Xiao Jun (, 3 July 1907 – 22 June 1988), born Liu Honglin (), was a Chinese author and intellectual from

Linghai Linghai () is a county-level city in the west of Liaoning province, Northeast China. It was called Jinxian or Jin County () until 1993, when it was reorganized to a county-level city and renamed Linghai. Lying on the west (right) bank of the Dalin ...

Liaoning Liaoning () is a coastal province in Northeast China that is the smallest, southernmost, and most populous province in the region. With its capital at Shenyang, it is located on the northern shore of the Yellow Sea, and is the northernmost ...

, China. Of

Manchu The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...

ethnicity, Xiao's most famous work in China is his 1934 novel ''Village in August'' () which gained both popular and critical praise as anti-Japanese literature. He, along with

Xiao Hong Xiao Hong or Hsiao Hung (1 June 1911 – 22 January 1942) was a Chinese writer. Her ruming (乳名，infant name) was Zhang Ronghua (張榮華). Her xueming (學名，formal name used at school) was Zhang Xiuhuan (張秀環). Her name Zhang Nai ...

, is considered one of the most representative authors of the

left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...

Northeast Authors Group (). The names

and Xiao Jun were chosen by each author so that when put together they would be ''xiao xiao hongjun'' (, tiny

red army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

Early career

In 1925, he entered the Northeast Military Academy () which was organized under

Zhang Xueliang Chang Hsüeh-liang (, June 3, 1901 – October 15, 2001), also romanized as Zhang Xueliang, nicknamed the "Young Marshal" (少帥), known in his later life as Peter H. L. Chang, was the effective ruler of Northeast China and much of northern ...

where he studied law and military affairs. He began writing novels sometime during his studies and in 1929 published the nove ''Nuo...'' (.../Coward...) which was highly critical of the

warlords A warlord is a person who exercises military, economic, and political control over a region in a country without a strong national government; largely because of coercive control over the armed forces. Warlords have existed throughout much of h ...

tearing apart China. He published several more novels, all of which appeared in the '' Shengjing Times'' ().

Work with Xiao Hong

In 1932, he left for

Harbin Harbin (; mnc, , v=Halbin; ) is a sub-provincial city and the provincial capital and the largest city of Heilongjiang province, People's Republic of China, as well as the second largest city by urban population after Shenyang and largest ...

, where he began a literary career in earnest. In 1933, he met

with whom he co-authored ''Bashe'' (, An Arduous Journey) and both published for the first time under their Xiao pseudonyms. In 1934, Xiao Jun and

worked together in

Qingdao Qingdao (, also spelled Tsingtao; , Mandarin: ) is a major city in eastern Shandong Province. The city's name in Chinese characters literally means " azure island". Located on China's Yellow Sea coast, it is a major nodal city of the One Belt ...

on the supplement to ''Qingdao Morning Post'' () and Xiao Jun finished his most well-known work ''Village in August''. In

July 1937 The following events occurred in July 1937: July 1, 1937 (Thursday) *The Biscay Campaign ended in Nationalist victory. *Roman Catholic bishops in Spain issued a joint letter pledging their support for the Nationalists. *The Irish general elect ...

, he published the novel illegally and out of his own pocket, since the

KMT 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 ...

held to a policy of non-resistance and did not want to incite the Japanese whom

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 ...

knew were superior militarily and could obliterate China if they wanted. The novel had an immediate impact and cemented his reputation among the literati of the time. This period saw the unleashing of Xiao's creativity with a number of short stories, novellas, essays, and the beginning of his second masterwork ''Di san dai'' (, Third Generation) which he wrote on and off for nearly twenty years. It depicts China's old feudal society, the era of

bourgeois revolution Bourgeois revolution is a term used in Marxist theory to refer to a social revolution that aims to destroy a feudal system or its vestiges, establish the rule of the bourgeoisie, and create a bourgeois state. In colonised or subjugated countries ...

, imperialism, the warlord era, and the realities of Northeastern Chinese society.

Yan'an and Harbin

He fled to

Yan'an Yan'an (; ), alternatively spelled as Yenan is a prefecture-level city in the Shaanbei region of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi to the east and Gansu to the west. It administers several counties, including Zhidan (formerly Bao'an ...

during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

in June 1940, where he worked with many other famous writers and was active in Yan'an's cultural activities. On December 19, 1940, he began holding a ''Monthly Meeting of Arts and Literature '' () which eventually led to publishing the ''Arts and Literature Monthly'' () which he edited in conjunction with

Ding Ling Ding Ling (; October 12, 1904 – March 4, 1986), formerly romanized as Ting Ling, was the pen name of Jiang Bingzhi (), also known as Bin Zhi (彬芷 ''Bīn Zhǐ''), one of the most celebrated 20th-century Chinese women authors. She is known ...

Shu Qun Shu may refer to: China * Sichuan, China, officially abbreviated as Shu (蜀) * Shu (state) (conquered by Qin in 316 BC), an ancient state in modern Sichuan * Shu Han (221–263) during the Three Kingdoms Period * Western Shu (405–413), also ...

, and

Liu Xuewei / ( or ) is an East Asian surname. pinyin: in Mandarin Chinese, in Cantonese. It is the family name of the Han dynasty emperors. The character originally meant 'kill', but is now used only as a surname. It is listed 252nd in the classic text ...

. In 1942, he was the first to speak at the

Yan'an Forum The Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art () was a May 1942 forum held at the city of Yan'an in Communist-controlled China and significant event in the Yan'an Rectification Movement. It is most notable for the speeches given by Mao Zedong, later edit ...

after Mao's opening statement. He returned to Harbin in 1946, where he was chosen to edit and write for the ''Cultural Gazette'' (), a journal he started under party patronage in 1947 on the anniversary of 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 Chinese ...

. His writings quickly drew the ire of many of the top level cadres at Yan'an whom he criticized for their pedantic treatment of the people, equating them one time to clowns who try to hypnotize their gullible audiences. His prestige however gained him a degree of immunity from punitive actions for over a year at which time a number of articles appeared attacking Xiao for his simplistic anti-Japanese nationalism and political immaturity for not engaging

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

class struggle Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor. The forms ...

. "Criticism meetings" soon followed, and the

Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party The Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, officially the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is a political body that comprises the top leaders of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It is currently composed of 205 fu ...

decided to send Xiao to work with coal miners in

Fushun Fushun (, formerly romanised as ''Fouchouen'', using French spelling, also as Fuxi ()) is a prefecture level city in Liaoning province, China, about east of Shenyang, with a total area of , of which is the city proper. Situated on the Hun Ri ...

People's Republic era and death

He began writing again professionally in the 1950s 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 ...

. His period of hardship in the mines inspired ''Wuyue de kuangshan'' (, Mine in May). He also published his letters between himself and

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

and finished ''Di san dai''. His writing came to an end in 1957 when he was labeled a

rightist Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, auth ...

. He was imprisoned during 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 ...

, but rehabilitated in 1979 after which he became active again in literary circles until he died due to health complications in 1988.

Early career

Work with Xiao Hong

Yan'an and Harbin

People's Republic era and death

See also

References

Further reading