Zheng Zhenduo

Zheng Zhenduo

Zheng Zhenduo (December 19, 1898 - October 17, 1958) was born in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, and was born in Changle, Fujian Province. Chinese modern outstanding patriots and social activists, writers, poets, scholars, literary critics, literary historians, translators, art historians, as well as famous collectors and exegesists.

In 1919, he took part in the May 4th Movement and began to publish his works. In 1932, his illustrated history of Chinese literature was published. In 1949, he served as Minister of Welfare Department of all China Federation of literary and art circles, Minister of research of all China Association for literary and art circles, leader of culture and education of the CPPCC, director of cultural relics department of the central Ministry of culture, deputy director of folk literature research office, director of Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and vice minister of culture department. Member of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference, member of the whole committee and presidium of the all China Federation of literary and art circles, member of the Standing Committee of the all China Association for literary and art circles, and director of the Chinese Writers Association. He joined the Chinese Writers Association in 1952. In 1957, he compiled and published three volumes of Chinese literature research.

On October 17, 1958, he died in a plane crash. He was 60 years old.

Life of the characters

Zheng Zhenduo was born on December 19, 1898 in Yongjia County, Zhejiang Province (now Chengliang bridge in Wenzhou City). He studied in Guangchang Road Primary School, Wener middle school and Wenzhou Middle School.

In 1917, he studied in Beijing Railway Management Institute (now Beijing Jiaotong University).

In 1919, he took part in the May 4th Movement and began to publish his works.

In 1920, he initiated the establishment of literature research association with Shen Yanbing and others, and founded literary weekly and novel monthly. He was once the chief editor of novel monthly, Shanghai Commercial Press, Shanghai University teacher and axiom daily.

In 1927, he lived in Britain and France. After returning to China, he successively served as professor of Beijing Yanjing University, Tsinghua University and Shanghai Jinan University, and chief editor of world library. In February, Zheng Zhenduo, ye Shaojun and Hu Yuzhi initiated the establishment of "Shanghai Writers' Association", which actively participated in the revolutionary activities before and after the third armed uprising of Shanghai workers. After the "April 12" coup, he and Hu Yuzhi wrote to the Kuomintang authorities to strongly protest against the massacre of the revolutionary masses, for which he was nearly arrested. In May, he took a boat to Europe for refuge and study. In the libraries of France, Britain and other countries, he read books about ancient Chinese novels, operas, Bianwen, etc., studied Greek and Roman literature, translated monographs such as an introduction to folklore, a brief introduction to folklore, and the excavation history of ancient tombs in the past 100 years, and wrote most of the works in the collection of short stories family stories.

In the autumn of 1931, he went to Beiping to be a professor in the Chinese Department of Yanjing University and Tsinghua University.

In 1932, his illustrated history of Chinese literature was published. This book is rich in pictures and texts, rich in historical materials and broad vision, which fully affirmed the position of folk literature in the history of literature.

In 1934, he published the anthology of Chinese literature, rickets and other essays, as well as the novel collection of arrest of the Kindler, which extols the realistic revolutionary struggle with the theme of Greek mythology.

In the spring of 1935, Zheng Zhenduo came to Shanghai to serve as the dean and head of the Chinese Department of Jinan University.

In 1937, he participated in the National Salvation Association of cultural circles, organized the restoration society with Hu Yuzhi and others, published the complete works of Lu Xun and edited democracy weekly.

After 1949, he successively served as Minister of Welfare Department of all China Federation of literary and art circles, Minister of research of all China Association for literary and art circles, leader of culture and education of CPPCC, director of cultural relics department of central Ministry of culture, deputy director of folk literature research office, director of Institute of Archaeology of Chinese Academy of Sciences, and vice minister of culture department. Member of the National Committee of the Chinese people's Political Consultative Conference, member of the whole committee and presidium of the all China Federation of literary and art circles, member of the Standing Committee of the all China Association for literary and art circles, and director of the Chinese Writers Association.

In February 1949, Zheng Zhenduo entered the liberated area by way of Hong Kong. In July, he participated in the first National Congress of literary and artistic workers and was elected as a standing member of the Federation of literary and artistic circles of China and the association of literary and artistic workers of China (later renamed as the writers' Association).

He joined the Chinese Writers Association in 1952.

On February 22, 1953, he was the first director of the Institute of Chinese literature, the first professional literary research institution established after the founding of the people's Republic of China.

In 1955, he was elected member (academician) of the academic department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

In 1957, he compiled and published three volumes of studies of Chinese literature, which basically included all the fields and special topics he had involved in the study of Chinese literature before the founding of the people's Republic of China, reflecting his achievements in these aspects.

On October 17, 1958, he led a Chinese cultural delegation on a trip abroad and died in a plane crash. He was only 60 years old.

Anecdotes of characters

Zheng Zhenduo's first love didn't go well. At that time, he was studying in Beijing. His Fujian classmates in Beijing organized the Anti Japanese Federation and often met. Naturally, he will arrive at every meeting, and when he arrives, he will give an impassioned speech. At that time, Beijing Women's Normal University, the National Women's higher education institution, had three of the "four CHILDES" of the women's higher education institutions who claimed to be the "four CHILDES" of the Warring States period. One of them, Wang Shiying, was born in a rich family. Her father was in charge of the Ministry of education at that time. A young lady like her also took part in patriotic activities and served as the chairman of the student autonomy Association. She was very beautiful. In the patriotic student movement, Zheng Zhenduo liked her very much. I don't know when he started. He felt as if he couldn't settle down as long as he didn't see Wang Shiying for a few days. Sometimes, he happened to have something to do with the student movement, so he broke into the Red Chamber of the women's normal university. At that time, because of the impact of the May 4th movement, the authorities of the women's normal university had been forced to relax the guard system, which used to be like a prison guard. Unfortunately, due to Wang Shiying's hesitation and her parents' opposition, Zheng Zhenduo was in helpless pain for a long time.

Character contribution

Zheng Zhenduo made many outstanding contributions to the cultural and academic cause of China. In terms of literary theory, he was one of the important advocates of "for life" literature in the early stage of literary revolution. In June 1921, he further put forward the slogan of "literature with blood and tears" (literature with blood and tears), and asked progressive writers to create "red works with blood and tears" (our miscellany). From then on, he insisted on the revolutionary realism literary theory all his life, emphasized the function of literature in the social reform, and advocated literature to serve the people. In the aspect of literature research, he advocated and engaged in the comprehensive comparative study of Chinese and foreign ancient and modern literature in the early 1920s. He put forward and started to sort out and study the history of Chinese literature with new ideas and methods, especially paid attention to the collection and research of folk literature, novels and operas, and made a lot of pioneering work.

He has made great contributions to the cause of Chinese cultural relics in the aspects of donation and rescue of cultural relics. After the founding of new China, Zheng Zhenduo was appointed director of the Bureau of cultural relics of the Ministry of culture of the Central People's government and director of the Institute of Archaeology and the Institute of literature of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. Shortly after taking office, he donated nearly 700 pieces of pottery figurines from Han, Wei, Sui, Tang and Song Dynasties to the National Palace Museum. In 1954, he was appointed Vice Minister of culture, still in charge of the cause of culture and Museum. On October 17, 1958, he was ordered to lead a Chinese cultural delegation to visit abroad and died in a plane explosion. After his death, his family, in accordance with his will, donated all his nearly 100000 precious books to the state and set up a special collection in Beijing Library.

Main works

monograph

Reference sources:

novel

Translated works

Reference sources:

Character evaluation

Zheng Zhenduo's life is a pure and noble life, a life of hard struggle, a life of making friends with books, a life of loving what he loves and hating what he hates. We should be the best model of his noble character. (Sina online review)

All his life, Zheng Zhenduo insisted on the revolutionary realism literary theory, emphasized the function of literature in the social reform, and advocated that literature serve the people. In the aspect of literature research, he advocated and engaged in the comprehensive comparative study of Chinese and foreign ancient and modern literature in the early 1920s. He put forward and started to sort out and study the history of Chinese literature with new ideas and methods, especially paid attention to the collection and research of folk literature, novels and operas, and made a lot of pioneering work. (Xinhua Online Review)

Chinese PinYin : Zheng Zhen Duo