Mao Dun

Mao Dun (July 4, 1896–March 27, 1981), whose real name was Chen Dehong (Chinese: 沈德鴻), was one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th century. His courtesy name was Yanbing (雁冰).

Early life

Mao Dun was born in the Zhejiang (浙江) province of China. His father was a doctor and both of his parents were fond of reading, and thus Mao Dun developed a keen interest in reading in his childhood.

Mao Dun's father died when he was in primary school and he was raised up by his mother. After finishing secondary school in Hangzhou (杭州), Mao Dun entered the first year of the three-year foundation school offered by Peking University (北京大學). There he studied both Chinese and Western literature. However, he did not graduate and quit in 1916 because he ran out of money.

Career

After graduating from the foundation school, Mao Dun's family could not support him to further his study in Peking University, so he left school and started working in the translation and editing section of the Commercial Press (商務印書館編譯所). There is no denying that Shanghai was an unforgettable place for him because he started his life as an author and a journalist there. As a result, he took a step toward attaining a high status in the field of Chinese literature.

Political life

In 1921, Mao Dun joined the Communist Party of China. He was one of the earliest members of the party. He published his first novel, Huan mie (幻滅), in 1927. He adopted 'Mao Dun' (矛盾), which means 'contradiction', to be his pen name, with the thought of expressing his sigh for the contradictory revolutionary ideology in China in that era. Later his friend Ye Shengtao changed the first word to '茅' to prevent political persecution.

At the same time, Mao Dun participated in Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition (1926-1928), the main purpose of which was to unite the country. He quit, however, when Chiang's Kuomintang broke with the Communists.

As a journalist

After finishing his study, he got his first job in the Commercial Press (Shanghai). By the age of 21 he was recognised by many as the assistant editor of 'Xuesheng Zazhi' (學生雜誌)(Students' Magazine). By the age of 24, he has finally been recognised as a journalist of the magazine. In this 9-year work, he had access to many books and magazines in the library of the Commercial Press. He was influenced by the various ideas inside. In 1917 and 1918, he wrote two editorials for "Xuesheng Zazhi", which were "Students and Society" (學生與社會) and "The Student of 1918", after reading the famous magazine New Youths. The revolutionary reform of the Commercial Press was a response to the New Cultural Movement.

In 1920, Mao Dun and his friends took over the magazine 'Xiaoshuo Yuebao' ("Fiction Monthly") from the Commercial Press, and started to invite young writers in Beijing to submit their creative writings, translated Western literature pieces, as well as their views on new literature theories and techniques to the magazine. Aside from that, he occasionally contributed articles to "Funü Zazhi" (婦女雜誌), expressing his view on the status of women and emancipation.

On the notion of content reformation, both the innovative and conservation parties within the Commericial Press could not make a compromise. Thus, Mao Dun resigned his job as an editor in 1923. Anyway, Xiaoshuo Yuebao had made great contributions to promote the New Cultural Movement; at the same time, Mao Dun became the leading figure of the movement in the southern part of China.

As a literary man

Mao Dun first influence to the Chinese Literature was his reform of Xiaoshuo Yuebao. The magazine then became a place where "New Literature" circulated. Many famous writer, e.g. Lu Xun, Xu Dishan, Bing Xin, Ye Shengtao , had their works published through it. Mao Dun started to support "New Literature" and "New Thinking". He believed that Chinese Literature should have a place in the world.

The experience of political conflict broadened his horizon in literature, and therefore the theme of his later writing was mostly based on this. He then helped to found the League of Left-Wing Writers in 1930. His most famous and important novel, Ziye (Midnight), was published in 1933. It is a naturalistic novel exploring the commercial world of Shanghai in detail. In addition, his fiction offered a sympathetic portrayal of working-class life and praise of revolution. When the People's Republic of China was established by the Communist Party of China in 1949, Mao Dun became the Minister of Culture. Mao Dun was dismissed and cruelly treated in the Cultural Revolution. After the Cultural Revolution, he became an editor of a children's magazine, and died in 1981. His influence in Chinese literature continues to the present day because he used his savings to set up a fund called the Mao Dun Literature Scholarship to promote a atmosphere of writing fiction.

Publications

Short Stories

《野薔薇》(1929)
《煙雲集》(1937)

Long-short Stories

《幻滅》(1928)
《三人行》(1931)

Novels

《虹》(1930)
《子夜》(1933)

Theories

《茅盾近作》(1980)
《茅盾論創作》(1980)

Essays

《蘇聯見聞錄》(1948)
《雜談蘇聯》(1949)

Others

《茅盾全集》(vol. 1-15, 1984-1987)
《茅盾書簡》(1st edition, collection of letters, 1984) later changed the name into《茅盾書信集》(1988)