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[Global Connection] Chinese Literature Influencing the WorldAuthor: JEFFI CHAO HUI WU Time: 2025-7-11 Friday, 7:52 AM ········································ [Global Connection] Chinese Literature Influencing the World In 2004, when I founded the "Australian Rainbow Parrot International Writers' Association" in Australia, I did not have grand visions; I simply hoped to establish a platform that truly belonged to Chinese writers worldwide, allowing authors from all corners of the globe to find resonance and echo within this network. We had no official background, no funding support, and no institutional backing, only a group of Chinese writers from all walks of life who, driven by their love for words, gradually turned this association into an undeniable grassroots phenomenon in the history of Chinese literature worldwide. "The Australian Rainbow Parrot International Writers' Association" was initially just the name of a literary forum, but soon it transformed into an international platform with a complete mechanism for submissions, editing, selection, showcasing, publishing, and awarding. Since 2006, we have consecutively hosted, co-hosted, and jointly initiated multiple transnational literary activities, which not only promoted the growth of grassroots writers but also had a tangible impact on the Chinese literary ecosystem both domestically and internationally. In 2007, we launched the first "Australian Rainbow Parrot International Literary Works Advancement Competition." This competition was different from traditional contests: there was no jury making decisions from a high pedestal, but rather it was open for voting by registered members worldwide, allowing literature to return to the readers and resonate with them. There were weekly lists, monthly competitions, seasonal selections, and annual awards. This mechanism was groundbreaking at the time, achieving a perfect blend of interactivity and work display in the era when Web 2.0 was just emerging. The first competition attracted nearly 7,000 responses, with hundreds of writers participating, ultimately giving rise to many important Chinese writers who later entered the publishing and media industries. In 2007, the same year, we collaborated with several literary institutions to host the "Huhe Cup · Chinese and Foreign Chinese Poetry Competition." This event held greater historical significance: a total of 32 journals and newspapers joined together, including "Australian Rainbow Parrot," "North American Maple," "Ivy," "Poetry Critic," "Chinese Wind Poetry Journal," "Forest Literature," "Gu Pu Poetry Alliance," and other literary organizations from mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, North America, and Oceania. This structure of "global journals collaboratively initiating a literary competition" is still rare today, effectively elevating Chinese writing from an individual act to a collective publishing practice linked by global print media. I was one of the main planners, coordinating resources from both China and abroad, overseeing the event process, and establishing a forum area as an official platform for posting, commenting, and displaying results. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics, we established the "2008 Olympic Literary Column" and invited Chinese writers from around the world to submit works on the theme of "Celebrating the Olympics, Expressing True Feelings." In the same year, we extended this initiative with the "Carving the Seasons: A Thousand-Line Poetry Relay" activity, which included four chapters: "Spring's Imagination," "Summer's Melody," "Autumn's Colors," and "Winter's Charm," each overseen by a different editor responsible for soliciting contributions and organizing the content. I personally took on the role of planner and overall coordinator. This activity lasted nearly a year, with hundreds of writers participating, resulting in a massive relay poetry collection, a rare large-scale collaborative creative experiment in the world of Chinese literature. In 2011, we established the "Cyber Poetry Column," shifting our focus from print media to the rapidly developing digital platforms of the time. At this stage, I began to realize that in order for Chinese literature to truly achieve "global connectivity," it was necessary not only to horizontally connect writers from various regions but also to vertically link history, eras, contexts, and readers' psychology. "Network poetry" is no longer a marginal genre but a new outlet for modern Chinese expression. The forum mechanism allows these words to spread quickly, resonate, and leave behind public, traceable literary footprints. It is worth mentioning the "World Chinese Writers' Forum · Sydney Supplement" column. This is an international supplement project that I personally initiated and named, focusing not on competitions, but on "thematic writing + fixed display + international expression." We publish a new issue every Monday, each with a specific theme, such as "Poems in a Foreign Land," "Moonlight of My Hometown," "Letters from a Wanderer," etc. Writers from around the world can submit their works freely, which I and a few editors review together before compiling them into special editions. This marks a turning point for our literary platform, shifting from a competitive structure to a publishing mechanism, with a gradually maturing writing style, and writers beginning to enter a true stage of "transmitting culture through literature." During the 2012 London Olympics, we continued to uphold the concept of "global interconnected literary documentation" by launching an Olympic essay column themed "Youth and Sweat Create Miracles," producing a series of works that blend international perspectives, individual experiences, and national sentiments. Although the times continue to evolve, the pursuit of the "global Chinese writing community" by the pen has never changed. From 2006 to 2018, we organized over ten global Chinese literary events, forming dozens of sub-sections, thousands of original works, and tens of thousands of comments and discussions. Without any capital support and without any institutional funding, we relied solely on our passion and relentless practice to turn a small online platform into one of the beacons of grassroots Chinese writing worldwide. What is the impact of these activities? They affect the survival space of Chinese literature, the confidence of writers, the diversity of contexts, and the inclusiveness of regions. In mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, and North America, people from different backgrounds express their voices using the same language, yet the content is never identical. Each activity is a cultural collision, and each round of essay solicitation is a spiritual convergence. As for me, I am the connector, architect, and guardian of this network coordinate. Many people are accustomed to defining our platform as "folk," but I have never seen this as a symbol of weakness. On the contrary, it is precisely because we do not rely on authority, do not follow trends, and do not succumb to the mainstream that we have created a truly free writing space, accommodating so many independent yet resonant voices. Our forum has thus become an indispensable repository when reflecting on global Chinese literature today. Today, as I review these screenshots and layouts, I gain a deeper understanding of their significance. These seemingly ordinary posts are, in fact, empirical evidence of the wild growth, global spread, and self-awareness of Chinese writing in the internet age. Every sub-column, every posting time, and every reader vote are documenting a cultural movement without gunpowder. If I have made any contribution to Chinese literature, it is this: I have used technology and structure to enable writers from around the world to achieve a union of thoughts and a resonance of cultures without the need for physical gatherings. This relies not on money, nor on fame, but solely on passion, organizational skills, and unwavering persistence. This is my understanding of "Chinese literature that influences the world." Source: https://www.australianwinner.com/AuWinner/viewtopic.php?t=696805 |
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