Yao Xueyin (; 10 October 1910 – 29 April 1999) was a Chinese novelist who was a member of

China Writers Association China Writers Association or Chinese Writers Association (CWA, ) is a subordinate people's organization of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC). Founded in July 1949, the organization was initially named the China National Liter ...

. Yao was a member of the 5th, 6th, and 7th National Committee of the

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference The Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC, zh, 中国人民政治协商会议), also known as the People's PCC (, ) or simply the PCC (), is a political advisory body in the People's Republic of China and a central part of ...

. Yao used his fortune posthumously to institute the Yao Xueyin Historical Novel Prize ().

Biography

Yao was born into a family of landlord background in Dengzhou,

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

in 1910. In 1930, Yao was expelled for taking part in student movement from

Henan University Henan University () is one of the oldest public and Double First Class Universities in China. It was founded in 1912. In the beginning, its name was the Preparatory School for Further Study in Europe and America. In 1942, its name was changed to ...

. In 1940s, Yao started to write the novel ''Li Zicheng''. In 1950s. Yao worked in Wuhan, and shortly taught at

Central China Normal University Central China Normal University (CCNU) or Huazhong Normal University (), located in Luonan Subdistrict, Hongshan District in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei Province, is a comprehensive university directly under the administration of the Chinese Mini ...

. In 1957, Yao was labeled as 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 ...

by the government and he was sent to a farm to work. In 1961, he was rehabilitated by

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

, and he returned to

Wuhan Wuhan (, ; ; ) is the capital of Hubei, Hubei Province in the China, People's Republic of China. It is the largest city in Hubei and the most populous city in Central China, with a population of over eleven million, the List of cities in China ...

. In 1963, Yao published his novel ''Li Zicheng'' volume 1 by the China Youth Publishing House (). 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 ...

, his novel ''Li Zicheng'' was denounced as a "giant poisonous weed". He was attacked by the

Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard lead ...

, but was protected from physical harm by

. In 1977, Yao published his novel ''Li Zicheng'' volume 2, which won him the first-time Mao Dun Literature Prize, a prestigious literary award in China. In 1999, Yao died in Beijing Fuxing Hospital ().

Works

Novellas

* ''Niu Quande and his Carrots'' ()

Long novels

* ''

Li Zicheng Li Zicheng (22 September 1606 – 1645), born Li Hongji, also known by the nickname, Dashing King, was a Chinese peasant rebel leader who overthrew the Ming dynasty in 1644 and ruled over northern China briefly as the emperor of the short-li ...

'' volume 1 () * ''Li Zicheng'' volume 2 () * ''Li Zicheng'' volume 3 () * ''Li Zicheng'' volume 4 () * ''Li Zicheng'' volume 5 () * ''When Spring Comes'' () * ''A Long Night'' ()

Personal life

At the age of 21, Yao married Wang Meicai (). The couple had four children (three sons and one daughter). Sons: * Yao Haiyun () * Yao Haixing () * Yao Haitian () Daughter: * Yao Haiyan ()

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yao, Xueyin Writers from Nanyang, Henan People from Dengzhou 1910 births 1999 deaths Central China Normal University faculty 20th-century novelists Mao Dun Literature Prize laureates Chinese male novelists 20th-century Chinese male writers Victims of the Anti-Rightist Campaign Educators from Henan Republic of China novelists People's Republic of China novelists