle. Perhaps this is the only function of dreams - they keep a person innocent and abstract. Once a person becomes abstract, time becomes powerless. Thank you all.
Zhang Mingyang (Historical Writer): Being Down and Out Can Help Us Live Longer
I remember years ago when Boss Qiu got drunk, I sent him home. Before going upstairs, Boss Qiu kicked me. After getting home, Boss Qiu sent me a message: "Mingyang, we are lifelong fellow travelers." Later I discovered the road was gone. I see the publishing road is also very "narrow," but there's still a narrow path.
Today's gathering has a strong "old-timer" flavor. A group of old media people, old publishers, and old cultural figures reminiscing about their past peaks - these peaks were actually from 20 years ago. The dream I wrote in "100 Chinese People's Dreams" was also from 20 years ago - a college entrance exam dream. When I entered today's gathering, I thought, goodness, I haven't seen so many important figures in years, many of whom I met during media's golden age.
What I greatly admire about Boss Qiu is that as a senior in the media industry, even after stepping back from the front lines, he continues writing. As a child, I watched many Hong Kong gangster films where many gang bosses rose from street fighting, but after becoming bosses, they forgot their survival skills and one day got stabbed on the street, helpless. Boss Qiu and we don't want to be such people. Even though media seems to be declining now, we must maintain our essential skills and not forget our craftsmanship.
Today I took my child to see the China Dinosaur Exhibition. Many ancient giant beasts like dinosaurs, mammoths, and giant lizards were many times larger than current ones, but they all went extinct, while small animals survived. So I think during times of transition, being weaker, more low-key, and smaller actually makes survival easier. Currently, we're a bit weaker and down and out, but that's okay. Being down and out can help us live longer. Thank you all.
Zhou Li (Deputy Director, Huaxi Village Committee; Deputy Party Secretary, Huaxi Industrial Group): We Fall from Different Dimensions and Are Reborn from Different Places
I was the most hesitant to come today - as a fan meeting an idol, a country person entering the big city, an amateur meeting writers, I was truly nervous. Teacher Qiu Bing is my idol. Few people worship authors now, but I still do. Speaking of "Everyone Creates, Everyone Reads," I'm not a professional writer, so my understanding might be biased. I see the character "person" with the fewest strokes. Perhaps this era should be about creating for people, reading for people, and maintaining human vitality. In today's low-desire era, even the desire to dress up, share, and express is fading, but we still need to record experiences as part of human preservation. AI creation makes some content "dehumanized," and reading also requires non-human interpretation. People can only accept residue, losing human nourishment and continuity.
Teacher Qiu Bing plans to publish a collection of Dongguan amateur writings, which I eagerly anticipate. When I read "I Am Fan Yusui" years ago, I saw the "human part," and literature regained meaning. That's why I dared to attend this meeting under pressure from my idols. Thanks to Boss Qiu for letting me write about dreams - about family: Wu Renbao was Huaxi Village's first generation, I'm the third generation, and my child is the fourth generation. We were born to live for Huaxi Village's mission. I once specialized in interpreting Secretary Wu's thoughts. After his death in 2013, I suddenly didn't know why I was working and living.
Today's coincidence: Boss Qiu wrote about "falling and growth," and my article happens to be the final piece, also about falling and growth. From the first to fourth generation seems like falling, with work and life both declining. I once stood beside spotlights "borrowing prestige," and now I'm also falling, but falling is also growth - I no longer write serious political commentary or interpret Secretary Wu's words but speak my own words and do my own things. Xie Chunhua has a song "I Fall from the Cliff," but what she falls into is the Milky Way starry sky and countless mountains. We fall from different dimensions and are reborn from different places.
Everyone creates to return to expression and sharing rather than chasing traffic; everyone reads for mutual understanding and acceptance rather than consumption. Today's gathering is full of capable people, and Huaxi Village uses the ox as its emblem, symbolizing down-to-earth while looking up at stars. I represent villagers in yearning for this cultural position, hoping to eventually become part of "everyone reads."
Chu Xiaohong (Founder, Xi'an Care Fund; Public Welfare Advocate Serving Critically Ill Children and Their Families): The Life Gift My Daughter Gave Me
Everyone here is a writer or word lover, but I'm the weakest. I grew up around publishing and admired colleagues, but I was ignorant and didn't study, living the first half of my life in confusion. Until 2012, when my daughter Xi'an developed brain cancer and received treatment in America for 17 months, this experience gave me a second life.
In the hospital ward, I received countless acts of kindness from strangers: medical staff, social workers, volunteers. Most memorable was when a friend came to visit and saw Xi'an and my husband napping, so he gestured for me to stay quiet. He sat directly on the floor, took off my shoes, and warmed my feet with his hands. I resisted internally: the hospital floor is dirty, how could he sit there in fine clothes? My feet are also dirty, how could he warm them with his hands? How could I repay such kindness? But then I thought: why rush to repay? Perhaps I could return the favor in other ways in the future.
After Xi'an passed away in 2013, I established a public welfare organization in Shanghai in 2015 to support critically ill children. Later, I showed activity photos to that American volunteer and told him how his gesture gave me strength. He was surprised: "Really? I forgot all about it." It turns out ordinary people's hands can create a butterfly effect of warmth for many people. Starting was extremely difficult: recruiting hospital volunteers with no one trusting us. But during one activity, seeing sick children unable to hide their smiling eyes despite masks and hats, volunteers forgetting themselves while singing with them, I suddenly felt so happy I cried - this was exactly my mission: becoming a bridge connecting sick children with caring people.
This year marks our tenth year, and we've launched a new "respite service" for parents, providing therapeutic touch support. During our first service, when that exhausted, pale parent lay down and I knelt to provide touch therapy, I had intrusive thoughts: his complexion was frightening, even like a "medical troublemaker" - was he worth me kneeling to serve? I reminded myself: put aside prejudice, he's just a parent of a sick child needing companionship. After 45 minutes, he stretched and smiled, saying "very professional." When leaving, he smiled and thanked me, his smile blooming like a flower. At that moment, I was certain the new project was worthwhile.
Many people call me an "amazing mother," but this is a life gift Xi'an gave me. Qiu Bing included Xi'an's letters before her death in "100 Chinese People's Dreams." I hope everyone can also receive this gift from the book.
Comments