Mu Shiying
Encyclopedia
Mu Shiying (March 14, 1912 – June 28, 1940) was a Chinese writer who is now best known for his modernist short stories. He was active in Shanghai
in the 1930s where he contributed to journals like Les Contemporains (Xiàndài 現代, 1932 - 1935), edited by Shi Zhecun
.
He was born in Cixi
, Ningbo
, Zhejiang
and studied Chinese literature at Shanghai Guanghua University (上海光華大學). In 1930, he submitted a short story, "Our World" (Zánmen de shìjiè 咱們的世界) to La Nouvelle Littérature (Xīn wényì 新文藝, 1929 – 1930), a journal which was edited by Shi Zhecun
, Liu Na’ou 劉吶鷗, Dai Wangshu
, and Xu Xiacun 徐霞村. The work was praised by the editors and Mu Shiying became a protégé of Shi Zhecun.
Mu Shiying moved to Hong Kong
in 1938 after the Japanese occupation, but he returned to Shanghai at the invitation of Liu Na'ou who was working with the Japanese. Mu Shiying was seen as a Japanese collaborator and was assassinated by a Nationalist assassin in 1940. However according to Prof David Der-Wang of Harvard University, Mu's family later came forward with evidence of his underground Marxist work, and his role as a Nationalist double-agent.
Mu Shiying had a dandyish image which was reinforced by his writings - often set in the dance halls of Shanghai. His most famous short stories are highly modernist
pieces that attempt to convey the fragmented and inhuman nature of modern life in the metropolis. They experiment with expressionistic
narrative techniques that break with a standard textual flow by juxtaposing disconnected visual images. His most famous short story, "Five in a Nightclub" (Yezonghui li de wu ge ren 夜總會裏的五個人) is a tableau of the miseries faced by modern urban residents, as five individuals converge on a nightclub, each with their own problems.
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
in the 1930s where he contributed to journals like Les Contemporains (Xiàndài 現代, 1932 - 1935), edited by Shi Zhecun
Shi Zhecun
Shi Zhecun was a Chinese author and journal editor in Shanghai during the 1930s. He also wrote poetry and essays, but is now most known for his modernist short stories exploring the psychological conditions of Shanghai urbanites...
.
He was born in Cixi
Cixi City
Cixi is a city within the sub-provincial city of Ningbo located in China's Zhejiang province.- History :The city was captured by British forces in the Battle of Tsekee on 15 March 1842 during the First Opium War...
, Ningbo
Ningbo
Ningbo is a seaport city of northeastern Zhejiang province, Eastern China. Holding sub-provincial administrative status, the municipality has a population of 7,605,700 inhabitants at the 2010 census whom 3,089,180 in the built up area made of 6 urban districts. It lies south of the Hangzhou Bay,...
, Zhejiang
Zhejiang
Zhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
and studied Chinese literature at Shanghai Guanghua University (上海光華大學). In 1930, he submitted a short story, "Our World" (Zánmen de shìjiè 咱們的世界) to La Nouvelle Littérature (Xīn wényì 新文藝, 1929 – 1930), a journal which was edited by Shi Zhecun
Shi Zhecun
Shi Zhecun was a Chinese author and journal editor in Shanghai during the 1930s. He also wrote poetry and essays, but is now most known for his modernist short stories exploring the psychological conditions of Shanghai urbanites...
, Liu Na’ou 劉吶鷗, Dai Wangshu
Dai Wangshu
Dai Wangshu was a Chinese poet, essayist and translator active from the late 1920s to the end of the 1940s...
, and Xu Xiacun 徐霞村. The work was praised by the editors and Mu Shiying became a protégé of Shi Zhecun.
Mu Shiying moved to Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
in 1938 after the Japanese occupation, but he returned to Shanghai at the invitation of Liu Na'ou who was working with the Japanese. Mu Shiying was seen as a Japanese collaborator and was assassinated by a Nationalist assassin in 1940. However according to Prof David Der-Wang of Harvard University, Mu's family later came forward with evidence of his underground Marxist work, and his role as a Nationalist double-agent.
Mu Shiying had a dandyish image which was reinforced by his writings - often set in the dance halls of Shanghai. His most famous short stories are highly modernist
Modernism
Modernism, in its broadest definition, is modern thought, character, or practice. More specifically, the term describes the modernist movement, its set of cultural tendencies and array of associated cultural movements, originally arising from wide-scale and far-reaching changes to Western society...
pieces that attempt to convey the fragmented and inhuman nature of modern life in the metropolis. They experiment with expressionistic
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
narrative techniques that break with a standard textual flow by juxtaposing disconnected visual images. His most famous short story, "Five in a Nightclub" (Yezonghui li de wu ge ren 夜總會裏的五個人) is a tableau of the miseries faced by modern urban residents, as five individuals converge on a nightclub, each with their own problems.