Zhang Dinghuang (1895–1986), also known as Zhang Fengju was a Chinese-American
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an fan (person), aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artifact (archaeology), artifac ...
,
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Ling ...
,
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. ...
,
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 w ...
, and
translator
Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transl ...
. He was born in
Nanchang
Nanchang (, ; ) is the capital of Jiangxi Province, People's Republic of China. Located in the north-central part of the province and in the hinterland of Poyang Lake Plain, it is bounded on the west by the Jiuling Mountains, and on the east ...
and an expert in antique manuscripts. Zhang was a supporting but key figure of the rich
20th century
The 20th (twentieth) century began on
January 1, 1901 ( MCMI), and ended on December 31, 2000 ( MM). The 20th century was dominated by significant events that defined the modern era: Spanish flu pandemic, World War I and World War II, nucle ...
Chinese literary movements.
He was a talented multi-linguist who studied in
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, a
professor
Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professo ...
at
Beijing University
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal chart ...
and Sino Franco University, and also was active in the literary scene. After
World War II
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
he also was a primary figure to recover a collection of looted
antique manuscripts for Taiwan's
National Central Library
The National Central Library (NCL; ) is the national library of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan), which is located at No. 20, Zhongshan S. Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10001, Taiwan. It will soon have a subsidiary called Southe ...
(the literary equivalent of antiques of the
Palace Museum
The Palace Museum () is a huge national museum complex housed in the Forbidden City at the core of Beijing, China. With , the museum inherited the imperial royal palaces from the Ming and Qing dynasties of China and opened to the public in ...
).
Early years
When 15 years old, he enrolled in the Nanchang Army Survey Academy, following elder brother
Zhang Dingfan, an officer in the "Dare to Die" regiment of the
Xinhai Revolution
The 1911 Revolution, also known as the Xinhai Revolution or Hsinhai Revolution, ended China's last imperial dynasty, the Manchu-led Qing dynasty, and led to the establishment of the Republic of China. The revolution was the culmination of ...
. He then attended
Kyoto Imperial University. Returning from Japan in 1921, he began his literary and teaching career of the 1920s and 1930s, and activity to develop
vernacular Chinese
Written vernacular Chinese, also known as Baihua () or Huawen (), is the forms of written Chinese based on the varieties of Chinese spoken throughout China, in contrast to Classical Chinese, the written standard used during imperial China up ...
literature.
He taught at Peking Women's College of Education,
Peking University
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...
, L'Institute des Hautes Études Chinoises of the
Sorbonne in the 1930s, and the Sino-French University in
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four Direct-administered municipalities of China, direct-administered municipalities of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the ...
. He mastered
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
,
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
, and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
, which would serve him well decades later. In 1937 he married Zhang Huijun .
Zhang authored and translated works in
French
French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to France
** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents
** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
,
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
and
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
. Examples include "Shelley" and "Baudelaire". He worked closely with key figures who shaped modern Chinese literature and education today. These included
Guo Moruo,
Cheng Fangwu
Cheng Fangwu (; August 24, 1897 – 17 May 1984) was a top level Party elder 元老 who cut his teeth at the beginning of the long march, responsible for education of the Chinese Red Army and the party apparatus from the mid-1930s to the end of ...
,
Zhang Ziping
Zhang Ziping () (May 24, 1893 – December 2, 1959) was a Chinese writer born in Meixian, Meizhou, Guangdong. He was a very popular author in the 1930s.
Biography
Zhang received a classical education and, after studying in Japan from 1912, rec ...
, Zheng Boqi , Xu Zuzheng ,
Shen Yinmo,
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. ...
, and
Yu Dafu
Yu Wen, better known by his courtesy name Yu Dafu (December 7, 1896 – September 17, 1945) was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet. He was one of the new literary group initiators, and this new literary group was named the Creation Soc ...
. All of them participated in the journals ''Creation Quarterly'', ''Yusi'', ''
Contemporary Review
''The Contemporary Review'' is a British biannual, formerly quarterly, magazine. It has an uncertain future as of 2013.
History
The magazine was established in 1866 by Alexander Strahan and a group of intellectuals anxious to promote intelli ...
'', and ''
New Youth
''New Youth'' (french: La Jeunesse, lit=The Youth; ) was a Chinese literary magazine founded by Chen Duxiu and published between 1915 and 1926. It strongly influenced both the New Culture Movement and the later May Fourth Movement. Publishin ...
''. These provided forums for lively and heated discourse on the transition to the
vernacular Chinese
Written vernacular Chinese, also known as Baihua () or Huawen (), is the forms of written Chinese based on the varieties of Chinese spoken throughout China, in contrast to Classical Chinese, the written standard used during imperial China up ...
language; weeklies for short insights or responses, quarterlies for considered and developed ideas. The goal was to bring the written language closer to everyday speech and use subject matter from everyday life.
Later years after 1940
In the 1940s, he worked primarily for the Chinese Ministry of Education and
National Central Library
The National Central Library (NCL; ) is the national library of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan), which is located at No. 20, Zhongshan S. Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10001, Taiwan. It will soon have a subsidiary called Southe ...
in the areas of antiquities, education and publications. A lasting achievement was to recover the works of the
Rare Book Preservation Society
The Rare Book Preservation Society (文献保存同志会) was founded in 1940 by Zheng Zhenduo (郑振铎), Zhang Shouyong (张寿镛), He Bingsong (何炳松), Zhang Yuanji (张元济), and Zhang Dinghuang, Zhang Fengju (张凤举) for the purp ...
which were looted during
World War II
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. It began with the Yuyuan Road Conferences in 1945–1946 to identify the wartime booty that Japan took. Key members included
Jiang Fucong,
Ma Xulun,
Zheng Zhenduo, and Zhang Fengju. Official Yuyuan Road Ministry conference minutes shows is the lower signature of the first line.
March 23, 1946, the Ministry appointed Zhang Fengju to the
Chinese Occupation Mission in Japan as head of the Fourth Section (Education and Culture). He left for Tokyo on April 1 and began discussions with the U.S. Command General Headquarters (
GHQ) the next day. Because of his gift in languages and his participation in the original preservation effort, he held substantive meetings with all parties without translators. In two months, over 135,000 volumes were retrieved. By the year's end, they were returned to the
National Central Library
The National Central Library (NCL; ) is the national library of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan), which is located at No. 20, Zhongshan S. Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10001, Taiwan. It will soon have a subsidiary called Southe ...
where they form the core of the rare books collection today. Many other university and museum collections were also retrieved.
After 1949 and with the excesses which followed the
Chinese Civil War
The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on main ...
, his closest friends and associates from the early years were on the mainland. His closest recent associates were in Taiwan. He favored neither side and preferred non-violence. He did not participate in any government activities after 1960 but kept in touch with a network of old friends in Taiwan and the U.S. including
Li Shu-hua ,
Zhu Jiahua
Zhu Jiahua or Chu Chia-hua (; 30 May 1893 – 3 January 1963) was a politician in the Republic of China. In the early 1930s he served as Minister of Communications for the Nationalist Government in Nanjing. He was the Vice Premier in 1949–19 ...
,
Gu Mengyu
Ku Meng-yu () was a politician in the Republic of China
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Repub ...
,
Y. H. Ku, Zhu Shiming , and
Shang Zhen
Shang Zhen (Shang Chen, 商震, 1887–1978) was a general of the National Revolutionary Army during the Warlord Era, Second Sino-Japanese War and World War II. He was an early 20th century field general who won his share of wars and successful ...
. He moved to the U.S. with his wife in 1965 to join his children. He died on February 2, 1986, in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...
,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
.
His handwritten diaries and reports, now at
National Central Library
The National Central Library (NCL; ) is the national library of the Taiwan, Republic of China (Taiwan), which is located at No. 20, Zhongshan S. Rd., Zhongzheng District, Taipei City 10001, Taiwan. It will soon have a subsidiary called Southe ...
in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...
, contain details of the recovery looted manuscripts and books from
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinghuang, Zhang
1895 births
1986 deaths
1910s in China
1920s in China
1930s in China
1930s in France
1940s in China
1945 in Japan
Art and cultural repatriation after World War II
Art crime
Book and manuscript collectors
Chinese antiquarians
Chinese antiques experts
Chinese poets
Chinese–French translators
Chinese-Japanese culture
Classical Chinese philosophy
Cultural history of World War II
Japanese occupation of Hong Kong
Japanese war crimes
Kyoto University alumni
Academic staff of Peking University
People of the Republic of China
Linguists of Chinese
National libraries
Occupied Japan
People from Nanchang
People of the Second Sino-Japanese War
Sorbonne University
20th-century antiquarians
Chinese emigrants to the United States