Liu Xinwu (; born June 1942) is a Chinese author, and one of the earliest proponents of the post-

Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...

wave of Chinese literature.

Biography

Born in the province of

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, his family moved to

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 ...

, a city that figures prominently in his work, in 1950. Liu spent most of his life in Beijing, except for a brief period during 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 ...

, when he was sent to work in rural China. His short story, "Class counsellor" (also translated as "The Class Teacher"; ) published in

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

was one of the earliest examples of prose condemning the excesses of the Chinese government during the Cultural Revolution. His work has sometimes been referred to as

scar literature Scar literature or literature of the wounded () is a genre of Chinese literature which emerged in the late 1970s during the "Boluan Fanzheng" period, soon after the death of Mao Zedong, portraying the sufferings of cadres and intellectuals du ...

, though this assessment is disputed. Liu filled editorial positions in a number of prominent government-sponsored publications throughout most of the 1980s. In 1987, however, he was removed as editor of the publication ''

People's Literature ''People's Literature'' (《人民文学》''Renmin wenxue'') is the oldest continuously published literary magazine in China, and the first literary magazine published in Communist China. Established in 1949, the magazine is published by the Peo ...

'' after a story published failed to meet government approval. He left all his government positions after the

Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 The Tiananmen Square protests, known in Chinese as the June Fourth Incident (), were student-led demonstrations held in Tiananmen Square, Beijing during 1989. In what is known as the Tiananmen Square Massacre, or in Chinese the June Fourth ...

because of continual harassment from the government for his pro-demonstrator stance. Since then, he has devoted himself entirely to his writing. Liu's work, which includes novels, short stories, and children's literature, focuses on the common people of Beijing and people who live on the margins of society.

Redology

Since the early 1990s Liu has also been engaging in

Redology Redology () is the academic study of Cao Xueqin's ''Dream of the Red Chamber'', one of the Four Great Classical Novels of China. There are numerous researchers in this field; most can be divided into four general groups. The first group are th ...

, also known as studies of the famous 18th-century Chinese novel ''

Dream of the Red Chamber ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (''Honglou Meng'') or ''The Story of the Stone'' (''Shitou Ji'') is a novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known for ...

''. Liu takes on the controversial stance that in studying this famous Qing novel, the researcher's point of departure should be the figure of

Qin Keqing ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' (''Honglou Meng'') or ''The Story of the Stone'' (''Shitou Ji'') is a novel composed by Cao Xueqin in the middle of the 18th century. One of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature, it is known for ...

, thus authoring the branch of Qin studies () within redology. In 2006 Liu gave a talk at

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

introducing this concept. Liu has also published on ''The Dream'' with the famous redologist

Zhou Ruchang Zhou Ruchang (; April 14, 1918 – May 31, 2012), was a Chinese writer noted for his study of the novel ''Dream of the Red Chamber'' by Cao Xueqin. He is regarded as among the most renowned and influential redologists of the 20th century. In a ...

.Joel Martinsen
Conspiracy of the Red Mansions
danwei.org (Dec 8, 2006).

Translations

* ''Black Walls and Other Stories'' (ed. by Don J. Cohn, ) * ''Chinese short stories of the twentieth century: an anthology in English'' (ed. by Zhihua Fang, ) Includes "The Class Teacher". * ''Prize-winning Stories from China, 1978-1979'' (by Liu Xinwu, Wang Meng, and others). HC () PB () (Includes "The Teacher") Available to borrow at archive.or

* ''The Wedding Party'' (translated by

Jeremy Tiang Jeremy Tiang (born 17 January 1977) is a Singaporean writer, translator and playwright based in New York City. Tiang won the 2018 Singapore Literature Prize for English fiction for his debut novel, ''State of Emergency'', published in 2017. Car ...

). HC () PB () * ''The Wounded: new stories of the Cultural Revolution, 77-78'' (ed, Hsin-hua Lu,

Geremie Barmé Geremie R. Barmé (born 1954) is an Australian sinologist, author, and film-maker on modern and traditional China. He was formerly Director, Australian Centre on China in the World and Chair Professor of Chinese History at Australian National ...

, Bennett Lee). HC () PB () Includes "Class counsellor".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Xinwu 1942 births Living people Chinese male short story writers Writers from Chengdu Mao Dun Literature Prize laureates Chinese male novelists Chinese children's writers 20th-century Chinese short story writers 20th-century Chinese male writers People's Republic of China short story writers Short story writers from Sichuan Redologists