![Вэнь Идо](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/91/%D0%92%D1%8D%D0%BD%D1%8C_%D0%98%D0%B4%D0%BE.jpg)
Wen Yiduo (; 24 November 189915 July 1946) 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 ...
and scholar known for his nationalistic poetry. Wen was assassinated by the
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 Tai ...
in 1946.
Life
Wen Yiduo was born Wén Jiāhuá () on 24 November 1899 in what is now
Xishui County in
Hubei Province
Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The prov ...
. After receiving a traditional Chinese
Confucian
Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...
education he went on to continue studying at
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University (; abbreviation, abbr. THU) is a National university, national Public university, public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Minis ...
.
In 1922, he traveled to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
to study
fine arts
In European academic traditions, fine art is developed primarily for aesthetics or creative expression, distinguishing it from decorative art or applied art, which also has to serve some practical function, such as pottery or most metalwork ...
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 ...
at the
Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...
. It was during this time that his first collection of poetry, ''Hongzhu'' (, "Red Candle"), was published. In 1925, he traveled back to
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 ...
and took a university teaching post. In 1928, his second collection, ''Sishui'' (, "Dead Water"), was published. In the same year he joined the
Crescent Moon Society The Crescent Moon Society () was a Chinese literary society founded by the poet Xu Zhimo in 1923, which operated until 1931. It was named after ''The Crescent Moon'', a poem by Rabindranath Tagore. The society began as a loosely-organized dining as ...
and wrote essays on poetry. He also began to publish the results of his classical
Chinese literature research.
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 ...
, he and many other intellectuals from northeastern China migrated to
Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
,
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked Provinces of China, province in Southwest China, the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is ...
. There he was able to continue to teach, this time in the wartime
National Southwestern Associated University
When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out between China and Japan in 1937, Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University merged to form Changsha Temporary University in Changsha and later National Southwestern Associated Universi ...
. Wen stopped writing poetry in 1931 and became increasingly involved in social criticism. He became politically active in 1944 in support of the
China Democratic League
The China Democratic League (CDL) is one of the eight legally recognized minor political parties in the People's Republic of China under the Chinese Communist Party's United Front. The CDL was originally founded in 1941 as an umbrella coalition ...
. His outspoken nature led to his
assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
by secret agents of the
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 Tai ...
after eulogizing his friend
Li Gongpu
Li, li, or LI may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects
* Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political tec ...
's life at Li's funeral in 1946.
There is a monument to Wen at the
Yunnan Normal University
Yunnan Normal University (; YNNU) is in Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan province.
Yunnan Normal University (YNNU) is a key university of Yunnan province, with a long history and a great tradition.
It is a higher institution co-funded by the ...
campus in
Kunming
Kunming (; ), also known as Yunnan-Fu, is the capital and largest city of Yunnan province, China. It is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province as well as the seat of the provincial government. The headquar ...
, as well as a large statue. A small memorial to him, including a wall portrait painted from a famous picture of him smoking his pipe is found in a walkway by his former home (the site is now part of an elementary school) in the
Green Lake area of Kunming. He and his wife, Gao Zhen, are buried at the
Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery
The Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery () is Beijing's main resting place for the highest-ranking revolutionary heroes, high government officials and, in recent years, individuals deemed of major importance due to their contributions to society. In ...
in Beijing.
Poetry
Wen's poetry is noted for its experimentation with classical Chinese rules and forms. He modeled his poetry on that of the English poets
John 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 tuberculo ...
,
Alfred Tennyson
Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's Gold Medal at Cambridge for one of his ...
, and
Robert Browning
Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...
, and tried to "recapture the symbolism and ethos of premodern Chinese society". The poems in his second collection, ''Dead Water'' (''Sǐshuǐ'' ), have "a haunting musicality", and deal with the "heartrendingly heavy" subject of exposing social injustice and corruption.
Scholarship
Wen was credited by
David Hawkes as the initiator of the cult of
Qu Yuan
Qu Yuan ( – 278 BCE) was a Chinese poet and politician in the Chu (state), State of Chu during the Warring States period. He is known for his patriotism and contributions to Classical Chinese poetry, classical poetry and verses, ...
as "China's first
patriotic
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 ...
poet", writing that, "although Qu Yuan did not write about the life of the people or voice their sufferings, he may truthfully be said to have acted as the leader of a people's revolution and to have struck a blow to avenge them. Qu Yuan is the only person in the whole of Chinese history who is fully entitled to be called 'the people's poet'."
Family
Wen's eldest grandson, Wen Liming, was a researcher of modern history at the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
The Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) is a Chinese research institute and think tank. The institution is the premier comprehensive national academic research organization in the People's Republic of China for the study in the fields of ...
. He studied modern Chinese history, including his grandfather's travels to Chicago, and collected and donated a number of materials about Wen Yiduo to
National Southwestern Associated University
When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out between China and Japan in 1937, Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University merged to form Changsha Temporary University in Changsha and later National Southwestern Associated Universi ...
(presently Yunnan Normal University.
References
Citations
Works cited
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Portrait
Wen Yiduo. A Portrait by Kong Kai Mingat Portrait Gallery of Chinese Writers (Hong Kong Baptist University Library).
External links
*
WEN I-TO
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wen, Yiduo
1899 births
1946 deaths
Republic of China poets
Modern Chinese poetry
Chinese non-fiction writers
School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni
Tsinghua University alumni
Tsinghua University faculty
National Southwestern Associated University faculty
Boxer Indemnity Scholarship recipients
Assassinated Chinese people
Deaths by firearm in China
People murdered in China
People from Huanggang
Poets from Hubei
20th-century poets
20th-century Chinese male writers
Burials at Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery
Male non-fiction writers
National Wuhan University alumni