Shen Dehong (Shen Yanbing; 4 July 1896 – 27 March 1981), known by the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Mao Dun, was a Chinese essayist, journalist, novelist, and playwright. Mao Dun, as a 20th-century Chinese novelist, literary and cultural critic, and Minister of Culture (1949–65), was one of the most celebrated left-wing realist novelists of modern China. His most famous work is ''

Midnight Midnight is the transition time from one day to the next – the moment when the date changes, on the local official clock time for any particular jurisdiction. By clock time, midnight is the opposite of noon, differing from it by 12 hours ...

'' (子夜), a novel depicting life in cosmopolitan

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...

. It is also considered to be the work with the greatest influence on his future writing. Furthermore, during the period in which he was writing ''Midnight'', Mao Dun formed a strong friendship with another of China's most famous writers,

Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. ...

. Mao Dun also worked in genres other than novels, such as essays, script-writing, theories, short stories, and novellas. He was well known for translating western literature, as he had gained academic knowledge of European literature from his studies at

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...

in 1913. Additionally, although he was not the first person in China to translate the works of Scottish historical novelist

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels '' Ivanhoe'', '' Rob Roy ...

, he is considered to be the first person to popularize Walter Scott's work in China through his "Critical Biography". He adopted the pen name "Mao Dun" () to express the tension in the conflicting revolutionary ideology within China in the 1920s. The name means "contradiction", as Mao means spears and Dun means shields. His friend

Ye Shengtao Ye Shengtao (28 October 1894 – 16 February 1988) was a Chinese writer, journalist, educator, publisher and politician. He was a founder of the Association for Literary Studies (), the first literature association during the May Fourth Movement ...

changed the first character from to , which literally means "thatch".

Early life

His father, Shen Yongxi () taught and designed the curriculum for his son, but he died when Mao Dun was ten. Mao Dun's mother Chen Aizhu () then became his teacher. He mentions in his memoirs that "my first instructor is my mother". Through learning from his parents, Mao Dun developed great interest in writing as well as reading during his childhood. Mao Dun had already started to develop his writing skills when he was still in primary school. In one examination the examiner commented on Mao Dun's script: '12 year old young child, can make this language, not says motherland nobody'. There were other similar comments which indicate that Mao Dun had been a brilliant writer since his youth. While Mao Dun was studying in secondary school in

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

, extensive reading and strict writing skills training filled his life. He read the '' Wen Xuan'', '' Shishuo Xinyu'', and a large number of classical novels, which influenced his writing style. Mao Dun entered the three-year foundation school offered by

in 1913, in which he studied Chinese and Western literature. Due to financial difficulties, he had to quit in the summer of 1916, before his graduation. After quitting from university, he immediately got married with the daughter of Kong family (孔家), Kong Dezhi (孔德沚). The trainings in Chinese and English as well as knowledge of Chinese and Western literature provided by the fifteen years of education Mao Dun received had prepared him to show up in the limelight of the Chinese journalistic and literary arena.

Journalistic career

After graduation, Mao Dun soon got his first job in the English editing and translation sections of the

Commercial Press The Commercial Press () is the first modern publishing organisation in China. History In 1897, 26-year-old Xia Ruifang and three of his friends (including the Bao brothers Bao Xian'en and Bao Xianchang) founded The Commercial Press in Shang ...

(),

branch. At the age of 21, he was invited to be the assistant editor of ''Xuesheng Zazhi'' () (Students' Magazine) under the Commercial Press, which had published many articles about the new ideologies that had emerged in China at that time. Apart from editing, Mao Dun also started to write about his social thoughts and criticisms. To some extent, he was inspired by the famous magazine ''

New Youth ''New Youth'' (french: La Jeunesse, lit=The Youth; ) was a Chinese literary magazine founded by Chen Duxiu and published between 1915 and 1926. It strongly influenced both the New Culture Movement and the later May Fourth Movement. Publishin ...

'' (新青年). Like in 1917 and 1918, he wrote two editorials for ''Xuesheng Zazhi'': ''Students and Society'' (學生與社會) and ''The Students of 1918'', those were significant in stimulating political consciousness among the young educated Chinese. At 24 years of age, Mao Dun was already renowned as a novelist by the community in general, and in 1920, he and a group of young writers took over the magazine '' Xiaoshuo Yuebao'' (), which translated means "fiction monthly", to publish literature by western authors, such as Tolstoy,

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

, Balzac, Flaubert, Zola,

Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...

Keats John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculos ...

Shaw Shaw may refer to: Places Australia *Shaw, Queensland Canada * Shaw Street, a street in Toronto England *Shaw, Berkshire, a village * Shaw, Greater Manchester, a location in the parish of Shaw and Crompton * Shaw, Swindon, a suburb of Swindon ...

, etc., and make new theories of literature better known. Despite the fact that he was a naturalistic novelist, he admired writers like

Leo Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

, for their great artistic style. In 1920, he was invited to edit a new column: ''The Fiction-New-Wwaves'' () in ''Fiction Monthly'' (小说月报). He even took up the post of Chief Editor of the Monthly in the same year and was obliged to reform it thoroughly, in response to the

New Cultural Movement The New Culture Movement () was a movement in China in the 1910s and 1920s that criticized classical Chinese ideas and promoted a new Chinese culture based upon progressive, modern and western ideals like democracy and science. Arising out of ...

(). His young writer friends in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

supported him by submitting their creative writings, translating Western literature and their views on new literature theories and techniques to the magazines. Literary Study Group () was formed partly because of this. The reformed Monthly was proved to be a success. It had facilitated the continuation of the

by selling ten thousand copies a month and more importantly by introducing Literature for life, a brand new realistic approach to Chinese literature. In this period, Mao Dun had become a leading figure of the movement in the southern part of China. On the notion of content reformation, both the innovative and conservative parties in the Commercial Press could not make a compromise. Mao Dun resigned from the Chief Editor of Fiction Monthly in 1923, but in 1927 he became the chief columnist of the ''Minguo yuebao'' (民国月报). He wrote more than 30 editorials for this newspaper to criticize

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

, and to support revolutions.

Political life

Inspired by the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...

of 1917 in Russia, Mao Dun took part in the

May Fourth Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) to protest the Chin ...

in China. In 1920, he joined the Shanghai Communist Team, and helped to establish the

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Ci ...

in 1921. At first, he worked as a liaison for the party. He also wrote for the party magazine ''The Communist Party'' (). At the same time, Mao Dun participated in

Northern Expedition The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT), also known as the "Chinese Nationalist Party", against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The ...

(1926–28), the main purpose was to unite the country. He quit, however, when Chiang's

Kuomintang The Kuomintang (KMT), also referred to as the Guomindang (GMD), the Nationalist Party of China (NPC) or the Chinese Nationalist Party (CNP), is a major political party in the Republic of China, initially on the Chinese mainland and in Ta ...

broke with the Communists in 1927. In July 1928, he went to Japan in order to take refuge. As he returned to China in 1930, he joined the League of Left-Wing Writers. Later, China went to war with Japan and he actively engaged in resisting the Japanese attack in 1937. In 1949, the communist government took over and he was responsible for working as

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...

's secretary and Culture Minister until 1965.

Literary career

As a literary man, Mao Dun had a great number of achievements. ''Fiction Monthly'' (小说月报) Reform was Mao Dun's first contribution to Chinese literature. The magazine then became a place where "New Literature" circulated. Many famous writers like

Xu Dishan Xu Dishan (; given name: ; pen name: Luo Huasheng; ; 3 February 1893 – 4 August 1941) was a Chinese author, translator and folklorist. He received his education in China, the United States, Britain, and India; while in school, he studied diver ...

Bing Xin Xie Wanying (; October 5, 1900 – February 28, 1999), better known by her pen name Bing Xin () or Xie Bingxin, was one of the most prolific Chinese women writers of the 20th century. Many of her works were written for young readers. She ...

, had their works published through it. Mao Dun supported movements such as "New Literature" and "New Thinking". He believed that Chinese literature should have a place in the world. The experience of political conflict broadened his horizon in literature, therefore the theme of his later writing was mostly based on this. He then helped to found the League of Left-Wing Writers in 1930. After that, he worked together with

to fight for the right of the society and the revolutionary movement in literature. The harvest period of Mao Dun's writing is considered to have been from 1927 to 1937. ''Shi'' (蚀), was also called ''The Eclipse'' in English translation, which was the first actual novel written by Mao Dun and composed of three volumes, ''Disillusions'' (幻灭, 1927), ''Wavering'' (动摇, 1928), and ''Pursuits'' (追求, 1928). It is a story of a generation of young intellectuals, who are caught up in the world of revolutionary fervor without a true understanding of the nature of social change. His next major work was ''Rainbow'' (虹, 1929), which became famous for having no less than 70 main characters and numerous plot twists and turns. In 1933 came his next work, ''

'' (子夜), which gained great popularity, to a point that it was also published in French and English, and it allowed to develop a sense of revolutionary realism. It is a naturalistic novel exploring the commercial world of Shanghai in detail. In addition, his fiction offered a sympathetic portrayal of working-class life and praise of revolution. He left a work unfinished, the trilogy ''Shuangye Hongsi Eryuehua'' (霜叶红似二月花, 1942). Other than Mao Dun's works, he also participated in Chiang Kai-shek's

(1926–28) in an attempt to unify China, which was failed and he fled to Kuling, when the Kuomintang dissolved relations with the Chinese Communist Party. In the 1930s he was one of the key founders of the League of Left-Wing Writers, which was dissolved in a quarrel in 1936. After the initiation of the Sino-Japanese War in 1937, Mao traveled to many places and started a literary magazine in

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the ninth-most populous Chinese city a ...

. He edited the periodical ''Literary Front'' and the literary page of the newspaper ''Libao'' in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

and worked as a teacher. After 1943 Mao Dun did not produce any major works, but still wrote some articles and essays. In 1946 he visited the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

. When the

People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

was established by the

in 1949, he became active in several committees and he worked as the Secretary and then the Minister of Culture for

until 1965. He started the monthly literary journal Chinese Literature, which became the most popular for western readers. He was dismissed from his position as minister in 1964 due to the ideological upheavals. Despite this fact, Mao Dun survived 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 goa ...

and was afterwards rehabilitated. In the 1970s he became an editor of a children's magazine, and began working on his memoirs, which were serialized in the Party publication, the quarterly Historical Materials on New literature (), but he died on March 27, 1981, before he could finish it. His influence on Chinese literature continues to the present day because he used his savings to set up a fund called the Mao Dun Literature Scholarship to promote an atmosphere for writing fiction. Mao Dun's achievements in literature were also seen at his 50th birthday, which was also the 25th anniversary of his literary life. More than five hundred guests came to celebrate with him. Russian and American friends also joined the celebration. Wong Roufei wrote an essay as congratulations on behalf of the

. Mao Dun's influence and achievements in the literary field were witnessed. On the other hand, he was twice elected as the chairman and then once elected as the vice-chairman of the China Literary Arts Representative Assembly. His status in the literary field has been highly recognized. Although he suffered great pain from illness in his old age, he still kept writing his memoirs, called ''The Road I Walked'' (). Besides his achievements, Mao Dun also had great influence on Chinese literature. The

Mao Dun Literature Prize Mao Dun Literature Prize () is a prize for novels, established in the will of prominent Chinese writer Mao Dun (for which he personally donated 250,000 RMB) and sponsored by the China Writers Association. Awarded every four years, it is one of ...

() was created due to Mao Dun's wish that outstanding novels should be encouraged and communist literature should be promoted. It is one of the most honorable literature awards in China. Many famous modern Chinese literary authors like Wei Wei () and Zhou Ke-qin () have received the prize.

Marriage and personal life

Mao Dun owned a typical traditional Chinese marriage. His family got him engaged to the Kong (孔) family when he was five years old and he married the daughter of Kong family after he quit from university. After their marriage, the daughter of Kong family had been renamed as Kong Dezhi (孔德沚)and she got chances to learn some new things that she had never been able to get to know before, which made her be able to assist Mao Dun with his literary and political career during their marriage. However, the marriage between Mao Dun and Kong Dezhi was not perfect. Mao Dun had had a two-year long affair with Qin Dejun (秦德君) during his marriage with Kong Dezhi, which is also believed to have effects on his novel ''Rainbow'' (虹). In the end, Mao Dun ended this relationship and returned to his own family.

List of works

Mao Dun has over 100 publications throughout his life, which includes short stories, novels, theories etc. Some of his most famous works include:

Short stories

* ''Wild Rose'' ( ''Ye Qiangwei'' (1929) * ''The Smoke and Cloud Collection'' ''Yanyunji'' (1937)

Novellas

* ''Disillusions'' ''Huanmie'' (1927) * ''Wavering'' ''Dongyao'' (1927) * ''Pursuits'' ''Zhuiqiu'' (1928) * ''Three people walking'', ''Sanrenxing'' (1931) * ''The Shop Of the Lin Family'' ''Linjia Puzi'' (1932) * ''Spring Silkworms'', ''Chuncan'' (1932) * ''Autumn Harvest'' ''QiuShou''

Novels

* ''Rainbow'' ''Hong'' (1930) * ''Midnight'' ''Ziye'' (1933) * ''Giving to the poet festival'Xian Gei Shi Ren Jie'' (1946)

Theories

* ''The recent works of Mao Dun'Mao Dun Jin Zuo'' (1980) * ''Mao Dun's comment on creativity'Mao Dun Lun Chuang Zuo'' (1980)

Essays

* "Travelling Diary of USSR"''Su Lian Jian Wen Lu'' (1948) * "Talks on USSR"''Ji Tan Su Lian'' (1949)

Drama script

* ''Front and rear Pure Brightness'', ''QianMingQianHou'' (1945)

Translation

* Modern drama ''Russian Question'' (1946) * Novelette ''Group's Son'' (1946)

Others

* ''Works of Mao Dun'Mao Dun Quanji'' (vol. 1–15, 1984–1987) * ''Introduction to the books of Mao Dun'Mao Dun Shujian'' (1st edition, collection of letters, 1984) later changed the name into ''Mao Dun Shuxinji'' (1988)

Transition of female characters

1930s is a turning point of the female characters' identity in Mao Dun's works. Between the 1920s and the 1930s, which was also the early period of Mao Dun's writing career, the female characters occurring in his works mostly were in identity of “

New Woman The New Woman was a feminist ideal that emerged in the late 19th century and had a profound influence well into the 20th century. In 1894, Irish writer Sarah Grand (1854–1943) used the term "new woman" in an influential article, to refer to ...

". For instance, Mrs. Gui (桂阿姨) and Qionghua (琼华) in ''Wild Rose'' (野蔷薇, 1929), Ms. Mei (梅小姐) in ''Rainbow'' (虹, 1930) However, from the 1930s, the “New Woman” characters in Mao Dun's works started to be replaced by the females who were living in traditional Chinese family. Furthermore, female characters even started to lose their own names. As in one of Mao Dun's short novels, which was released in the 1930s, Shui zaoxing (水藻行), the only female character did not even have an actual name but only be called as “Xiusheng (one of the two main male characters)'s wife (秀生妻)” in the novel.

References

Sources

*
Bartleby.com article on Mao-Tun

Encyclopedia.com article on Mao-Tun

Yahoo Encyclopedia article on Mao-Tun
* Feng, Liping (April 1996). "Democracy and Elitism: The May Fourth Ideal of Literature". Modern China (Sage Publications, Inc.) 22 (2): 170–196. . .

External links

Mao Dun, Master Craftsman of Modern Chinese Literature
by Fan Jun
The Sad End of Mao Dun

Mao Dun. A Portrait by Kong Kai Ming
at Portrait Gallery of Chinese Writers (Hong Kong Baptist University Library). {{DEFAULTSORT:Mao, Dun 1896 births 1981 deaths 20th-century Chinese short story writers 20th-century Chinese dramatists and playwrights 20th-century essayists Chinese communists Commercial Press people Chinese dramatists and playwrights Chinese male novelists Chinese male short story writers National University of Peking alumni Marxist theorists Chinese Marxist writers Ministers of Culture of the People's Republic of China People's Republic of China essayists People's Republic of China journalists People from Tongxiang Republic of China essayists Republic of China novelists Republic of China short story writers Short story writers from Zhejiang Writers from Jiaxing Vice Chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers