Cong Weixi
Encyclopedia
Cong Weixi (born April 7, 1933) is a noted contemporary Chinese author and founder of the "daqiang wenxue" (literally, "high wall literature") movement that reflected and brooded on the experiences of those in imprisoned the laogai, or reeducation through labor, system. Highly influential in the post-Mao Zedong
literary scene, his works exerted a substantial influence on those of later Chinese authors. He was also director of the Writers Publishing House
.
county, Hebei
province, China
. His father was the son of a local landlord; he, along with two of his brothers, all attended college, a rare feat in pre-1949 China. When Weixi was born, his father was working in Chongqing
as an aerospace engineer. However, when the young Weixi was merely 4 years old, his father was imprisoned by the Kuomintang
for expressing pro-Communist sentiments, and died in prison to tuberculosis
.
Throughout elementary and middle school, Weixi immersed himself in literature. By the time he was 17, he enrolled in the Beijing Normal School, and began publishing works.
anti-Rightist Campaign, along with three other young writers. They were known as the "Four Black Swans" (四只黑天鹅) from the ballet Swan Lake.
He was inducted into the "Who's Who" list in 1988.
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong, also transliterated as Mao Tse-tung , and commonly referred to as Chairman Mao , was a Chinese Communist revolutionary, guerrilla warfare strategist, Marxist political philosopher, and leader of the Chinese Revolution...
literary scene, his works exerted a substantial influence on those of later Chinese authors. He was also director of the Writers Publishing House
Writers Publishing House
The Writers Publishing House is a large-scale publishing house in mainland China. It was established in 1953, and was attached to the Chinese Publishing Association . It publishes mostly contemporary literature, and has published several bestselling novels...
.
Early life
Cong Weixi was born on April 7, 1933 in the town of Daiguantun, in what is today YutianYutian
Yutian may refer to* Yutian County, Hebei - a county in Hebei, China* Yutian County, Xinjiang - a county in Xinjiang, China* or may be a typing error for Yuxi in China...
county, Hebei
Hebei
' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...
province, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. His father was the son of a local landlord; he, along with two of his brothers, all attended college, a rare feat in pre-1949 China. When Weixi was born, his father was working in Chongqing
Chongqing
Chongqing is a major city in Southwest China and one of the five national central cities of China. Administratively, it is one of the PRC's four direct-controlled municipalities , and the only such municipality in inland China.The municipality was created on 14 March 1997, succeeding the...
as an aerospace engineer. However, when the young Weixi was merely 4 years old, his father was imprisoned by the Kuomintang
Kuomintang
The Kuomintang of China , sometimes romanized as Guomindang via the Pinyin transcription system or GMD for short, and translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party is a founding and ruling political party of the Republic of China . Its guiding ideology is the Three Principles of the People, espoused...
for expressing pro-Communist sentiments, and died in prison to tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
.
Throughout elementary and middle school, Weixi immersed himself in literature. By the time he was 17, he enrolled in the Beijing Normal School, and began publishing works.
Pre-laogai career
Weixi became a teacher and then a journalist. He published two novellas and one novel (七月雨, or The Rains of July) that earned him quite a bit of fame and money. In 1957, one month after his son was born, however, Weixi was branded as a “rightist" in the post-Hundred FlowersHundred Flowers Campaign
The Hundred Flowers Campaign, also termed the Hundred Flowers Movement, refers mainly to a brief six weeks in the People's Republic of China in the early summer of 1957 during which the Communist Party of China encouraged a variety of views and solutions to national policy issues, launched...
anti-Rightist Campaign, along with three other young writers. They were known as the "Four Black Swans" (四只黑天鹅) from the ballet Swan Lake.
Post-laogai career
Weixi was released in 1979 and resumed literary work, publishing the novel The Blood-Stained Magnolia beneath the Wall (大墙下的红玉兰), fathering what became "大墙文学", literally "High Wall Literature", which reflected on the traumas suffered by political prisoners in laogai (reeducation through labor) camps during the anti-Rightist Campaign and Cultural Revolution. By 1984, as his shorter works began to win numerous awards and a steady income, Weixi was able to focus on longer works. His first, 北国草 , which chronicled his life from 1949 onwards. After this, he completed three more novels: 裸雪 (Barren Snow), 酒魂西行 (The Westward Journey of a Drunken Spirit), and 逃犯 (Escapee), in addition to numerous shorter works and essays, such as 远去的白帆 (The White Sail). His works were collected into an anthology in 1995. In 1998, he completed A Walk Unto Chaos to much acclaim. His works have been translated into English, French, German, Japanese, Korean, and Slavic.He was inducted into the "Who's Who" list in 1988.