Chen Mengjia (; 20 April 1911, in
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
– 3 September 1966, in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
) was a Chinese scholar, poet,
paleographer
Palaeography ( UK) or paleography ( US; ultimately from grc-gre, , ''palaiós'', "old", and , ''gráphein'', "to write") is the study of historic writing systems and the deciphering and dating of historical manuscripts, including the analysi ...
and
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
. He was considered the foremost authority on
oracle bones
Oracle bones () are pieces of ox scapula and turtle plastron, which were used for pyromancy – a form of divination – in ancient China, mainly during the late Shang dynasty. ''Scapulimancy'' is the correct term if ox scapulae were used for the ...
and was Professor of Chinese at
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
.
He was married to the poet and translator
Zhao Luorui
Lucy Chao or Zhao Luorui (; May 9, 1912 – January 1, 1998) was a Chinese poet and translator.
Biography
Chao was born on May 9, 1912, in Xinshi, Deqing County, Zhejiang, China.
She married Chen Mengjia, an anthropologist and expert on orac ...
(aka Lucy Chao, 1912–1998). Chen died in 1966, at the beginning of the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
after being labeled a "
capitalist
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, price system, priva ...
intellectual" and
Rightist
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, auth ...
and being persecuted by officials.
Peter Hessler
Peter Benjamin Hessler (born June 14, 1969) is an American writer and journalist. He is the author of four books about China and has contributed numerous articles to ''The New Yorker'' and ''National Geographic'', among other publications. In 201 ...
, Oracle Bones, Harper Collins, New York, 2006. .
Life
Chen was born and raised in
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
province. His father was a
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
minister.
In his youth Chen had been a poet, under the pen name Wanderer, his first poem was published when he was 18. He was a member of the
Crescent Moon Society The Crescent Moon Society () was a Chinese literary society founded by the poet Xu Zhimo in 1923, which operated until 1931. It was named after ''The Crescent Moon'', a poem by Rabindranath Tagore. The society began as a loosely-organized dining as ...
in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
, a group of
romantic poets during the early 20th century. In 1932 he joined the resistance against
Japanese aggression
This is a list of regions occupied or annexed by the Empire of Japan until 1945, the year of the end of World War II in Asia, after the surrender of Japan. Control over all territories except most of the Japanese mainland (Hokkaido, Honshu, Ky ...
in Shanghai during the
January 28 Incident. At that time he also studied law in Nanjing, but in 1932 began to research classical
Chinese literature and religion, before turning to the study of Chinese writing and archaeology at
Yenching University
Yenching University (), was a university in Beijing, China, that was formed out of the merger of four Christian colleges between the years 1915 and 1920. The term "Yenching" comes from an alternative name for old Beijing, derived from its status ...
in Beijing, where he specialised in the study of
oracle bone
Oracle bones () are pieces of ox scapula and turtle plastron, which were used for pyromancy – a form of divination – in ancient China, mainly during the late Shang dynasty. ''Scapulimancy'' is the correct term if ox scapulae were used for th ...
s and ancient
Chinese bronzes
Sets and individual examples of ritual bronzes survive from when they were made mainly during the Chinese Bronze Age. Ritual bronzes create quite an impression both due to their sophistication of design and manufacturing process, but also beca ...
.
Chen and his wife moved to
Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
in the mid-1930s, where had a position at the
National Southwest Associated University
When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out between China and Japan in 1937, Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University merged to form Changsha Temporary University in Changsha and later National Southwestern Associated Univ ...
.
In 1936, Chen published an influential article on the religion and magic of the
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
, in which he compared the list of the kings of the
Xia dynasty
The Xia dynasty () is the first dynasty in traditional Chinese historiography. According to tradition, the Xia dynasty was established by the legendary Yu the Great, after Shun, the last of the Five Emperors, gave the throne to him. In tradi ...
(the first dynasty of China in the traditional recorded history, often thought to be legendary) with that of the
Shang dynasty
The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty founded by Tang of Shang (Cheng Tang) that ruled in the Yellow River valley in the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and ...
that followed it, and argued that the (legendary) Xia were just a "duplication" of the (real) Shang. He also argued that the
Yellow Emperor
The Yellow Emperor, also known as the Yellow Thearch or by his Chinese name Huangdi (), is a deity ('' shen'') in Chinese religion, one of the legendary Chinese sovereigns and culture heroes included among the mytho-historical Three Soverei ...
and
Yu the Great
Yu the Great (大禹) was a legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures prominen ...
were originally the same personage.
In 1944 Chen and his wife
Lucy Chao were both awarded humanities
fellowship
A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context.
In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements.
Within the context of higher education ...
s by the
Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation is an American private foundation and philanthropic medical research and arts funding organization based at 420 Fifth Avenue, New York City. The second-oldest major philanthropic institution in America, after the Carneg ...
to study at the
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...
in the United States. Chen also received financial support from the
Harvard-Yenching Institute.
Chen traveled around the United States, as well as making trips to
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
and
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
studying both private and public collections of ancient Chinese bronzes. He completed the project with the support of
C. T. Loo, a famous
art dealer
An art dealer is a person or company that buys and sells works of art, or acts as the intermediary between the buyers and sellers of art.
An art dealer in contemporary art typically seeks out various artists to represent, and builds relationshi ...
. His study, with descriptions of over 850 bronze vessels, was turned into a draft for a book, possibly to be published in the United States. In 1947 Chen returned to China (his wife the following year), and he sent the manuscript to
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
before. After
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
broke out, Chen was disconnected with Harvard. However, the book remained unpublished in the United States. According to
Edward L. Shaughnessy
Edward Louis Shaughnessy (born July 29, 1952) is an American Sinologist, scholar, and educator, known for his studies of early Chinese history, particularly the Zhou dynasty, and his studies of the ''Classic of Changes'' (''I Ching'' 易經).
L ...
, Chen's manuscript left in Harvard has been found.
The book was eventually published in China in 1962 under the title ''Our country’s Shang and Zhou Bronzes Looted by American Imperialists'', edited by the
Chinese Institute of Archaeology.
Chen himself, however, did not choose the title, and indeed his name is not written on the cover. The book had been considered important to publish, even though its author was a "Rightist", who were not allowed to publish. Among the "
American imperialists" listed in the book are the
Saint Louis Art Museum
The Saint Louis Art Museum (SLAM) is one of the principal U.S. art museums, with paintings, sculptures, cultural objects, and ancient masterpieces from all corners of the world. Its three-story building stands in Forest Park in St. Louis, Mi ...
,
Mrs. W.K. Vanderbilt of New York, Miss
Doris Duke
Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American billionaire tobacco heiress, philanthropist, art collector, Horticulture, horticulturalist, and socialite. She was often called "the richest girl in the world". Her great wealt ...
of New York,
Avery Brundage
Avery Brundage (; September 28, 1887 – May 8, 1975) was an American sports administrator who served as the fifth president of the International Olympic Committee from 1952 to 1972. The only American and only non-European to attain that p ...
of Chicago, and Alfred F. Pillsbury of
Minneapolis
Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...
. The book is going to be republished under its original title signed with the name of Chen in China in 2016.
Before his problems with the Chinese authorities Chen published in 1956 the work ''A comprehensive study of the divination inscriptions from the Ruins of Yin''. The inscriptions, made on
oracle bones
Oracle bones () are pieces of ox scapula and turtle plastron, which were used for pyromancy – a form of divination – in ancient China, mainly during the late Shang dynasty. ''Scapulimancy'' is the correct term if ox scapulae were used for the ...
at
Yin
Yin may refer to:
*the dark force in the yin and yang from traditional Chinese philosophy and medicine
*Yīn (surname) (), a Chinese surname
*Yǐn (surname) (), a Chinese surname
*Shang dynasty, also known as the Yin dynasty
**Yinxu or Yin, the S ...
, the last Shang capital near today's
Anyang
Anyang (; ) is a prefecture-level city in Henan province, China. The northernmost city in Henan, Anyang borders Puyang to the east, Hebi and Xinxiang to the south, and the provinces of Shanxi and Hebei to its west and north respectively.
It had a ...
(
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
), were recognized at the time (and, largely, still are) as the earliest examples of Chinese writing.
Chen Mengjia's work has long been well known to Shang scholars worldwide. His life and achievements became known to wider audience outside China with the publication in 2006 of
Peter Hessler
Peter Benjamin Hessler (born June 14, 1969) is an American writer and journalist. He is the author of four books about China and has contributed numerous articles to ''The New Yorker'' and ''National Geographic'', among other publications. In 201 ...
’s book ''Oracle Bones''.
Politics
In the 1950s, Chen opposed the Communist government's proposal to
simplify more than 2,000
Chinese characters
Chinese characters () are logograms developed for the writing of Chinese. In addition, they have been adapted to write other East Asian languages, and remain a key component of the Japanese writing system where they are known as ''kanji' ...
. After the
Anti-Rightist Movement
The Anti-Rightist Campaign () in the People's Republic of China, which lasted from 1957 to roughly 1959, was a political campaign to purge alleged "Rightists" within the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the country as a whole. The campaign was l ...
began in 1957, Chen was labeled a
Rightist
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, auth ...
and an enemy of the
Communist Party
A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of ''The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. A ...
, and was sent to a labour camp. In 1966, at the beginning of the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...
, he was again severely persecuted and committed suicide in Beijing.
[South China Morning Post.]
SCMP
" ''Character reformers set off a brush fire of controversy, and retreat.'' Retrieved on 2009-10-21.
Chen Mengjia and his wife Lucy Chao collected Chinese antiques, especially furniture. Before his suicide, Chen wrote a letter to
Ma Chengyuan
Ma Chengyuan (; 3 November 1927 – 25 September 2004) was a Chinese archaeologist, epigrapher, and president of the Shanghai Museum. He was credited with saving priceless artifacts from destruction during the Cultural Revolution, and was instru ...
of the
Shanghai Museum
The Shanghai Museum is a museum of ancient Chinese art, situated on the People's Square in the Huangpu District, Shanghai, Huangpu District of Shanghai, China. Rebuilt at its current location in 1996, it is considered one of China's first world-c ...
, declaring his intent to donate the furniture to the museum. However, after the deaths of the couple, Chao's brother-in-law Zhao Jingxin refused to donate the collection, instead selling it to the museum.
Memorials
Wang Shixiang's magisterial book ''Classic Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties'' (the first book about Chinese classical furniture written by a Chinese author) is dedicated to Chen Mengjia, who was his good friend, and a fellow collector of Chinese classical furniture.
[Wang Shixiang, "In Memory of Mengjia", ''Journal of the Classical Chinese Furniture Society'', Vol. 1, No. 3, Summer 1991, pp. 70-72]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Mengjia
1911 births
1966 suicides
Chinese archaeologists
People's Republic of China poets
Republic of China poets
Suicides by hanging in China
Educators from Nanjing
Writers from Nanjing
Yenching University faculty
Tsinghua University faculty
Suicides during the Cultural Revolution
Scientists from Nanjing
Poets from Jiangsu
Chinese palaeographers
National Southwestern Associated University faculty
University of Chicago alumni
Victims of the Anti-Rightist Campaign
20th-century archaeologists