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Du Jianguo was one of the illustrators on Little Smart’s Adventure in the Future. Creating the image of Little Smart wasn’t difficult; the hard part was how to depict the future. He had to rely on his imagination, at a time when very little information was available.
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In 1982, the 12th National Congress of the Communist Party of China decided to focus on building a more prosperous socialist society by the year 2000. A new phrase, “better-off society”, began appearing in the newspapers.
What was a “better-off society”? What would life be like in such a society? People began to try and imagine what it would be like in the year 2000.
The newspaper China Teenager launched a writing contest, on the subject ‘To a Child of 2000’. Within six months, the newspaper had received 22,000 entries from children all over China.
Wang Xin, a student at Tianjin’s No. 55 Middle School, wrote: “I love watermelons. But the watermelons we are eating now are full of seeds. However, in 18 years’ time, the watermelons will be seedless. By that time, all the children can eat watermelons without worrying about the seeds.”
Ye Yonglie’s book Little Smart’s Adventure in the Future had first been written in 1961. At the time, he probably never imagined it would become a children’s favourite twenty years later. It sold out, almost as soon as it was published. Before long, the story had been adapted as a comic with the same title, selling for 23 cents a copy.
At his home, Ye Yonglie keeps thousands of audio cassettes, tens of thousands of photographs and negatives, various certificates, and letters of offers. Among them, his most prized possession is a letter from a reader.
Little Smart’s Adventure in the Future became the most popular book for parents to buy for their children. It created a whole new generation of science fiction fans. The book won 1st Prize for Children and Youth Literature in China. The awards ceremony, held in Beijing, was hosted by Little Smart and Snow White.
In 1980, Ye Yonglie became a member of the China Writers’ Association. But he continued working for the Shanghai Science and Education Film Studio as a director. He was living in a house of just 12 square meters at the time. Every day he had to walk through a vegetable market on his way to work.
Ye Yonglie was awarded the title and a prize of 1000 yuan at the Great Hall of the People. Before Ye Yonglie, only one other writer had been given the award, and that had been Zong Fuxian, who had written Deep in Silence. For Ye Yonglie, to receive such recognition from the Culture Ministry and China Science Association, came as a total surprise.
Ye Yonglie had once been criticized for focusing too much on material rewards instead of just doing his job. After winning the prize, such criticism was no longer leveled against him. He became a role model for everyone working in the culture industry. In June 1979, Ye Yonglie moved to a two-bedroom apartment of over 40 square meters, provided by the Shanghai Municipal Government.
