Pierre Ryckmans (28 September 1935 – 11 August 2014), better known by his

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 ...

Simon Leys, was a Belgian-Australian writer, essayist and

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. ...

, translator, art historian,

sinologist Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the ex ...

, and university professor, who lived in Australia from 1970. His work particularly focused on the politics and traditional culture of China, calligraphy, French and English literature, the commercialization of universities, and

nautical fiction Nautical fiction, frequently also naval fiction, sea fiction, naval adventure fiction or maritime fiction, is a genre of literature with a setting on or near the sea, that focuses on the human relationship to the sea and sea voyages and highligh ...

. Through the publication of his trilogy ''Les Habits neufs du président Mao'' (1971), ''Ombres chinoises'' (1974) and ''Images brisées'' (1976), he was one of the first intellectuals to denounce 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 ...

in China and the idolizing of Mao in the West.

Ian Buruma Ian Buruma (born December 28, 1951) is a Dutch writer and editor who lives and works in the United States. In 2017, he became editor of ''The New York Review of Books'', but left the position in September 2018. Much of his writing has focused on ...

"The Man Who Got It Right"
''

The New York Review of Books ''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of i ...

'', 15 August 2013; also: Ian Buruma
"The Man Who Got It Right"
chinafile.com. Retrieved 26 September 2020.

Biography

Pierre Ryckmans was born at

Uccle Uccle () or Ukkel () is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. In common with all of Brussels' municipalities, it is legally bilingual (French–Dutch). It is generally considered an affluent area of the city a ...

, an upper-middle-class district of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, to a prominent Belgian family living in a house on Avenue des Aubépines. He was the son of a publisher, the grandson of Alfonse Ryckmans, an

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

and vice president of the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, the nephew of Pierre Ryckmans, a governor general of the

Belgian Congo The Belgian Congo (french: Congo belge, ; nl, Belgisch-Congo) was a Belgian colony in Central Africa from 1908 until independence in 1960. The former colony adopted its present name, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), in 1964. Colo ...

, and Gonzague Ryckmans, a professor at the

Université catholique de Louvain The Université catholique de Louvain (also known as the Catholic University of Louvain, the English translation of its French name, and the University of Louvain, its official English name) is Belgium's largest French-speaking university. It ...

and a recognized expert of Arabic epigraphy.

Philippe Paquet Philippe Paquet is a former champion jockey from France, who in 1974 was the winner of the Prix du Jockey Club on Caracolero, and the Gran Premio d'Italia on Ribecourt. In 1976, he also won the Irish Derby on Malacate, and the Irish Oaks on Lagunet ...

" Le sinologue belge Simon Leys est décédé "
''

La Libre Belgique ''La Libre Belgique'' (; literally ''The Free Belgium''), currently sold under the name ''La Libre'', is a major daily newspaper in Belgium. Together with ''Le Soir'', it is one of the country's major French language newspapers and is popular in ...

'', 11 août 2014.

Pierre Mertens Pierre Mertens (born 9 October 1939) is a Belgian French-speaking writer and lawyer who specializes in international law, director of the Centre de sociologie de la littérature at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, and literary critic with the ...

"Réception de Simon Leys"
Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique, 30 May 1992. He attended the Servites de Marie primary school near his home, then studied Greek and Latin humanities at the Cardinal Mercier diocesan school in

Braine-l'Alleud Braine-l'Alleud (; nl, Eigenbrakel ; wa, Brinne-l'-Alou) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Walloon Brabant, Belgium, about south of Brussels. The municipality consists of the following districts: Braine-l'Alleud (includ ...

. There, one of his teachers, abbé Voussure, "finished ingraining in him an unwavering Christian faith." From 1953 he studied law and art history at the

. In 1955, his father died prematurely. In May, he became a member of a delegation of ten young Belgians invited to spend a month in China. During that visit he took part in a conversation with

Zhou Enlai Zhou Enlai (; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman and military officer who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China, premier of the People's Republic of China from 1 October 1949 until his death on 8 J ...

, the Premier of 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 most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

.Daniel Sanderson
"An Interview with Pierre Ryckmans"
''China Heritage Quarterly'', No. 26, June 2011. As a result, he became sympathetic to the

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 ...

regime: "I confidently extended to the Maoist regime the same sympathy that I felt for all things Chinese." He returned from the trip with also the firm view that "it would be inconceivable to live in this world, in our age, without a good knowledge of Chinese language and a direct access to Chinese culture." Upon his return to Belgium, he finished his studies in art history and began to learn calligraphy. In the summer of 1958, he travelled to Étel, a port in French

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, to board one of the last remaining tuna boats. The account he wrote of the fishing expedition was only published 45 years later, under the title ''Prosper''. After being awarded a small bursary from the

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 ...

government, he enrolled at the Fine Arts department of the

National Taiwan University National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan. The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...

. There he studied under the guidance of Pu Hsin-yu, a cousin of

Pu Yi Aisin-Gioro Puyi (; 7 February 1906 – 17 October 1967), courtesy name Yaozhi (曜之), was the last emperor of China as the eleventh and final Qing dynasty monarch. He became emperor at the age of two in 1908, but was forced to abdicate on 1 ...

, the last emperor, and did some research for his future PhD dissertation on

Shitao Shitao or Shi Tao (; other department Yuan Ji (), 1642 – 1707), born into the Ming dynasty imperial clan as Zhu Ruoji (朱若極), was a Chinese Buddhist monk, calligrapher, and landscape painter during the early Qing dynasty. Born in the Qu ...

, a Chinese painter at the time of the

Qing empire The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

. After completing his studies in Taiwan in 1960, he was called up for military service in Belgium. Instead, he chose to become a conscientious objector and perform civil service in the field of development cooperation for the next three years. First, thanks to the intervention of Eurasian writer

Han Suyin Rosalie Matilda Kuanghu Chou (; 12 September 1917 or 1916 – 2 November 2012) was a Chinese-born Eurasian physician and author better known by her pen name Han Suyin (). She wrote in English and French on modern China, set her novels in East an ...

, he was able to take up a part-time student and teaching job at

Nanyang University Nanyang University (, also known as Nantah (), was a university in Singapore between 1956 and 1980. During its existence, it was Singapore's only private university in the Chinese language. In 1980, Nanyang University was merged with the Univer ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

. However, in 1963, under suspicion of being a communist by the

Lee Kuan Yew Lee Kuan Yew (16 September 1923 – 23 March 2015), born Harry Lee Kuan Yew, often referred to by his initials LKY, was a Singaporean lawyer and statesman who served as Prime Minister of Singapore between 1959 and 1990, and Secretary-General o ...

regime, he had to pack up and leave for

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 city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, at the time a British colony. For two years he taught at the

New Asia College New Asia College is a constituent college of the Chinese University of Hong Kong located in Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong. History New Asia College was founded in 1949 by Chinese scholars Ch'ien Mu (Qian Mu), Tang Junyi (Tang Chun-i), ...

, one of the colleges of the

Chinese University of Hong Kong The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a public research university in Ma Liu Shui, Hong Kong, formally established in 1963 by a charter granted by the Legislative Council of Hong Kong. It is the territory's second-oldest university an ...

. He lived in a

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...

squatter area, sharing with three friends a small accommodation they dubbed Wu Yong Tang (《无用堂》the "hall of uselessness") and living a life redolent of an Eastern ''

Scènes de la vie de bohème ''Scenes of Bohemian Life'' (original French title: ''Scènes de la vie de bohème'') is a work by Henri Murger, published in 1851. Although it is commonly called a novel, it does not follow standard novel form. Rather, it is a collection of lo ...

''. He supplemented his income by writing summaries of articles from the mainland Chinese press and collecting testimonies from refugees from the mainland on behalf of the Belgian diplomatic delegation.Laurent Six
"Aux origines d’''Ombres chinoises'': une mission de six mois au service de l'ambassade de Belgique en République populaire de Chine"
''Textyles'', N. 34, 2008, pp. 65–77. He also gleaned information from ''

China News Analysis ''China News Analysis'' was a newsletter analyzing Chinese political and social trends. The newsletter was founded at the University of Hong Kong in 1953 by Rev. László Ladány, who served as its only editor from 1953 to 1982. According to Ladány ...

'', a weekly publication produced in Hong Kong by the Jesuit scholar Father

László Ladány Rev. László Ladányi (January 14, 1914 - September 23, 1990), in English also spelled Ladány or Ladany, was a Hungarian Jesuit, China watcher, author and editor of '' China News Analysis'', an influential periodical on Chinese affairs.

. These reports would become the basis of his 1971 book ''Les Habits neufs du président Mao'' (translated as ''The Chairman's New Clothes''). He also taught courses at the local

Alliance française An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

. In 1964, he married Han-fang Chang, a journalist he met in Taiwan, and became the father of twins in 1967.Biographie de Simon Leys
''Who's who''.Philippe Paquet

''Lalibre.be'', 12 December 2011. While in Hong Kong, Ryckmans was introduced to French sinologist

René Viénet René Viénet (born 6 February 1944, in Le Havre) is a French sinologist who is famous as a situationist writer and filmmaker. Viénet used the situationist technique of détournement — the diversion of already existing cultural elements to ne ...

, then a member of the

Situationist International The Situationist International (SI) was an international organization of social revolutionaries made up of avant-garde artists, intellectuals, and political theorists. It was prominent in Europe from its formation in 1957 to its dissolution ...

, by another sinologist, Jacques Pimpaneau, whom he had met at the New Asian College. René Viénet, who took the view that Chinese press reports on the

were less sanitized than the writings of Western journalists and sinologists, obtained Pierre Ryckmans's agreement for his essay ''Les Habits neufs du président Mao'' to be published in Paris by

Champ Libre Champ Libre is a French publisher founded in 1969 by Gérard Lebovici in Paris. The name is taken from a phrase which means "free field" (the way is clear). In 1984, after the assassination of Gérard Lebovici, Champ Libre changed its name and b ...

, a publishing house run by

Gérard Lebovici Gérard Lebovici (25 August 1932 – 5 March 1984) was a French film producer, editor and impresario. Background His mother was executed in a Nazi concentration camp during the Second World War. While on the verge of embarking on a promising stage ...

. For his PhD thesis, Ryckmans chose to translate and comment on a masterpiece of the history of Chinese art, the treatise on painting by

. It was published in 1970 by the Institut Belge des Hautes Etudes Chinoises in Brussels, under the title ''Propos sur la peinture du moine Citrouille-amère de Shitao. Contribution à l'étude terminologique des théories chinoises de la peinture''.Rowan Callick
Pierre Ryckmans’ early books triggered outrage and controversy in Europe
''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

'', 12 August 2014. On his publisher's advice, he decided to assume a pen name to avoid being declared ''persona non grata'' in the

. He chose "Simon" as his first name, a reference to the original name of the

Apostle Peter An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...

, and "Leys" as his second name, a tribute to the main character of

Victor Segalen Victor Segalen (14 January 1878 – 21 May 1919) was a French naval doctor, ethnographer, archeologist, writer, poet, explorer, art-theorist, linguist and literary critic. He was born in Brest. He studied medicine and graduated at the Navy ...

's ''René Leys'' published in 1922, in which a Belgian teenager residing in Peking in the final days of the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

entertains his employer with accounts of the intrigues and conspiracies taking place behind the walls of the imperial palace. It is also suggested that his nom de plume is an allusion to a dynasty of painters from Antwerp under the name of Leys, with Henri Leys as its most famous representative. In 1970 Ryckmans settled in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and he taught Chinese literature at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

, where he supervised the honours thesis of future Australian Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

. He returned to China in 1972 for six months as a cultural attaché for the Belgian Embassy in Beijing. In 1983 Ryckmans appeared on the literary talk show ''

Apostrophes The apostrophe ( or ) is a punctuation mark, and sometimes a diacritical mark, in languages that use the Latin alphabet and some other alphabets. In English, the apostrophe is used for two basic purposes: * The marking of the omission of one o ...

'' on French television. The host,

Bernard Pivot Bernard Pivot (; born 5 May 1935) is a French journalist, interviewer and host of cultural television programmes. He was chairman of the Académie Goncourt from 2014 to 2020. Biography Pivot was born in Lyon, the son of two grocers. During Worl ...

, had also invited

Maria-Antonietta Macciocchi Maria Antonietta Macciocchi (23 July 1922 – 15 April 2007) was an Italian journalist, writer, feminist and politician, elected to the Italian Parliament in 1968 as an Italian Communist Party candidate and to the European Parliament in 1979 as ...

, a "China expert" and author of the book ''Dalla Cina''. After the latter had waxed lyrical on the subject of the New China, Ryckmans responded ferociously, pointing out errors of fact that suggested she had not verified her sources before writing her book, a work that he judged as being "d'une stupidité totale" (totally stupid) or "une escroquerie" (a fraud). In the period 1987–93 he was Professor of Chinese Studies at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. He took early retirement, later explaining that, near the end, "deep modifications" had begun to affect universities in Australia and worldwide, "transformations ... progressively taking the university further away from the model to which I had originally devoted my life". Following his retirement he returned to Canberra, where he lived for the remainder of his life. He died of cancer in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

at the age of 78, in August 2014, surrounded by his wife and four children, Etienne, Jeanne, Louis and Marc.

Works

Ryckmans wrote in French, English and Chinese. His books on the Chinese

and on Maoist China - beginning with his trilogy ''Les Habits neufs du président Mao'' (1971), ''Ombres chinoises'' (1974) and ''Images brisées'' (1976) - gave scathing descriptions of the cultural and political destruction in mainland China while denouncing the hypocrisy of its western defenders. In 1971, on the advice of his publisher, he decided to adopt a pseudonym before the release of ''Les habits neufs du président Mao'', in order to avoid the risk of becoming a ''persona non grata'' in the People's Republic of China. He chose "Leys" after the main character of

's novel ''René Leys'' (published in 1922). During the 1970s these books by Ryckmans provoked intense hostility among many Western intellectuals,Josh Freedman
The Sincere Indignation of Simon Leys
chinachannel.org, 19 March 2018. Retrieved 24 September 2019. particularly the French Maoists associated with the journal ''

Tel Quel ''Tel Quel'' (translated into English as, variously: "as is," "as such," or "unchanged") was a French avant-garde literary magazine published between 1960 and 1982. History and profile ''Tel Quel'' was founded in 1960 in Paris by Philippe Soll ...

'' (such as

Philippe Sollers Philippe Sollers (; born Philippe Joyaux; 28 November 1936) is a French writer and critic. In 1960 he founded the ''avant garde'' literary journal ''Tel Quel'' (along with writer and art critic Marcelin Pleynet), which was published by Le Se ...

) and attracted attacks from daily newspapers such as ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

''. However, he was defended by some intellectuals such as

Jean-François Revel Jean-François Revel (born Jean-François Ricard; 19 January 192430 April 2006) was a French philosopher, journalist, and author. A prominent public intellectual, Revel was a socialist in his youth but later became a prominent European propo ...

and Étiemble. In 1996 he delivered the

Boyer Lectures The Boyer Lectures are a series of talks by prominent Australians, presenting ideas on major social, scientific or cultural issues, and broadcast on ABC Radio National. The Boyer Lectures began in 1959 as the ABC (Australian Broadcasting Commis ...

on the theme "Aspects of Culture", in which he argued the need to cultivate the gardens of the mind and which were later published as ''The View from the Bridge: Aspects of Culture'' (1996). Ryckmans was also a translator of Chinese literature, such as the ''

Analects of Confucius The ''Analects'' (; ; Old Chinese: '' ŋ(r)aʔ''; meaning "Selected Sayings"), also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', the ''Sayings of Confucius'', or the ''Lun Yu'', is an ancient Chinese book composed of a large collection of sayings a ...

'' and ''The Treatise on Painting'' by

. His translation of ''The Analects of Confucius'' (1997) sought to introduce readers to "the real, living Confucius" rather than the official Confucian cult portraying him as "always proper, a bit pompous, slightly boring" — and appropriated by authoritarians.Rowan Callick
"Pierre Ryckmans’ early books triggered outrage and controversy in Europe"
''

'', 12 August 2014. The 2001 film ''

The Emperor's New Clothes "The Emperor's New Clothes" ( da, Kejserens nye klæder ) is a literary folktale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen, about a vain emperor who gets exposed before his subjects. The tale has been translated into over 100 languages.A ...

'', directed by Alan Taylor, was based on Leys' novel ''The Death of Napoleon''. Leys expressed distaste for the film, however; stating in an afterword accompanying a reprint of the novel that this "latter avatar 'The Emperor's New Clothes'' by the way, was both sad and funny: sad, because Napoleon was interpreted to perfection by an actor (

Ian Holm Sir Ian Holm Cuthbert (12 September 1931 – 19 June 2020) was an English actor who was knighted in 1998 for his contributions to theatre and film. Beginning his career on the British stage as a standout member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, ...

) whose performance made me dream of what could have been achieved had the producer and director bothered to read the book." His collection of essays, ''The Hall of Uselessness'' (2011), revealed the scope of his eccentric interests, wit and insights. His translation (2013) of

Simone Weil Simone Adolphine Weil ( , ; 3 February 1909 – 24 August 1943) was a French philosopher, mystic, and political activist. Over 2,500 scholarly works have been published about her, including close analyses and readings of her work, since 1995. ...

’s 1940 essay ''On the Abolition of All Political Parties'' was inspired, he said, by the "toxic atmosphere" that had started to pollute Australian politics. He wrote regularly for the English-language press — ''

'', ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication i ...

'', '' Quadrant'', and ''

The Monthly ''The Monthly'' is an Australian national magazine of politics, society and the arts, which is published eleven times per year on a monthly basis except the December/January issue. Founded in 2005, it is published by Melbourne property developer ...

'' — and for the French-language press — ''

L'Express ''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''. History ...

'', ''

Le Point ''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and news magazine published in Paris. History and profile ''Le Point'' was founded in September 1972 by a group of journalists who had, one year earlier, left the editorial team of '' L'Express'', w ...

'', ''

Le Figaro littéraire ''Le Figaro Magazine'' is a French language weekly news magazine published in Paris, France. The magazine is the weekly supplement of the daily newspaper ''Le Figaro''. History and profile The magazine is the first supplement of ''Le Figaro'' ...

'', and '' Le Magazine Littéraire''. He was a fellow of the

Australian Academy of the Humanities The Australian Academy of the Humanities was established by Royal Charter in 1969 to advance scholarship and public interest in the humanities in Australia. It operates as an independent not-for-profit organisation partly funded by the Australia ...

, an Honorary Commander of the French Navy and member of the

Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique The Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique - Royal Academy of French Language and Literature of Belgium - or ARLLFB is a Belgian institution which brings together personalities who, through their works, writings, l ...

. He received many awards including the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

's Prix Jean Walter, prix d’histoire et de sociologie, the

Prix Renaudot The Prix Théophraste-Renaudot or Prix Renaudot () is a French literary award. History The prize was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of deliberation of the jury of the Prix Goncourt. While not officially related to the ...

de l'essai, the Prix Henri Gal, the Prix Femina, the

Prix mondial Cino Del Duca The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca (Cino Del Duca World Prize) is an international literary award. With an award amount of , it is among the richest literary prizes. Origins and operations It was established in 1969 in France by Simone Del Duca (191 ...

, the Prix Guizot-Calvados, the Prix Quinquernal de Literature, and the Christina Stead Prize for fiction.

Bibliography

Shen Fu Shen Fu (; 26 December 1763 – after 1825), courtesy name Sanbai (), was a Chinese writer of the Qing Dynasty, best known for his autobiography '' Six Records of a Floating Life''. Life Shen Fu was born in Changzhou (长洲, in Suzhou, Jian ...

, '' Six récits au fil inconstant des jours'' (Brussels: Maison Ferdinand Larcier, 1966) - translation from Chinese to French by Pierre Ryckmans, with a preface by Yves Hervouet *

, ''Les propos sur la peinture du moine Citrouille-amère'' (Brussels: Institut Belge des Hautes Études Chinoises, 1970) - translation from Chinese to French and commentary by Pierre Ryckmans * Kouo Mo-jo (Guo Moruo), ''Autobiographie : mes années d'enfance'' (Paris: Gallimard, 1970, Collection "Connaissance de l'Orient") - translation from Chinese to French by Pierre Ryckmans * ''La Vie et l’œuvre de Su Renshan, rebelle, peintre, et fou, 1814-1849?'' (Paris and Hong Kong: Centre de publication de l'U.E.R. Extrême-Orient-Asie du Sud-Est de l'Université de Paris, 1971. 2 volumes). * ''Les habits neufs du président Mao: chronique de la "Révolution culturelle"'' (Paris: Champ libre, 1971) * ''Ombres chinoises'' (Paris: 10/18, 1974) *

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. W ...

, ''La mauvaise herbe'' (Paris: 10/18, 1975) – translation from Chinese to French and commentary by Pierre Ryckmans * ''Images brisées'' (Paris:

Robert Laffont The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

, 1976) * '' Chinese Shadows'' (New York: Viking Press, 1977) * ''The Chairman's New Clothes: Mao and the Cultural Revolution'' (London:

Allison & Busby Allison & Busby (A & B) is a publishing house based in London established by Clive Allison and Margaret Busby in 1967. The company has built up a reputation as a leading independent publisher. Background Launching as a publishing company in May ...

, 1979; New York: St Martin's Press, 1977) * ''Human Rights in China'' (United Daily Newspaper, 1979) * ''Broken Images: Essays on Chinese Culture and Politics'' (London: Allison & Busby, 1979; New York: St Martin's Press, 1980) * ''La Forêt en feu: Essais sur la culture et la politique chinoises'' (Paris: Hermann, 1983) * Yao Ming-le, ''Enquête sur la mort de Lin Biao''. Preface by Simon Leys. (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1983) * ''Orwell, ou l'horreur de la politique'' (Paris: Hermann, 1984; Plon, 2006) * ''The Burning Forest: Essays on Chinese Culture and Politics'' (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985) * ''La Mort de Napoléon'' (Paris: Herrmann, 1986)
"The Chinese Attitude Towards the Past"
(presented as the Forty-seventh

Morrison Lecture The George Ernest Morrison Lecture in Ethnology is given annually at the Australian National University in honour of George Ernest Morrison. The Lectures, founded by the Chinese community in Australia "to honour for all time the great Australian ...

, 16 July 1986; republished i
''China Heritage Quarterly''
No. 14, June 2008) * Confucius, '' Les Entretiens de Confucius'' (Paris: Gallimard, 1987) – translation from Chinese to French, notes and commentary by Pierre Ryckmans * Richard Henry Dana, Jr., ''Deux années sur le gaillard d'avant'' (Paris: Éditions Robert Laffont, 1990) – translation from English to French and commentary by Pierre Ryckmans * ''L'humeur, l'honneur, l'horreur: Essais sur la culture et la politique chinoises'' (Paris: Robert Laffont, 1991) * ''The Death of Napoleon'' (London: Quartet Books, 1991; Sydney: Allen & Unwin Australia, 1991) * ''Aspects of Culture'' (Boyer Lectures, 1996): Lecture 1
"Introduction; Learning"
Lecture 2
"Reading"
Lecture 3
"Writing"
Lecture 4
"Going Abroad and Staying Home"
* ''The View from the Bridge: Aspects of Culture'' (Sydney: ABC Books for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1996) * Confucius, ''

The Analects of Confucius The ''Analects'' (; ; Old Chinese: '' ŋ(r)aʔ''; meaning "Selected Sayings"), also known as the ''Analects of Confucius'', the ''Sayings of Confucius'', or the ''Lun Yu'', is an ancient Chinese book composed of a large collection of sayings a ...

'' (New York/London: W. W. Norton & Co., 1997) – translation from Chinese to English and commentary by Pierre Ryckmans * ''Essais sur la Chine'' (Paris: Laffont, 1998, Collection " Bouquins") * ''L'Ange et le Cachalot'' (Paris: Seuil, 1998) * ''The Angel and the Octopus: Collected Essays, 1983–1998'' (Sydney: Duffy and Snellgrove, 1999) * ''Protée et autres essais'' (Paris: Gallimard, 2001) – awarded the 2001

de l'Essai * ''La Mer dans la littérature française: de François Rabelais à Pierre Loti'' (Paris: Plon, 2003. 2 volumes.) * ''Les Naufragés du Batavia'', suivi de ''Prosper'' (Paris:

Arléa Arléa is a French publishing house created in 1986. Arléa publishes thirty new titles each year, including pocket ones. His catalog contains more than a thousand titles: the great classics of Antiquity (whether Greek, Latin, Hebrew, Sanskrit or ...

, 2003) – awarded the 2004 Prix Guizot-Calvados * ''The Wreck of the

Batavia Batavia may refer to: Historical places * Batavia (region), a land inhabited by the Batavian people during the Roman Empire, today part of the Netherlands * Batavia, Dutch East Indies, present-day Jakarta, the former capital of the Dutch East In ...

: A True Story'' (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2005) * ''Les Idées des autres, idiosyncratiquement compilées pour l'amusement des lecteurs oisifs'' (Paris, Plon: 2005) * ''Other People's Thoughts: Idiosyncratically compiled by Simon Leys for the amusement of idle readers'' (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2007) * ''The Hall of Uselessness: Collected Essays'' (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2011) * ''Le Studio de l'inutilité'' (Paris: Flammarion, 2012) *

, ''On the Abolition of All Political Parties'' (Melbourne: Black Inc., 2013) – translation from French to English by Pierre Ryckmans For a more comprehensive list of his publications in various languages and editions, see WorldCat fo
Pierre Ryckmans
an
Simon Leys
see also thi
list of articles by Simon Leys
in ''The New York Review of Books''.

References

External links

* Simon Leys

MorningSun.org website, n.d. (originally published 1978). * Pierre Ryckmans

Extract from the 1996 Boyer Lectures. * David Warren
"Anatomy of a Tyrant"
''

Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as ''The Bytown Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the '' ...

'', 10 June 2007. * Laurent Six
"Aux origines d’Ombres chinoises: une mission de six mois au service de l’ambassade de Belgique en République populaire de Chine"
''Textyles'', 34, 2008. * Daniel Sanderson
"An Interview with Pierre Ryckmans"
''China Heritage Quarterly'', No. 26, June 2011. * Geordie Williamson
"Simon Leys' essays reveal a writer cunning like a hedgehog"
''

'', 16 July 2011. * Pierre Ryckmans, Phillip Adams
"A Conversation with Pierre Ryckmans"
''

Late Night Live ''Late Night Live'' is a radio program broadcast by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National and podcast and streamed over the World Wide Web. Since 1991, the program has been hosted by farmer, writer and public intellectual Ph ...

'', 11 August 2011. *

"The Man Who Got It Right"
(review of ''The Hall of Uselessness''), ''

'', 15 August 2013; also see
archive copy
* Luke Slattery

''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'', 23 August 2014. * Rowan Callick
"Chairman’s New Clothes author Pierre Ryckmans dies aged 78"
''The Australian'', 11 August 2014. * Rowan Callick
"Pierre Ryckmans’ early books triggered outrage and controversy in Europe"
''The Australian'', 12 August 2014. * Michael Forsythe

''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 14 August 2014. * Murray Bail
"Pierre Ryckmans: Remembering a man of letters, and a friend"
''

'', October 2014.
Pierre Ryckmans (Simon Leys) Quotes
(English and French quotes), wideworldofquotes.com website.
''The Emperor's New Clothes''
(film review), IMDb.com website. {{DEFAULTSORT:Leys, Simon 1935 births 2014 deaths Writers from Brussels 20th-century Belgian male writers Belgian emigrants to Australia Belgian sinologists Catholic University of Leuven (1834–1968) alumni University of Sydney faculty Australian National University faculty Prix Femina winners Prix Renaudot de l'essai winners Commandeurs of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Chinese–French translators English–French translators Belgian writers in French Australian sinologists Australian essayists Australian male writers Quadrant (magazine) people Members of the Académie royale de langue et de littérature françaises de Belgique 20th-century translators

Biography

Works

Bibliography

See also

Further reading

References

External links