Feng Zikai was an admirer of children. His paintings and writings are all in praise of children. He believed children are regarded equal to gods, stars, and art. In his decades of creations, Feng followed the “Poria Cake” principle, meaning his works are appealing and savory, also educational and nourishing. His stories are mostly inspired from his family's weekend gatherings. During wartime, the Fengs fled to numerous places, and the children only had intermittent schooling. Feng therefore told stories for children to supplement their education. After war, Feng organized and created stories for publication, with some gathered in A Professor Sees A Ghost. (1948)

As Feng Zikai said, there is always a moral behind his stories. Nevertheless, we can extend the moral and serve it educationally to cultivate children's sentiment. “A Basket of Success”, “The Critical Moment,” and “The Oil Bowl” are adventure stories that teach the importance of resolution. In “Hunting Bears,” the hunter is touched by the mother bear's affection for the bear cub, and reminds us the importance of environmental protection. However, education should serve multiple functions, and can be knowledge children learn from stories. Take “A Professor Sees A Ghost” for example, children not only learn physics, but also learn to live in a scientific way rather than being superstitious.

Moreover, either “writing about children” or “writing for children,” Feng Zikai always crouched down, and jokingly gave his lessons in a child's perspective. Therefore, the lessons are never boring doctrines. In “One Summer Afternoon,” the father thinks of a word play and makes his children pass the steaming hot afternoon in laughters, which is meaningful and fun. What's more, in “Planting Orchids instead of Wormwoods,” the father simulates a scenario for children to think of ways planting orchids instead of wormwoods, which further sees through children's wild imagination and innovative creativity.

Feng's ideal world is most exemplified in “The Country of the Innocent Minds” and “The Country of the Bright Minds.” The innocent minds can empathize the misery in the world. The king is the most innocent, seconded by the officials. The bright minds can show their sincerity and reveal their feelings and thoughts without a care. Compared with adults, children are innocent and bright. Yet Feng also saw the world with his innocence and brightness, as his most praised willow under his pen. Flowers and plants mostly grow upwards, but the taller they grow, the more easily they forget their roots. Different from them, the willow sprouts in spring, and the taller it grows, the lower it bends. When the wind passes by, the willow lightly kisses its roots that keep it alive.

The beauty of the willow is in its bending.

Atop yet bending low, remembering the roots, Feng Zikai alone possesses the beauty of the willow.

Dr. Fok Yuk Ying (Associate Professor, Department of Chinese, The Education University of Hong Kong)