Wei Wei (; March 6, 1920 – August 24, 2008), originally known as Hong Jie (), was a Chinese

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

, a prose writer, a literary report writer, a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

, a vice-editor-in-chief and the

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, photographic, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, orga ...

of various

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

s in China. His works are noted for their themes of

patriotism Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...

communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

, and

nationalism Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...

. Apart from using the name ''Wei Wei'', he once used the pen name ''Hong Yangshu'' () in some of his publications. He changed his name from ''Hong Jie'' to ''Wei Wei'' in 1937 when he had started a new page of his life, a political one.

Biography

''Wei Wei'' was born into a poor family in

Zhengzhou Zhengzhou (; ), also spelt Zheng Zhou and alternatively romanized as Chengchow, is the capital and largest city of Henan Province in the central part of the People's Republic of China. Located in north-central Henan, it is one of the National ...

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 ...

, and received a rudimentary

primary education Primary education or elementary education is typically the first stage of formal education, coming after preschool/kindergarten and before secondary school. Primary education takes place in ''primary schools'', ''elementary schools'', or first ...

. He showed early interest in

calligraphy Calligraphy (from el, link=y, καλλιγραφία) is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instrument. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "t ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

, but was unable to receive much education after

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

, when both of his parents died. He was largely self-taught and was greatly influenced by the radical Chinese literature of the 1920s and 30s, including works by authors like

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 ...

and

Mao Dun Shen Dehong (Shen Yanbing; 4 July 1896 – 27 March 1981), known by the pen name of Mao Dun, was a Chinese essayist, journalist, novelist, and playwright. Mao Dun, as a 20th-century Chinese novelist, literary and cultural critic, and Minist ...

. Wei Wei joined the

Eighth Route Army The Eighth Route Army (), officially known as the 18th Group Army of the National Revolutionary Army of the Republic of China, was a group army under the command of the Chinese Communist Party, nominally within the structure of the Chinese ...

at the outbreak of the

Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese theater of the wider Pacific Th ...

in 1937 and was educated to be a

propagandist Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

and

. After joining the

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

in 1938, he rose quickly through party ranks. He became known for reporting from the

front line A front line (alternatively front-line or frontline) in military terminology is the position(s) closest to the area of conflict of an armed force's personnel and equipment, usually referring to land forces. When a front (an intentional or uninte ...

s, which continued throughout the

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 ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. He also became known for composing a series of Communist-themed

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

short stories A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...

, and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s. Wei died on August 24, 2008 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 ...

Works

Poetry

*() ''Huihui, You Wake Them Up!'' *() ''The Good Couple Song'' *() ''Evening of

Zhangjiakou Zhangjiakou (; ; ) also known as Kalgan and by several other names, is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hebei province in Northern China, bordering Beijing to the southeast, Inner Mongolia to the north and west, and Shanxi to the southw ...

'' *() ''Go to Frontier'' *()(1945) ''The Northern Boundary Evening Song'' *()(1945) ''Sanhechuan'' *() ''The Good Brothers Song'' *() ''The Autumn Song'' *() ''A Hero's Bottom Line'' *()(1951) ''Two Years'' *() ''Dawn View'' *()(1963) ''Never Ending Collection''

Prose

Fiction

=Novels

= *''In the East'' (1978) *''The Earth's Red Flying Ribbon'' (1987) *''Fire Phoenix'' (1997) *''We Despise those Kinds of Chinese'' (1999) *''My Friends'' (1956)

=Novellas

= *''The Old Chimney'' (1954) *''Wei Wei Novella Collection'' (1982) *''Wei Wei Novella Collection (Selected)'' (1991)

=Short Stories

= *''Angry Winds of the Sky'' (published with Bai Ai 白艾/ in 1952). *''Volunteer Soldiers and Korean Girls'' (1952)

=Screenplay

= *''The Red Storm'' (published with Qian Xiaohui 錢小惠in 1956)

=Opera

= *''Conquer the Invaders'' (with Song Zhidi 宋之的 and Ding Yi 丁毅 in 1952)

=Anthologies

= *''The Flowers Are Opened for the Warriors'' (1956) *''Journal of the Strong People'' (1980) *''Collection Book'' (1985)

Non-fiction

=Essays

= * '' Who are the Most Beloved People?'' (1951) *''Fighting in the Yansu Cliff'' (1939) *''Wangtuling Fighting Journal'' (1939) *''We Really Missed It'' (1949) *''The Earth and My Country'' *''Be Proud, My Country'' *''Young People Let Your Youth be more Beautiful'' (1951) *''The Days and Nights of the Southern Shores of Han River'' (1951) *''Spring Time'' (1954) *''The Summer Three Titles'' (1954) *''Blessings Goes to the People'' (1954) *''The Road Sign'' (1954) *''Moving forward in the Happy Sounds of the Drum'' *''In Quick Water'' *''Missing Xiaochuan'' *''The New

Long March The Long March (, lit. ''Long Expedition'') was a military retreat undertaken by the Chinese Red Army, Red Army of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army, to evade the pursuit of the National Revolut ...

=Biographies

= * ''

Deng Zhongxia Deng Zhongxia (or Teng Chung-hsia; October 5, 1894 – September 21, 1933) was an early member of the Chinese Communist Party and an important Marxist intellectual and labor movement leader. Having led many strikes and uprisings against Chian ...

Biography'' (with Qian Xiaohui in 1980) * ''The Youth of

Peng Dehuai Peng Dehuai (; October 24, 1898November 29, 1974) was a prominent Chinese Communist military leader, who served as China's Defense Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was born into a poor peasant family, and received several years of primary edu ...

'' (editor Yeng Ruiguang 楊瑞廣, in 1995)

=Literary Reports

= * (1944) * ''Firings on the Plain'' (1945) * (1945) *''Move forward, My Country'' (1952) * (1952) *''The Female General'' (1958) *''Chen Zhen Yi Poetry'' (1959) * (1984)

Notes

References

* http://tools.shuku.net:8080/servlet/converter?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shuku.net%2Fnovels%2Fmingjwx%2Ftvrqcmtsfds%2Fweiw00.html * YangBing, TianYi, FangDong;Wei Wei Analysis 2000, Dangdai ZnongGuo ChuBanShe
Article written by Wei Wei about his book << 誰是最可愛的人 >>
* *http://www.cycnet.com/army/spot/yuanchao/001026001.htm