Wu Han (PRC)
Encyclopedia
Wu Han was one of the most important historians in the development of modern historical scholarship in China with his work in the 1930s and 1940s. In the 1940s he was a leading member of the Democratic League, a non-aligned Third Force. After 1949, he was Deputy-Mayor of Peking. In November 1965, at the start of the Cultural Revolution
, he came under severe attack for his play about an upright Ming dynasty official. He died in prison in 1969.
, Jinhua
, Zhejiang
in 1909. With support from the Wu clan organization and with the money from selling his mother's jewelry, he attended university preparatory schools in Hangzhou
and then in Shanghai, where he was inspired by the lectures of Hu Shi. He entered Tsinghua University
in 1931 and came under the influence of Tsiang Tingfu
. Since he was responsible for the support of his brother and sister, he was unable to go abroad for study. Wu stayed at Tsinghua as a teaching assistant but began to publish important articles on Ming dynasty history using critical techniques to resolve old controversies and raise new questions.
in Kunming
. While there, he wrote a full scale biography of the founder of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, published in 1943, expanded and revised in 1947. He became a leading intellectual in the democratic movement of the 1940s, as well as a widely published essayist. Through his part in the China Democratic League
he was enlisted in the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. When the new United Front
was founded, as a member of the Democratic League, Wu was asked to take the position of Vice Mayor of Beijing in charge of education and cultural affairs for the 6 county municipal area that became a model for municipalities across the PRC. In the 1950s, Wu represented China abroad on cultural tours and popularized his research at home, using figures from history as models and allegorical figures. He became a member of the Chinese Communist Party secretly in the mid-50's; this was not known by his colleagues or by Party members except at the very highest level. It was only revealed in the Cultural Revolution by the Red Guard accusations after they found his files.
, a Ming dynasty official. In 1960 Wu's Beijing opera
, Hai Rui Dismissed from Office
became a great success. In November 1965 Yao Wenyuan
, later one of the Gang of Four
, fired one of the opening shots of the Cultural Revolution
when he attacked Wu and his play on the grounds that Hai Rui was metaphorically equated with Peng Dehuai
, and therefore Mao himself with the un-approachable Ming emperor. Wu admitted ideological mistakes but denied that his motives were counter-revolutionary.
Over the next months the controversy grew, and Wu was finally jailed. Although there were reports that Wu Han committed suicide while in prison in 1969, fellow prisoners later reported that he was beaten in prison about a year before he died. It is also thought his tuberculosis may have recurred so it cannot be established how he died.
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, he came under severe attack for his play about an upright Ming dynasty official. He died in prison in 1969.
Early life and education
Wu Han was born in YiwuYiwu
Yiwu is a city of about 1.2 million people in central Zhejiang Province near the central eastern coast of the People's Republic of China. The city is famous for its small commodity trade and vibrant free markets and is a regional tourist destination...
, Jinhua
Jinhua
Jinhua is a prefecture-level city in central Zhejiang province of Eastern China. It borders the provincial capital of Hangzhou to the northwest, Quzhou to the southwest, Lishui to the south, Taizhou to the east, and Shaoxing to the northeast....
, 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...
in 1909. With support from the Wu clan organization and with the money from selling his mother's jewelry, he attended university preparatory schools in Hangzhou
Hangzhou
Hangzhou , formerly transliterated as Hangchow, is the capital and largest city of Zhejiang Province in Eastern China. Governed as a sub-provincial city, and as of 2010, its entire administrative division or prefecture had a registered population of 8.7 million people...
and then in Shanghai, where he was inspired by the lectures of Hu Shi. He entered Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University
Tsinghua University , colloquially known in Chinese as Qinghua, is a university in Beijing, China. The school is one of the nine universities of the C9 League. It was established in 1911 under the name "Tsinghua Xuetang" or "Tsinghua College" and was renamed the "Tsinghua School" one year later...
in 1931 and came under the influence of Tsiang Tingfu
Tsiang Tingfu
Tsiang Tingfu was a Chinese historian and diplomat. Tsiang was born in Shaoyang in Hunan province. In 1911, he was sent to study in the United States, where he attended the Park Academy, Oberlin College and Columbia University. After obtaining a Ph.D...
. Since he was responsible for the support of his brother and sister, he was unable to go abroad for study. Wu stayed at Tsinghua as a teaching assistant but began to publish important articles on Ming dynasty history using critical techniques to resolve old controversies and raise new questions.
1937 - 1953
When the war with Japan broke out in 1937, Wu joined National Southwestern Associated UniversityNational Southwestern Associated University
When the Second Sino-Japanese War broke out between China and Japan in 1937, Peking University, Tsinghua University and Nankai University, merged to form Changsha Temporary University in Changsha, and later National Southwestern Associated University in Kunming...
in Kunming
Kunming
' is the capital and largest city of Yunnan Province in Southwest China. It was known as Yunnan-Fou until the 1920s. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, communications and cultural centre of Yunnan, and is the seat of the provincial government...
. While there, he wrote a full scale biography of the founder of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang, published in 1943, expanded and revised in 1947. He became a leading intellectual in the democratic movement of the 1940s, as well as a widely published essayist. Through his part in the China Democratic League
China Democratic League
The China Democratic League is one of the eight legally recognised political parties in the People's Republic of China.The party was established in 1939 and took its present name in 1944. At its formation, it was a coalition of three pro-democracy parties and three pressure groups...
he was enlisted in the founding of the People's Republic in 1949. When the new United Front
United front
The united front is a form of struggle that may be pursued by revolutionaries. The basic theory of the united front tactic was first developed by the Comintern, an international communist organisation created by revolutionaries in the wake of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution.According to the theses of...
was founded, as a member of the Democratic League, Wu was asked to take the position of Vice Mayor of Beijing in charge of education and cultural affairs for the 6 county municipal area that became a model for municipalities across the PRC. In the 1950s, Wu represented China abroad on cultural tours and popularized his research at home, using figures from history as models and allegorical figures. He became a member of the Chinese Communist Party secretly in the mid-50's; this was not known by his colleagues or by Party members except at the very highest level. It was only revealed in the Cultural Revolution by the Red Guard accusations after they found his files.
Later years
Wu wrote a series of articles and a play originally published in 1951 and revised many times, on the life of Hai RuiHai Rui
Hai Rui was a famous Chinese official of the Ming Dynasty. His name has come down in history as a model of honesty and integrity in office and he reemerged as an important historical character during the Cultural Revolution.-Biography:Hai Rui, whose great-grandfather married an Arab and...
, a Ming dynasty official. In 1960 Wu's Beijing opera
Beijing opera
Peking opera or Beijing opera is a form of traditional Chinese theatre which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in the late 18th century and became fully developed and recognized by the mid-19th century. The form was extremely popular in the Qing Dynasty court...
, Hai Rui Dismissed from Office
Hai Rui Dismissed from Office
Hai Rui Dismissed from Office is a theatre play notable for its involvement in Chinese politics during the Cultural Revolution.Wu Han, who wrote the play, was a historian who focused on the Ming Dynasty. Wu Han wrote an article portraying Hai Rui, a Ming minister who was imprisoned for criticizing...
became a great success. In November 1965 Yao Wenyuan
Yao Wenyuan
Yao Wenyuan was a Chinese literary critic, a politician, and a member of the "Gang of Four" during China's Cultural Revolution.-Biography:...
, later one of the Gang of Four
Gang of Four
The Gang of Four was the name given to a political faction composed of four Chinese Communist Party officials. They came to prominence during the Cultural Revolution and were subsequently charged with a series of treasonous crimes...
, fired one of the opening shots of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
when he attacked Wu and his play on the grounds that Hai Rui was metaphorically equated with Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai
Peng Dehuai was a prominent military leader of the Communist Party of China, and China's Defence Minister from 1954 to 1959. Peng was an important commander during the Second Sino-Japanese War, the Chinese civil war and was also the commander-in-chief of People's Volunteer Army in the Korean War...
, and therefore Mao himself with the un-approachable Ming emperor. Wu admitted ideological mistakes but denied that his motives were counter-revolutionary.
Over the next months the controversy grew, and Wu was finally jailed. Although there were reports that Wu Han committed suicide while in prison in 1969, fellow prisoners later reported that he was beaten in prison about a year before he died. It is also thought his tuberculosis may have recurred so it cannot be established how he died.
Sources
- Mary G. Mazur. Wu Han, Historian: Son of China's Times. Lanham: Lexington Books, 2009. ISBN 9780739124567. Review, Diana Lin, H-Asia (May 2010) http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.php?id=23807
- Mary G. Mazur, "Intellectual Activism in China During the 1940s: Wu Han in the United Front and the Democratic League," The China Quarterly 133 (1993): 27-55.
- “Wu Han,” Howard L. Boorman, Richard C. Howard, eds. Biographical Dictionary of Republican China Vol 3 (New York,: Columbia University Press, 1970): 425-430.
- Safire's Political Dictionary, William Safire, 1978, Random House. "Cultural Revolution," pp. 153-4.