Wang Shiwei
Encyclopedia
Wang Shiwei (March 12, 1906-July 1, 1947) was a Chinese
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...

 journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

 and literary writer. He became famous for his contribution to the Chinese history of modern revolution and to Chinese modern literature. Several controversial articles were written by him in the 20th century, for which he was persecuted and finally executed in 1947.

Family

Wang Shiwei, originally named Wang Sidao (Chinese: 王思禱), was born in Guangzhou (光州,now Huangchuan County
Huangchuan County
Huangchuan County is a county of southeastern Henan province, People's Republic of China. It is in the centre of Xinyang City, bordering Gushi County to the east, Guangshan County to the west, Shangcheng County to the south, and both Xi and Huaibin Counties to the north.-Origin and early...

潢川) in Henan
Henan
Henan , is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the central part of the country. Its one-character abbreviation is "豫" , named after Yuzhou , a Han Dynasty state that included parts of Henan...

 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...

 on March 12, 1906. His courtesy name ("zi
Chinese style name
A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect...

" 字) was "Shuhan" (叔翰). His father was a scholar who worked as a teacher in a local school. Wang was the third eldest child in a family of eight brothers and sisters. His father's income as a teacher was not sufficient to sustain the large family.

Education

Wang received his initial education in Chinese classics from his father, which began the development of his knowledge of Chinese literature
Chinese literature
Chinese literature extends thousands of years, from the earliest recorded dynastic court archives to the mature fictional novels that arose during the Ming Dynasty to entertain the masses of literate Chinese...

. In 1914, he entered Huangchuan Second Higher Primary school (潢川第二高等小學) for primary three education. Later, he went to Henan Seventh Secondary School located in Huangchuan (now Huangchuan 2nd Middle School 潢川第二中學). He eventually left his hometown and entered the Fundamental School of Europe. He was forced to leave this school a year later, as his family could no longer afford the costly fees. Determined to further his studies, he worked in a post office to save money; at the age of 17, he joined the American Exchange Studies program in Henan Province.

In 1925, Wang got a chance to study Arts at Peking University
Peking University
Peking University , colloquially known in Chinese as Beida , is a major research university located in Beijing, China, and a member of the C9 League. It is the first established modern national university of China. It was founded as Imperial University of Peking in 1898 as a replacement of the...

. There he actively participated in the University's student campaigns. However, he was once again forced to quit in 1927, but was again able to start studying during the late 1920s and early 1930s, this time at the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

.

Involvement in politics

Wang was an active participant in political activity. In 1919, Wang and his fellow classmates joined the May Fourth Movement
May Fourth Movement
The May Fourth Movement was an anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement growing out of student demonstrations in Beijing on May 4, 1919, protesting the Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles, especially the Shandong Problem...

 demonstrations in support of Beijing students. Entering Beijing University in 1925, he participated in student politics and joined the Communist Party of China
Communist Party of China
The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

 in 1926. Leaving a year later, for the criticism of his love affair with Li Fan (李芬), who was also a communist member. However, he rejoined the party when Mao Zedong
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...

 (毛澤東) became the chairman. During his studies in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, Wang formed the Twenty-Eight Bolsheviks
28 Bolsheviks
The 28 Bolsheviks were a group of Chinese students who studied at the Moscow Sun Yat-sen University from the late 1920s until early 1935, also known as the "Returned Students". The university was founded in 1925 as a result of Kuomintang's founder Sun Yat-Sen's policy of alliance with the Soviet...

 together with other Chinese students such as Wang Ming
Wang Ming
Wang Ming was a senior leader of the early Chinese Communist Party and the mastermind of the famous 28 Bolsheviks group. Wang was also a major political rival of Mao Zedong during the 1930s, opposing Mao's nationalist deviation from the Comintern and orthodox Marxism and Leninism lines...

 (王明) and Ding Ling
Ding Ling
Dīng Líng was the pseudonym of Jiǎng Bīngzhī , also known as Bīn Zhǐ , a Chinese woman author from Linli in Hunan province. She was awarded the Soviet Union's Stalin second prize for Literature in 1951....

 (丁玲).

Execution

By 1942, Wang was working for the Liberation Daily (解放日報) where he wrote the essay "Wild Lilies" (野百合花), criticizing Mao Zedong's taste for beautiful women, as well as what he called the unjustified privileges enjoyed by members of the Communist Party. It discussed the "ugliness and indifference" of Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....

; also criticizing some "big men" in the CCP whom Wang thought were responsible for the "growth of darkness" in China.

The article caused him many woes. On 27 May 1942, the Central Committee
Central Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...

 held a seminar to discuss whether Wang was guilty. On 23 October, under the orders of Mao, Wang was expelled from the Communist Party on the charge that he was one of the "Five Member Anti-Party Gang" of Trotskyites
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...

 (托派份子) who were alleged to have sought to take over the Chinese Communist Party, and that he was disrupting party unity.

Wang's defence was that he was not involved in any Trotskyist activities, except for helping his friends Wang Wen-yuan (王文元) and Chen Qing-chen (陳清晨) to translate two prose pieces in "Autobiography of Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....

" (《托洛茨基自傳》), activities which he had already informed the Party.

Wang's "trial," which took the form of a series of struggle session
Struggle Session
A struggle session was a form of public humiliation used by the Communist Party of China to enforce a reign of terror in the Mao Zedong era to shape public opinion and to humiliate, persecute, and/or execute political rivals, so-called class enemies...

s, ended in June 1942 with Wang being found guilty and put under arrest.

Five years later, with Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....

 under 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...

 attack and the Communists in retreat, Mao decided Wang should die. On 1 July 1947, on the direct orders of Mao which were confirmed by the Social Section of the Communist Party in Shanxi
Shanxi
' is a province in Northern China. Its one-character abbreviation is "晋" , after the state of Jin that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....

-Suiyuan (晉綏), Wang was reportedly chopped to pieces and his remains were thrown down a dry well.

Dai Qing's seminal work in exhuming the case of the writer Wang Shiwei brings into focus perhaps the single most important case for gauging repressive dimensions of the movement.

Wang as writer

Wang began writing at the age of 19, when he was studying at Beijing University. He took the pen name of "Shiwei" (實味), and his talent was greatly appreciated by Xu Zhimo
Xu Zhimo
Xu Zhimo was an early 20th century Chinese poet. He was given the name of Zhangxu and the courtesy name of Yousen . He later changed his courtesy name to Zhimo ....

 (徐志摩), a contemporary Chinese poet. Xu often ran Wang's writings in the Features section of the Morning Post when he was editor-in-chief.

From 1930 onwards he started to other pen names, still pronounce "Shiwei" but using different characters (詩薇 and 石巍). His novella Xiuxi (休息, meaning "rest"), talked about how young people should fight against the darkness of a country, and was published in Xu Zhimo
Xu Zhimo
Xu Zhimo was an early 20th century Chinese poet. He was given the name of Zhangxu and the courtesy name of Yousen . He later changed his courtesy name to Zhimo ....

's "New Literary Collection" in 1930. His work outlined an "ideal society" where equality of opportunity was emphasized; he also incorporated some Marxist thought.

Contribution to literature

Wang's works allowed readers, particularly those of Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....

, gain a better understanding of issues like the relationship between politics and literature. Partly as a reaction against the Chinese literature that focused too much on the rules of the Party in the 1940s, Wang's work alerted some to the fact that the education on the rules of the Communist Party were not practical. He was the first writer in Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....

 who gave a theoretical reflection on reality in his works; in his "Wild Lilies", for example, the bureaucracy and hierarchy of Yan'an
Yan'an
Yan'an , is a prefecture-level city in the Shanbei region of Shaanxi province in China, administering several counties, including Zhidan County , which served as the Chinese communist capital before the city of Yan'an proper took that role....

 were described in vivid detail.

Apart from that, literature in that period emphasized on the skills of writing. There was little concern about the reality. Western literatures were very much appreciated. However, because of the successful and interesting reflection of reality in Wang's works, people started to appreciate Chinese literature. Many Chinese writers also began to write more about the reality, examining on the local arts and the Marxist ideas.

Wang's eagerness to voice out the inequalies and his critical mind attributed his success as one of the most representative writers in the period. He also stimulated other writers to think about what they should write about from that onwards.

Famous publications

Most of Wang’s literary works were published in the late 20th century. His style of writing was described as "having the energy and power to enrich the humanity" (有著蓬勃人性之熱與力).

His works reflected his sincerity and love towards his home country and native homeland. He felt sorry for the suppressed weak people in the society. He always hoped that he would change the society through revolution. That is why his works were full of criticism.

"Wild Lilies"

Wang attempted to demonstrate two basic elements of journalism in "Wild Lilies."

The first was that "its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience." An example used to illustrate this is how one day Wang overheard two girls criticizing the apparently inconsiderate behavior of senior leaders towards the public. He later wrote that he was shocked after overhearing the dialogue, and took note of it, later referring to it to make known his concern about the state of the country. He was supposed to have "finally realized" what was lacking in everybody's life at that time, and attempted to dig further to what was behind the complaints.

The second was that "it must provide a forum for public criticism." Wang explained that his piece of work was called "Wild Lilies" because wild lilies had higher medical value than other lilies, and in this connection criticized unhealthy phenomena in society so remedies could be found. His work was also criticised by others, and from April to May 1942 "Wild Lilies" was attacked in the newspapers.

"Arrow and Target"

"Arrow and Target" (矢与的) was a wall poster newspaper series posted outside the southern gate of Yan'an City. Wang used the series to elaborate on the concept of journalism that "Its first loyalty is to citizens." Wang uses the spaces provided in the newspaper series to attack Luo Mai (羅邁)/Li Weihan
Li Weihan
Li Weihan was a Chinese Communist politician who was the first principal of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, the highest training center for party workers and leaders. Li served as principal from 1933 to 1935 and again from 1937 to 1938.-External links:*...

 (別名李维漢), the director of the Central research Institute. He told every citizen that injustices were present. This act certainly destroyed the image of the institute. Instead of defending the institute, which he was quite closely connected with, in his column, he alleged to tell the citizens things that they wanted to know, things that were beneficial to them. He is loyal to citizens more than the business owners and advertisers. Therefore, Wang's first loyalty was to citizens.

Articles

  • 文藝民族形式問题上的錯誤舆新偏向, 1941
  • 野百合花 (Ye Baihehua) / (Wild Lilies), 1942, People's Liberation Army Daily
  • 政治家·藝術家, 1942 (Zhengzhijia, Yishujia) / (Politicians, Artists), Journal of Yan'an's Literacy Resistance Association, Spring Rain (Gu Yu), Vol. 1:4
  • 零感两則, 1942, Arrow and Target
  • 我對羅邁(別名李维漢)同志在整風檢工動員大會上發言的批評, 1942, Arrow and Target
  • 答李宇超、梅洛兩同志, 1942, Arrow and Target

Novels

  • 楊五奶奶, 1926 (Yang Wu Nainai)
  • 毀滅的精神, 1926 (Huimie de Jingshen)
  • 陳老四的故事, 1929 (Chenlaoshi de Gushi)
  • 小長兒與罐頭荔枝, 1929 (Xiao Zhanger Yu Guantou Lizhi )
  • 休息, 1930 (Xiuxi)/(Rest)
  • 鬥爭日記, 1942 (Douzheng Riji)

Translated works

Wang translated many works, including those of Karl Marx and Eugene O'Neill.
  • The Heretic of Soana <<珊拿的邪教徒>> by Gerhart Hauptmann
    Gerhart Hauptmann
    Gerhart Hauptmann was a German dramatist and novelist who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1912.-Life and work:...

    , 1930
  • Sapho<<薩芙>> by Alphonse Daudet
    Alphonse Daudet
    Alphonse Daudet was a French novelist. He was the father of Léon Daudet and Lucien Daudet.- Early life :Alphonse Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the bourgeoisie. The father, Vincent Daudet, was a silk manufacturer — a man dogged through life by misfortune...

    , 1933
  • The Man of Property <<資產家>> by John Galsworthy
    John Galsworthy
    John Galsworthy OM was an English novelist and playwright. Notable works include The Forsyte Saga and its sequels, A Modern Comedy and End of the Chapter...

    , 1936
  • Strange interlude <<奇異的插曲>> by O'Neill Eugene, 1936
  • The Return of the Native
    The Return of the Native
    The Return of the Native is Thomas Hardy's sixth published novel. It first appeared in the magazine Belgravia, a publication known for its sensationalism, and was presented in twelve monthly installments from January to December 1878...

     <<還鄉記>> by Thomas Hardy
    Thomas Hardy
    Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...

    , 1937
  • Revolution and Counter-Revolution in Germany <<德國的革命與反革命>> by Friedrich Engels
    Friedrich Engels
    Friedrich Engels was a German industrialist, social scientist, author, political theorist, philosopher, and father of Marxist theory, alongside Karl Marx. In 1845 he published The Condition of the Working Class in England, based on personal observations and research...

    , 1937
  • Value, Price and Profit <<价格、价值和利潤>> by Karl Marx
    Karl Marx
    Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...

    , 1937
  • The Water Babies
    The Water Babies
    The Water Babies may refer to:* The Water-Babies, A Fairy Tale for a Land Baby, a novel published in 1863* The Water Babies , a 1978 animated film based on the novel* Water Babies , a 1976 album by Miles Davis...

     <<水孩子>> by Charles Kingsley
    Charles Kingsley
    Charles Kingsley was an English priest of the Church of England, university professor, historian and novelist, particularly associated with the West Country and northeast Hampshire.-Life and character:...


Timeline

  • 1906 March 12 - Born in huangchuan, Henan (潢川, 河南).
  • 1914 - Entered Primary 3 at Huangchuan Second Higher Elementary school (潢川第二高等小學)
  • 1920 - Studied at Henan Seventh Middle School, Huangchuan (河南省立第七中學堂,潢川)
  • 1923 - Admitted into Henan's Europe and America Preparatory School (河南省留學歐美預備學校) (Henan University predecessor), majored in English.
  • 1924 - Worked at the Henan Province Postal Service Administrative Bureau as a postal officer
  • 1925 - Admitted into Beijing University Literary Academy Preparatory course. Finished his short novel, Xiuxi (休息)
  • 1926
    • January - Joined the Communist Party of China
      Communist Party of China
      The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

      .
    • February 27 - Wrote a short novel, Yang wu nainai(楊五奶奶) published in "Chenbao Fukan" (晨報副刊)
    • July - Another publication, Hui mie de jing shen(毀滅的精神) in "The Modern Critics" (現代評論).
  • 1927 - Separated from the party organization because he was in love with a communist member, Li Fan (李芬). Then he went to places such as Nanjing
    Nanjing
    ' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...

     (南京), Shandong Tai'an (山東泰安), worked as a copy clerk and teacher.
  • 1929
    • January - Went to Shanghai, engaged in the translation of literary works. And he met his first wife, Liu ying (劉瑩). Wrote the novel "The Story of Chenlaosi" (陳老四的故事).
    • February - Another novel of his "The Little Tall Boy and Canned Lychee" (小長兒與罐頭荔枝) was published in "The Crescent" (新月).
  • 1930
    • January - Married Liuying.
    • April - His novel, Xiuxi (休息) and his first translation work "The Heretic of Soana"(珊拿的邪教徒) were published in Xu Zhimo
      Xu Zhimo
      Xu Zhimo was an early 20th century Chinese poet. He was given the name of Zhangxu and the courtesy name of Yousen . He later changed his courtesy name to Zhimo ....

      's (徐志摩) "New literary collection".
  • 1931 January - Daughter, Wang Chingfeng (王勁楓) was born.
  • 1933 - Translation work "Sapho" (薩芙) was published.
  • 1935 July - Son, Wang Hsufeng (王旭楓) was born. Returned to Henan Kaifeng (河南開封) and was an English teacher at Province Female Middle School (省立女子中學).
  • 1936 - Translation work "Strange interlude" (奇異的插曲) and "The Man of Property" (資產家) were published in "The World's Literary Collections" (世界文學全集)
  • 1937 - Rejoined the Communist Party of China
    Communist Party of China
    The Communist Party of China , also known as the Chinese Communist Party , is the founding and ruling political party of the People's Republic of China...

    . Translation work "The Return of the Native" (還鄉記) was published in "The World's Literary Collections".
  • 1938 October - Due to Changsha Siege(長沙淪陷), he lost contact with his wife who was in Xiang Xi (湘西)
  • 1939 - Married his second wife, Baoping (薄平)
  • 1941 August - Assigned as a special researcher at Central Research Institute (中央研究院)
  • 1942
    • March - Published his work, Ye bai he hua(野百合花) in People's Liberation Army Daily (解放日報) and Zheng zhi jia, Yi Shu jia (政治家·藝術家).
    • April - Mao Zedong
      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...

       criticized his work as anti-Communist. He was then asked to attend the Symposium about his "anti-Communist" work in "Yen'an" (延安).
    • October - He was expelled from the communist party.
  • 1943 April 1 - Kang Sheng
    Kang Sheng
    Kang Sheng , Communist Party of China official, oversaw the work of the People's Republic of China's security and intelligence apparatus at the height of the Cultural Revolution in the late 1960s. He was a close associate of Mao Zedong and remained at or near the pinnacle of power for decades...

    (康生) gave an order to arrest him. He was claimed as the "Counter-revolutionary anti-Communist spy"(反革命托派奸细分子), "Undercover agent of Kuomintang"(暗藏的國民黨特務) and "Five-people anti-party group"(五人反黨集團).
  • 1947 July 1 - Wang Shiwei was secretly executed. Died at the age of 41.

External links

  1. Biography of Wang Shiwei (楚漢狂人王實味)
  2. Biography of Wang Shiwei (說說王實味)
  3. Wang Shiwei and the Strange interlude (王實味與<<奇異的插曲>>)
  4. Wang Shiwei and Hu shi (王實味與胡適)
  5. The sacrifice of the early Rectification Movement period (王實味:前文革時代的祭品)
  6. Text of Wild Lilies article
  7. Articles on and by the Yenan Literary Opposition

Further reading

  • Burgh, Hugo de (2003) The Chinese Journalist: Meditating information in the world's most populous country, London: RoutledgeCurzon. ISBN 0-415-30573-X

  • Dai, Qing (1989) Liang Shuming, Wang Shiwei, Chu Anping <<梁漱溟, 王實味, 儲安平>> Nanjing: Jiangsu wen yi chu ban she (江蘇文藝出版社). ISBN 7-5399-0136-5

  • Dai, Qing (1941) Wang Shiwei and "Wild Lilies" / Wang Shi Wei yu "Yeh Pai Ho Hua" (王實味與野百合花). New York: M. E. Sharpe, Inc. ISBN 1-56324-256-7

  • Huang, Changyong (1998) Yan’an si guai <<廷安四怪>>Beijing: Zhongguo qing nian chu ban she (中國青年出版). ISBN 7-5006-2852-8

  • Wang, Shiwei (1992) Ye bai he hua <<野百合花>> Guangzhou shi: Hua cheng chu ban she (花城出版社). ISBN 7-5360-1309-4
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