Zeng Pu (; 1872-1935
[ Idema, p]
387
) was a Chinese novelist.
Zeng Pu published a scholarly work on the later
Han Dynasty in 1895. He later enrolled in the
College of Foreign Languages
VNU University of Languages and International Studies in Hanoi, Vietnam, (formerly College of Foreign Languages) (Vietnamese: ''Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội'') is one of the six colleges that comprise Vi ...
in
Beijing to learn the
French language
French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in Nor ...
. Zeng Pu returned to
Jiangsu in 1898 and built a school. In 1903 he began a business in Shanghai, which failed. He returned to his focus in literature.
[McDougall and Louie, p]
90
"This was also the year when China was defeated in the War against Japan, an event which had a tremendous effect on Zeng Pu. Moving away from classical learning, he enrolled in the College of Foreign Languages in Beijing to learn French" Zeng Pu was a
Francophile.
[
]
Writing style
The language in Zeng Pu's novels borrowed allusions and images from classical Chinese literature and Zeng Pu used symbolism in his novels. Therefore, his works appealed to readers who had a classical education and were considered sophisticated in their society.[Doleželová-Velingerová, p]
724
Zeng Pu knew the French language. David Der-wei Wang, author of '' Fin-de-siècle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849-1911'', wrote that Zeng Pu was "probably" the sole late Qing novelist who knew a foreign language.[Wang, Dewei, p]
103
David Wang explained that since Zeng Pu knew French he had "direct access to European literature without the mediation of distorted translations."[
The First Sino-Japanese War had a large effect on Zeng Pu.][
]
Works
Jin Tianhe (Jin Songcen) started '' A Flower in a Sinful Sea'' as a political novel
Political fiction employs narrative to comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alternative, even fantast ...
criticizing Russian advances into China.[Zeng Pu's "Niehai Hua" as a political novel--a world genre in a Chinese form]
(database listing with abstract)
Archive
The University of Hong Kong Libraries
The University of Hong Kong (HKU) (Chinese: 香港大學) is a public research university in Hong Kong. Founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese, it is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. HKU was also the ...
. Retrieved on October 26, 2013. Zeng Pu, writing under the pseudonym " Sick man of Asia",[
] took control of the novel in 1904.[ He completed it as a historical novel.][
]
References
* Doleželová-Velingerová, Milena. "Chapter 38: Fiction from the End of the Empire to the Beginning of the Republic (1897-1916)" in: Mair, Victor H. (editor). ''The Columbia History of Chinese Literature
''The Columbia History of Chinese Literature'' is a reference book edited by Victor H. Mair and published by the Columbia University Press in 2002. The topics include all genres and periods of poetry, prose, fiction, and drama but also areas not tr ...
''. Columbia University Press, August 13, 2013. p. 697-731. , 9780231528511.
* Idema, Wilt L.
Wilt L. Idema (born 12 November 1944) is a Dutch scholar and Sinologist who taught at University of Leiden and Harvard University (2000-13), presently emeritus at both universities. He specializes in Chinese literature, with interests in ear ...
"Prosimetric and verse narrative." p. 343-214. In: Kang-i Sun Chang and Stephen Owen (editors). ''The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature: From 1375''. Cambridge University Press, 2010. , 9780521855594.
* McDougall, Bonnie S. and Kam Louie. ''The Literature of China in the Twentieth Century''. Columbia University Press, 1997. , 9780231110853.
* Wang, David Der-wei. '' Fin-de-siècle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849-1911''. Stanford University Press
Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It was among the presses officially ...
, 1997. , 9780804728454.
Notes
Further reading
* Li, Peter. ''Tseng P'u''. Twayne Publishers, 1980. , 9780805764185.
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeng, Pu
Qing dynasty novelists
1872 births
1935 deaths
Writers from Suzhou
Republic of China novelists
Chinese male novelists