Mao Dun

Mao Dun (in Chinese 茅盾, 1896 - 1981), of his true name Shen Dehong , is a Chinese writer of the modern period. It is one of the founders of the Société of literary research (文學研會) and one writer of the review Mensuel of the novel (小說月報). In its novels, in particular Midnight (子夜) on the middle-class of Shanghai, it wanted to compete with the Western realistic novelists.

Mao Dun, born the July 4th 1896 and deceased the March 27th 1981, is a Pseudonyme, under which Shen Dehong worked like writer, critical arts person and journalist in the China of the 20th century. The choice of this pseudonym is based on its significance, “contradiction”, which he recognizes representative for the Idéologie S revolutionists, often contradictory, and the unstable conditions of the Années 1920 of the China of the previous century. Later his/her friend Ye Shengtao will adapt the signs composing the Pseudonyme, in order to avoid a political Persécution to him.

Biography

Mao Dun was born in the zone of Tongxiang of the province of the Zhejiang. His/her father undertook itself to establish a program for the instruction of his son and undertook his teaching personally, but he died when this one was hardly ten years old. Thereafter, it is his/her mother, who replaced it in these functions. With an age very tender Mao Dun developed already an intense interest for the Littérature. Its talent appears then by a choice of vocabulary impressing and an easy style at the time of examinations at the elementary school.

While continuing his schooling with the secondary, Mao Dun denies his spare time with the reading of a traditional big number of Roman, which will influence its style and its design of the writing, and with judicious exercises to improve his capacity of expression.

Finally received with the University of Beijing in 1913 within the framework of a three years course on the Chinese and Western Literature, it is seen obliged to stop its studies in summer 1916 before the examinations of end of studies for financial reasons. In spite of that, the knowledge acquired during its formation will allow him a quick change on the journalistic and literary scene.

Career of journalist

Leaving the university Mao Dun takes down soon the first employment with the service of edition and translation of the newspaper Commercial Close, office of Shanghai. To twenty and one years one takes into account of his candidature for the station of assistant of the editor association of the magazine for students Xuesheng Zazhi , published under the control of Commercial Close, which per many articles of these contents lends a forum to the new ideologies, which at that time emergent in China.

In addition to its work of editor Mao Dun starts to formulate his thoughts and its criticism of social developments on paper, influenced with a certain degree by the ideas, which one finds in the famous magazine of youth New Youths , to notice particularly in two of its leading articles for Xuesheng Zazhi of the years 1917 and 1918, Students and Society and The Students off 1918 , and which woke up a sensitivity for the political news of many young people of higher education.

In 1920 crystallized one him the drafting of a series on the New literary tendencies ( Xiaoshuo Xinchao ) of a literary monthly magazine ( Xiaoshuo Yuebao ). The same year sees its ascent at the post of editor association and according to a Nouveau cultural movement it starts a fundamental reform. His/her young friends of the literary scene of Beijing support it, by subjecting their last works and translations of Western Littérature to him, like their point of view concerning of news literary Théories and techniques, in order to publish them in the magazine.

Within this framework is also partly explained the foundation of an association of studies of the literature ( Wenxue Yanjiuhui ). Involving a real success the reform of literary monthly magazine facilitates the continuation of the Nouveau cultural movement by the sale of ten thousands of specimens, but more particularly by its promotion of a new form of appreciation of the Chinese literature from a more realistic point of view ( Literature for Life ).

During this time Mao Dun managed to make sure a main role within the framework of the movement in the south of China. On the other hand, it was impossible with the two ideological factions of the drafting of the Commercial Close , the partisans of innovating ideas and the conservatives, to agree on a reform of the contents. So that Mao Dun left his post of editor association of literary monthly magazine in 1923 to find a key position later four years within an other magazine ( Min Guo Yuebao ). Within this framework it writes more than thirty leading articles criticizing in a tone shingling the policy of Tchang Kaï-chek and finding only words of praise for the revolutionists.

Political commitment

Animated by the Revolution of October in Russia in 1917, Mao Dun took part in the Mouvement of May 4th in China. In 1920 joined the communist community Shanghai and was one of the principal collaborators to the foundation of the left in 1921. Initially spokesperson of the party, it also undertook the drafting of articles for the internal newspaper. In the same time Mao Dun took part in military operation towards North under the orders of Tchang Kaï-chek (1926 with 1928), whose principal end consisted in joining together the country, but it left the troops following the rupture between the Kuomintang and the Communists. Whereas in 1928 it escapes in direction of the Japan and that it joint with the Ligue of Writers of the Left on his return in China two years later, the irony of the life wants that he points out himself by his active engagement within the resistance movement, when the Japanese attack the Chinese in 1937. After the takeover by the Communists in 1949, it takes the functions of secretary of the president Mao and of Ministre for the culture, which it will leave only in 1964.

Literary personality

The reform of the monthly magazine Xiaoshuo Yuebao , its first contribution to the development of the Chinese Literature, the magazine transformed into forum of exchange on the contemporary Littérature and of the authors of famous, such as Lu Xun, Xu Dishan, Bing Xin and Ye Shengtao, took recourse to this means to present their last works. Little time later Mao Dun started to support these modern forms of literature and idea, by continuing the ideal to promote the Chinese literature on a world level. The political conflicts of the time widen its horizon on the literary level and most of its works turns around this topic. In 1930 it was one of the principal initiators behind the foundation of the Ligue of the Writers of Left. Then it got busy at the side of Lu Xun for the rights in the middle of the company and the revolutionary movement like literary tendency. Under the angle of the literary creativity the period of 1927 with 1937 was proven most productive, with the publication of its first novel ( Disillusions ) in 1927, most famous of this kind ( Midnight ) appeared only in 1933. It is about a novel of style naturalist deciphering in detail the economic world of Shanghai. Unquestionably its novels take part for the revolutionists and promote their ideas, which is also pointed out by a presentation, without exception, sympathetic nerve of the nationals of the classes of the workers. After the foundation of the Popular republic of China in 1949 the station of Ministre for the Culture is allotted to Mao Dun, but at the time of the Cultural revolution it was replaced and subjected to an atrocious treatment. After this new animated time he again became editor of a review for child before dying in 1981. In spite of that, its influence on the Chinese Littérature is always pointed out nowadays, especially thanks to a foundation with for end the promotion of the literary creativity (the literary Foundation Mao Dun), to which it devotes part of his personal economies.

At the time of its fifty years, festivities, to which are invited more than five hundred people coming from the foreign countries most various, without forgetting, neither the Russia, nor the the United States, provide only one new manifestation of the success of its efforts in favor of the literary creativity. In the name of the Communist party Wong Rufei wrote a message of appreciation in the form of test retaining the principal assets of its activities on this field. To mention moreover, the election twice at the station of the director to the Committee of arts and the literature of the China. Its regard in the literary circles is undeniable and even whereas at a rather advanced age he suffers from a painful disease, that does not prevent it from continuing its literary work by writing its memories under the title of the way, that I continued.

Carrying out its dream to promote the communist Literature and remarkable works, Mao Dun initiated the introduction of a Literary prize to its name in China, from which numbers of authors of famous on the contemporary literary scene were equipped, to mention particularly Wei Wei and Zhou Ke-qin.

Publications

New , while passing by the Tale, the Test, the drama, the translation with the literary Theory, the work of Mao Dun, made up of a hundred publications, extends almost on all the kinds existing. Below an exemplary list several works of major importance:

News

Huan Mie (Disillusion) 1928 - (Disillusion) San Ren Xing (Three People Walking) 1931 - (Three People moving) Flax Jia Pu (The Shop off the flax Family) - (the Store of the Flax Family) Chun Chiji (Spring Silkworms) 1956 - (Silk Worms of Spring) Qiu Shou (Fall Harvest) - (Harvest of Fall)

Novels

Hong (Rainbow) 1930 - (Rainbow) Ji Ye (Midnight) 1933 - (Midnight) Xian Gei Shiren Jie (Giving to the Poet Festival) 1946 - (Festival of the Donation to the Poet initially)

Anthologies

Mao Dun Jinzuo (The recent work off Mao Dun) 1980 - (Recent Works of Mao Dun) Mao Dun Lun Chuang Zuo (Mao Dun' S How one Creativity) 1980 - (Comment of Mao Dun on the Creativity)

Tests

Sulian Jianwenlu (Diary Dolly off US) 1948 - (Newspaper of a Voyage in Russia) Jitan Sulian (Talks one US) 1949 - (Speech on Russia)

Drama

Qian Ming Qian Hou (Face and rear pure Brightness) 1945

Translations

Modern drama: Russian Question 1946 - (the Russian Question) News: Group' S Sounds 1946

External bonds

http://www.chineseliterature.com.cn/modernliterature/author/maodun/maodun1.htm

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