China Writers Association or Chinese Writers Association (CWA, ) is a subordinate

people's organization People's organization is a generic term for organizations in the People's Republic of China excluding governments, the official departments of government, and enterprises or institutions, yet are recognized to be a part of Chinese Communist Party' ...

of the

China Federation of Literary and Art Circles China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (''CFLAC'' ), established in July 1949, is a Chinese people's organization composed of nationwide associations of writers and artists. CFLAC is one of the founders of CPPCC (Chinese People's Political Con ...

(CFLAC). Founded in July 1949, the organization was initially named the China National Literature Workers Association. In September 1953, it was renamed the China Writers Association. The association's leadership was purged shortly after the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre. In April 2012, the organization changed its translated name to China Writers Association. It now has more than 9,000 registered members, with branch associations across the nation. The first CWA Chair was

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 Minis ...

, under the leadership of the then CFLAC Chairman

Guo Moruo Guo Moruo (; November 16, 1892 – June 12, 1978), courtesy name Dingtang (), was a Chinese author, poet, historian, archaeologist, and government official. Biography Family history Guo Moruo, originally named Guo Kaizhen, was born on November ...

. In 1985, Mao Dun was succeeded by

Ba Jin Ba Jin (Chinese: 巴金; pinyin: ''Bā Jīn''; 1904–2005) was a Chinese writer. In addition to his impact on Chinese literature, he also wrote three original works in Esperanto, and as a political activist he wrote '' The Family''. Name He ...

. The incumbent Chair is

Tie Ning Tie Ning (born September 1957) is a Chinese author based in Beijing, China. She has, since 2006, been the president of the China Writers Association and is a member of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Her works incl ...

since 2006. Other successive Associate Chairs include

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 ...

Feng Xuefeng Feng Xuefeng ( ; ; 2 June 190331 January 1976) was a Chinese writer and activist known for his contributions to socialist literary criticism, particularly as an authority on Lu Xun. Initially a prominent member of the Chinese Communist Party, he ...

Lao She Shu Qingchun (3 February 189924 August 1966), known by his pen name Lao She, was a Chinese novelist and dramatist. He was one of the most significant figures of 20th-century Chinese literature, and is best known for his novel '' Rickshaw Boy'' ...

, Ke Zhongping, Shao Quanlin and

Liu Baiyu Liu Baiyu (; 2 September 1916 – 24 August 2005), born Liu Yuzan () in Beijing, was a Chinese writer who took an orthodox Communist line on writing issues. He opposed "Western bourgeois values", influencing Chinese literature. Awards *1988 - Co ...

Chairs and Vice-Chairs

;Chairs #

(1949–1981) #

(1984–2005) #

(2006–present) ;Vice-Chairs ''Note: The list is incomplete.'' *

(1949–1966) * Zhou Yang (1949–1979) *

(1949–1986) *

(1953–1984) *

He Jingzhi He Jingzhi (born November 1924), also known by his pen names Aimo () and Jingzhi (), is a politician and poet of People's Republic of China. He was a standing committee member of the 8th Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, a stan ...

(1979–1984) *

Ai Qing Aì Qīng (, March 27, 1910 – May 5, 1996), born Jiang Zhenghan () and styled Jiang Haicheng (), is regarded by some as one of the finest modern Chinese poets. He was known under his pen names Linbi (), Ke'a () and Ejia (). Life Ai Qing was ...

(1979–1996) *

Lu Wenfu Lu Wenfu(, March 23, 1927 - July 9, 2005) was a contemporary Chinese writer. He was interested in literature from an early age and devoted all his life to it. He worked for many years as journalist and a magazine editor and served as president o ...

(1984–2001) * Wang Meng (1984–2006) *

Li Zhun Li Zhun (; 4 July 1928 – 2 February 2000) was a Chinese novelist who was the vice president of China Writers Association and the librarian of Chinese Modern Literature Museum. Biography Li was born into an ethnic Mongolian family of teachers i ...

(1996–2000) * Ye Xin (1996–present) *

Huang Yazhou Huang Yazhou (; born 1949) is a Chinese novelist, poet and screenwriter. He is now a member of Chinese Communist Party and the president of Zhejiang Writers Association. Biography Huang was born in 1949 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, with his ancestra ...

(2001–2006) *

Chen Zhongshi Chen Zhongshi (; 3 August 1942 – 29 April 2016) was a Chinese author. He started writing prose in 1965 and finished his magnum opus ''White Deer Plain'' in 1993 (for which he won the Mao Dun Literature Prize in 1997). In 1979, he became a mem ...

(2001–2016) * Zhang Ping (2001–2016) * Liu Heng (2006–present) *

Wang Anyi Wang Anyi (born 6 March 1954) is a Chinese writer, vice-chair of the China Writers Association since 2006, and professor in Chinese Literature at Fudan University since 2004. Wang widely write novels, novellas, short stories and essays with dive ...

(2006–present) *

Zhang Kangkang Zhang Kangkang (born as Zhang Kangmei, July 3, 1950, Hangzhou) is a Chinese female writer. Background Zhang was born into a family of Communist intellectuals. Her first name ''Kang-Kang'' means "resistance-resistance." She belongs to a generation ...

(2006–present) *

Mo Yan Guan Moye (; born 17 February 1955), better known by the pen name Mo Yan (, ), is a Chinese novelist and short story writer. Donald Morrison of U.S. news magazine ''TIME'' referred to him as "one of the most famous, oft-banned and widely pirate ...

(2011–present) * Zhang Wei (2016–present) *

Jia Pingwa Jia Pingwa (; born 21 February 1952), better known by his penname Jia Pingwa (), is one of China's most popular authors of novels, short stories, poetry, and non-fiction. His best-known novels include ''Ruined City'', which was banned by the ...

(2016–present)

Controversy

In 2017, two vice presidents of the Suzhou branch of the CWA publicly resigned as a protest to what they perceived as the

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

's tightening of control on writers.

Publications

The Chinese Writers' Association publishes several magazines, including 《人民文学》 ''Renmin wenxue'' (

People's Literature ''People's Literature'' (《人民文学》''Renmin wenxue'') is the oldest continuously published literary magazine in China, and the first literary magazine published in Communist China. Established in 1949, the magazine is published by the Peo ...

) (monthly), 《中国作家》 ''Zhongguo zuojia'' (Chinese Writer) (bimonthly), 《诗刊》 ''Shi kan'' (Poetry) (monthly), 《民族文学》 ''Minzu wenxue'' (Folk Literature) (monthly), 《小说选刊》 ''Xiaoshuo xuankan'' (Selected Novels) (monthly), and ''Newspaper of Art'' (weekly). Its publishing arm is the Chinese Writers Publishing House. It also issues 《文艺报》

Wen yi bao ''Wen yi bao'' 文艺报 ("Literature and Art Newspaper") is a Chinese-language newspaper about Chinese literature and art, that is published three times a week. It is issued by the China Writers Association and is published by the Xinhua Bookstore ...

(Literature and Art Newspaper) (currently three times a week).

Bibliography

References

{{Authority control Chinese writers' organizations Arts organizations established in 1949 1949 establishments in China Organizations associated with the Chinese Communist Party