Duanmu Hongliang (; 1912–1996), born Cao Jingping (), was a Chinese writer whose works were prominent during 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 ...

and for whom the land and environment were pivotal fictional elements. He was born in

Changtu County Changtu County () is a county in the northeast of Liaoning province, China, bordering Jilin to the northeast and Inner Mongolia in the northwest. It is under the administration of Tieling City, the downtown of which lies to the south-southwest, ...

, Liaoning and died 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 ...

on October 5, 1996, at the age of 84. In Jehol-Chahar Sun Dianying's army was joined by Duanmu Hongliang. Duanmu attended

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (; abbr. THU) is a national public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. The university is a member of the C9 League, Double First Class University Plan, Projec ...

, where he studied and wrote fiction, but returned to his homeland of Liaoning in his post-university years. His fiction in both short stories and novels are characterized by the 'native soil' style, which heavily emphasizes the agrarian environment and heartland values of his homeland region, a style pioneered by Duanmu and other Modern Chinese authors such as

Shen Congwen Shen Congwen (28 December 1902 – 10 May 1988), formerly romanized as Shen Ts'ung-wen, was a Chinese writer who is considered one of the greatest modern Chinese writers, on par with Lu Xun. Regional culture and identity plays a much bigger rol ...

. In his novels dating from before the

Chinese Communist Revolution The Chinese Communist Revolution, officially known as the Chinese People's War of Liberation in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and also known as the National Protection War against the Communist Rebellion in the Republic of China (ROC ...

in 1949, Duanmu evidences his ardour for traditional Chinese fiction tropes, including heroes that join

Anti-Japanese volunteer armies After the Japanese invasion of Manchuria, and until 1933, large volunteer armies waged war against Japanese and Manchukuo forces over much of Northeast China. Due to Chiang Kai-shek's policy of non-resistance, the Japanese were soon able to esta ...

northeast China Northeast China or Northeastern China () is a geographical region of China, which is often referred to as "Manchuria" or "Inner Manchuria" by surrounding countries and the West. It usually corresponds specifically to the three provinces east of ...

, most evidently in "The Ke'erqin Banner Grasslands" (), about a Liaoning family assigned by the Qing government to live among the

Khorchin Mongols The Khorchin ( mn, Хорчин, ''Horçin''; ''Qorčin''; ) are a subgroup of the Mongols that speak the Khorchin dialect of Mongolian and predominantly live in northeastern Inner Mongolia of China. History The Ming dynasty gave Borjigin ...

. "Eyes of Daybreak" () and "An Early Spring" () are his most important short stories, featuring earthy characters and simple plots focused on rural people, shown in a very positive light.

Sources

1912 births 1996 deaths Republic of China novelists Tsinghua University alumni Writers from Liaoning People from Tieling 20th-century novelists Chinese male novelists 20th-century Chinese male writers {{china-writer-stub