Zheng Zhenduo
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Zheng Zhenduo (December 19, 1898 – October 17, 1958), Chinese courtesy name Xidì (西諦), was a 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...
, a modern writer, an archeologist and a literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
scholar. His pen name
Pen name
A pen name, nom de plume, or literary double, is a pseudonym adopted by an author. A pen name may be used to make the author's name more distinctive, to disguise his or her gender, to distance an author from some or all of his or her works, to protect the author from retribution for his or her...
s were Baofun (寶芬), Guo Yuanxin (郭源新) and CT.
He made a significant contribution towards the establishment of the Chinese literature and the editing of a variety of literary magazines. In 1921, he, Shen Yanbing (沈雁冰) and other classmates organized Wenxue Yanjiu Hui (Literary Study Society 文學研究會). In 1923, he became the chief editor of Xiaoshuo Yuebao (小說月報). In addition, he in succession participated in editing Min Chao (閩潮), Xin Shehui (新社會), Wenxue xunkan (文學旬刊). In late 1931, he was appointed to be the university professor of Yenching University
Yenching University
Yenching University was a university in Beijing, China. It integrated three Christian colleges in the city in 1919. Yenching is an alternative name of Beijing - derived from its status as capital of Yan state, one of the seven Warring States from 5th century BC to 3rd century BC.The university...
(燕京大學) and Fudan University
Fudan University
Fudan University , located in Shanghai, is one of the oldest and most selective universities in China, and is a member of the C9 League. Its institutional predecessor was founded in 1905, shortly before the end of China's imperial Qing dynasty...
(復旦大學), the president of Faculty of Arts and the director of Chinese department of Jinan University
Jinan University
Jinan University is a public research and comprehensive university based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. It is one of the oldest universities established on mainland China tracing back to the Qing Empire...
(暨南大學). He was also the chief editor of Shijie wenku (The World's Library 世界文庫) at the same time. During the (China's) War of Resistance against Japan (1937-1945), he retained in Shanghai
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...
to continue upholding the progress of cultural work. After the establishment of New China, he was assigned to be the chief of Historical Relic Organization (文物局), the head of the archaeology research institute of the Chinese Academy of Science and literary research institute, the assistant minister of cultural department, committee member of State Council
State Council of the People's Republic of China
The State Council of the People's Republic of China , which is largely synonymous with the Central People's Government after 1954, is the chief administrative authority of the People's Republic of China. It is chaired by the Premier and includes the heads of each governmental department and agency...
scientific program committee and Chinese Academy of Science philosophical social sciences, the vice-chairman of Chinese folk literature and art research council and etc. He died in a plane crash in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during his journey in 1958.
Biography
Zheng Zhenduo experienced much in his life, including working hard in his teenage years, experiencing success and satisfaction in his career, facing difficulties and recovering from them.Family
Zheng Zhenduo was born on 19 December 1898 in YongjiaWenzhou
Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. The area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100 as of 2010....
, 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...
. His ancestral home was in Changle
Changle
ChangLe is a county-level city of suburban Fuzhou located in east Fujian province, People's Republic of China. Administered by Fuzhou city. Changle occupies a land area of 648 square kilometers and a sea area of 1327 square kilometers. Changle was established in the sixth year of Emperor Wu-De ...
of the Fujian
Fujian
' , formerly romanised as Fukien or Huguing or Foukien, is a province on the southeast coast of mainland China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province. He was born in a poor family. Together with two younger sisters, he was raised by his mother because his father and grandfather died when he was still a teenager.
He was named "Zhenduo" (振鐸) by his grandfather. "Zhen" (振) denotes arousing an action and "Duo" (鐸) is a kind of big bell. His grandfather wanted him to ring like a great bell to summon and to arouse people. Besides, his grandfather gave him the childhood name "Mu Guan" (Wooden official 木官).
Schooling
In 1917, Zheng began studying at the Beijing Railway Management SchoolBeijing Jiaotong University
Beijing Jiaotong university is one of the oldest universities in Mainland China.-History:It is a component of Jiaotong University....
(北京铁路管理传习所)and graduated in March 1921. Beyond classroom, he read a lot of books and developed an enormous interest in social sciences, Chinese literature and Western literature and thus developed a critical mind. During 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...
, he was a student representative, spreading the news of student movements in Beijing. In 1919, he helped publish two magazines called Xin Shehui (新社會 "New Society") and Jiuguo jiangyan zhoukan (救國講演周報 "National Salvation Speeches Weekly").
In January 1921, Zheng Zhenduo and twelve others, including Mao Dun
Mao Dun
Mao Dun was the pen name of Shen Dehong , a 20th century Chinese novelist, cultural critic, and journalist. He was also the Minister of Culture of China from 1949 to 1965. He is currently renowned as one of the best realist novelists in the history of modern China...
and Ye Shengtao
Ye Shengtao
Ye Shengtao was a prominent author, educator and publisher. He was one of the founders of the Association for Literary Studies , the first literature association during the May Fourth Movement in China....
founded the earliest literary society of the New Literature Movement, Wenxue yanjiu hui (Literary Research Association 文學研究會, also known as the Literary Association), which advocated realism and opposed art for art's sake.
Careers throughout his life
Zheng had been a journalist, a modern writer, archeology and a literature scholar throughout his life.In May 1921, Zheng helped set up a drama society called Minzhong Xiju She (Demotic opera troupe 民眾戲劇社) with Mao Dun
Mao Dun
Mao Dun was the pen name of Shen Dehong , a 20th century Chinese novelist, cultural critic, and journalist. He was also the Minister of Culture of China from 1949 to 1965. He is currently renowned as one of the best realist novelists in the history of modern China...
, Ye Shengtao
Ye Shengtao
Ye Shengtao was a prominent author, educator and publisher. He was one of the founders of the Association for Literary Studies , the first literature association during the May Fourth Movement in China....
, Chen Dabei, Ouyang Yuqian, Xiong Foxi
Xiong Foxi
Xiong Foxi was an American-educated Chinese playwright famous for his experimental drama in the Ding County, Hebei Province . His ambition was creating the peasants' drama of educative value...
and other writers. They published a monthly magazine named Xiju (Drama 戲劇) on 31 May in the same year.
In 1922, Zheng established the first magazine for children, Children's World (兒童世界) In January 1923, he became the chief editor of a monthly magazine of novel, Xiaoshuo Yuebao (小說月報). After the "May-30 Incident" in 1925, he helped founding a newspaper called Gongli Ribao (公理日報). From then on, he wrote many books including Zhongguo Wenxue Shi (History of Chinese literature 中國文學史, 1938) and 1943 Diary (1943年日記).
Zheng had been a scholar giving lectures in universities, a researcher of the academy and a journalist since 1931. He taught in the Department of Chinese in Yenching University
Yenching University
Yenching University was a university in Beijing, China. It integrated three Christian colleges in the city in 1919. Yenching is an alternative name of Beijing - derived from its status as capital of Yan state, one of the seven Warring States from 5th century BC to 3rd century BC.The university...
(燕京大學), in Jinan University
Jinan University
Jinan University is a public research and comprehensive university based in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, China. It is one of the oldest universities established on mainland China tracing back to the Qing Empire...
(暨南大學) from 1935 to 1941 as the Dean of faculty of Arts and in Peking Univsity since 1953. After 1949, he became the Secretary for the Culture Department and Cultural Heritage Department in China.
Exile to France
In April 1927, Chiang Kai-shekChiang Kai-shek
Chiang Kai-shek was a political and military leader of 20th century China. He is known as Jiǎng Jièshí or Jiǎng Zhōngzhèng in Mandarin....
(蔣介石) began a swift and tyrannical attack on thousands of suspected Communists in the area he controlled. Many innocent students and movement activists were killed. Writers, including Zheng, were under political pressure. Therefore, he left his family for France in May 1927. During the years living in Paris, he kept mailing his diary to his wife, which was published as a book named Ouxing Riji (Diary of travels in Europe 歐行日記).
Return to China
He continued his journalistic career after coming back to China in 1929 and founded Jiuwang Ribao (救亡日報). In October 1945, he founded a weekly magazine called Democracy (民主) to oppose Chiang Kai-shek's pro-US policy and urge people to stop civil wars.Cultural Preservation
Due to the invasion of Japanese troops, Shanghai was besieged starting from 1937 and many significant cultural assets were lost. In the light of this, Zheng devoted himself to the rescue and protection of aged Chinese documents and antiques. Disguising himself as a staff member in a stationery store, named Chan Sixun (陳思訓), he managed to save many aged books from damage or loss to the outside world.Death
On 18 October 1958, Zheng led national cultural delegates to visit Arabia and AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. Unfortunately, he died in a plane crash in the Chuvashia
Chuvashia
The Chuvash Republic , or Chuvashia for short, is a federal subject of Russia . It is the homeland of the Chuvash people. Its capital is the city of Cheboksary. Population: -Geography:...
, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
during the journey.
The journalistic vision
Zheng started his journalistic career in 1920s during the May Fourth MovementMay 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...
. Together with some classmates including Zhong Tao (仲陶), he got a first taste of editing in starting a publication named Jiuguo Jiangyan Zhoukan (救國講演周刊). The magazine - being published in Wenzhou
Wenzhou
Wenzhou is a prefecture-level city in southeastern Zhejiang province, People's Republic of China. The area under its jurisdiction, which includes two satellite cities and six counties, had a population of 9,122,100 as of 2010....
(溫州) for only 6 to 7 times - was strangled by Authority since it enraged a government official.
As one of the founders of a youth magazine, Xin Shehui (新社會), Zheng aimed at criticizing the Beijing government. It began its publication on 1 November 1919, which consisted of four pages. The aims of the magazine was to:
- advocate the social service
- discusse society problems
- introduce social theories
- research on common people education
- record society matters
- criticise society shortcomings
- narrate society real states
- report news of the organization
Zheng gave many speeches about the student movement in Beijing. On top of criticizing, he wanted to make good use of the New Culture Movement
New Culture Movement
The New Culture Movement of the mid 1910s and 1920s sprang from the disillusionment with traditional Chinese culture following the failure of the Chinese Republic, founded in 1912 to address China’s problems. Scholars like Chen Duxiu, Cai Yuanpei, Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, and Hu Shi, had...
(新文化運動) to publicize and promote new social ideals for the Chinese future development. Chen Duxiu
Chen Duxiu
Chen Duxiu played many different roles in Chinese history. He was a leading figure in the anti-imperial Xinhai Revolution and the May Fourth Movement for Science and Democracy. Along with Li Dazhao, Chen was a co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. He was its first General Secretary....
(陳獨秀) suggested that Xin Shehui could be edited with a more approachable style accepted by the general public. The magazine was finally published on 1 November 1919 throughout China, arousing tides of attention from the public, especially amongst the young readers. However, as Zheng and his co-editors were still inexperienced in editing by that time, the magazine was thought to be immature in editing and too sloganeered. On the hand, the content of the magazine upset the military side of the government. Thus, in one month's time, the government called the publication to a halt.
In addition, he established Wenxue Yanjiu Hui (Literary Study Society 文學研究會) with Mao Dun
Mao Dun
Mao Dun was the pen name of Shen Dehong , a 20th century Chinese novelist, cultural critic, and journalist. He was also the Minister of Culture of China from 1949 to 1965. He is currently renowned as one of the best realist novelists in the history of modern China...
and Ye Shengtao
Ye Shengtao
Ye Shengtao was a prominent author, educator and publisher. He was one of the founders of the Association for Literary Studies , the first literature association during the May Fourth Movement in China....
in November 1920. In January 1923, he took over the position of chief editor of Novel Monthly (小說月報) from Mao Dun. He was the chief editor on and off for nearly 9 years. He advocated a literary advocacy of "Blood and Tears" and he supported to write with the style of realism.
Besides, in the early June 1925, he foundeded a newspaper called Kongli Ribao (公理日報) with Wu Yuzhi and Ye Shengtao
Ye Shengtao
Ye Shengtao was a prominent author, educator and publisher. He was one of the founders of the Association for Literary Studies , the first literature association during the May Fourth Movement in China....
in Shanghai. This newspaper was aimed at criticizing the "May Thirtieth Incident" (五卅慘案) and the rising foreign imperialism
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
in China.
Also, he contributed in various newspapers like Jiuguo Jiangyan Zhoubao (救國講演周報) and Xinxue Bao (新學報) to awaken Chinese people from old traditions. These articles were mainly about social issues and the evil deeds of the old traditional practices. Zheng wrote articles from different aspects like the liberation of women, morality, social psychology and the liberation of political power. They all advocated more people to rethink the old values position.
Contribution to journalism
Zheng could be regarded as an expert of editing as he edited more than 53 types of newspapers, books and magazines. Being inspired by the May Fourth MovementMay 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...
, he became an editor based on the influence of the New Culture Movement
New Culture Movement
The New Culture Movement of the mid 1910s and 1920s sprang from the disillusionment with traditional Chinese culture following the failure of the Chinese Republic, founded in 1912 to address China’s problems. Scholars like Chen Duxiu, Cai Yuanpei, Li Dazhao, Lu Xun, Zhou Zuoren, and Hu Shi, had...
.
With his abundant experiences, he established his own editing theory. He criticised the contemporary editors of his time of using naive editorial methods regardless of their responsibility and power as an editor.
In 1931, he wrote an article entitled Bianji Fangzhen Yu Bianji Jihua (The edit guidelines and plan; 編輯方針與編輯計劃) in which he stated his view on editing in the mass media that quality was more important than quantity.
Translation
Zheng was proficient in foreign languages including EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Indian, Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
and Latin. He did a great job in translating a lot of Russian and Indian literature.
Zheng had started translation of Russian literature since early 20s. His works included the works, paper and preface of Turgenev (1818-1883), Gogol (1809-1852), Chekov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
(1860-1904), Gorky
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
(1868-1936) and Tolstoy
Tolstoy
Tolstoy, or Tolstoi is a prominent family of Russian nobility, descending from Andrey Kharitonovich Tolstoy who served under Vasily II of Moscow...
(1828-1910).
Zheng also translated many Indian literature. He mainly translated the poems as well as the Indian ancient-times fable such as Sir Rabindranath Tagore(1861-1941). Zheng had translated a prominent number of Tagore's poems to Chinese since 1920s. In October 1922, he published his translation of StrayBird (飛鳥集). In August 1925, he published The Indian Fable (印度寓言). There were 55 translation works of his in total.
Zheng started his study in Greek and Roman literature in his early age. In 1929, he published The Story of Love (戀愛的故事). Afterwards he translated The Hero Legends of Greek and Roman Myth Legends (希臘羅馬神話傳說中的英雄傳說). Then in 1935, he published a book called The Legends of Greece (希臘神話), which was three to four times thicker than his previous one. After liberation, in the second edition of The Legends of Greece, he introduced 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...
's well-known discourse in The Introductory of political and economical criticism (政治經濟批判導言) which was about ancient times mythology to analyze Greek mythology.
Literature Union
As the previous newspapers and magazines were banned by the government, Zheng believed that a proper established literature union would make things run easier. In January 1921, he established Wenxue Yanjiu Hui (Literary Study Society 文學研究會), which literally means literature research union, with Mao Dun(茅盾), Ye Shengtao (葉紹鈞) and 12 other people in the related field.The Union's first publication was Wenxue Xunkan (文學旬刊). It was published along with the well known newspaper called Shishi Xinbao (Current events newspaper 時事新報). He revealed the goal of the publication and the literature views of the union. He believed that literature is important and capable to influence the society. It was not merely an era, a place or one's reflection, but it acted as a frontier, which could affect the morality of human beings. Also, he strongly opposed to the old style of Chinese literature, of setting leisure and religions as main themes. He supported the writing of life – one theme in new realism literature approach.
He also expressed his view on the development of Chinese literature. As the connection between the Chinese literature and the world's literature was far too little, the Chinese lofty spirit could not be shared by the rest of the world. He treated that as the Chinese's biggest humiliation. Therefore, he was so devoted in the field of literature, eagered to strive for a higher position of the Chinese literature in the world. Under the influence of the May Fourth Movement, he thought that the major responstility of the Chinese Literature was to inspire youngsters' revoluntionary mission in order to strengthen the power of China.
Realism
Within the May Fourth movement, he adhered the direction of realism for New literature era. He thought literature liked 'mirror of a life'. This means his writing mostly revealed the real faces of societies. Also, he put a lot of emphasis on the importance of creative living. During his long composing and researching career, he showed a fully comprehensive realism of literature. He thought that literature must contribute to "life":- We need the "blood" of literature, "tears" of literature. Both of them will become the trend of Chinese literature; the writing consists of not only "blood" and "tears", but also consists of "literature"; the "blood" and "tears" experience and feeling of author are aesthetic for success in writing.
Literature should consist of the highest ideal of the author, which form the soul of the article, in order to make it meaningful to the readers and the whole of society.
Classical literature
Starting from the late 1920s, Zheng was teaching Chinese literature History in universities. At that time, he did much in making research in Chinese classical writing. For example, he used his pen name, Bao Fun, to write Yuenqu Xulu (元曲敍錄) in the Novel Monthly (小說月報). Also, he finished editing The History of the Chinese Literature (中國文學史) in 1930.Romanticism
Zheng put heavy emphasis on emotional elements in literature, highlighting its importance in distinguishing between literature and science. He advocated that literature functions to instill a passion in the readers' heart. One example was the historical novel, Arrest of the fire stealer (取火者的逮捕).Academic
- 《中國古代木刻畫選集》 (Zhongguo gu dai mu ke hua xuan ji) (Selected ancient Chinese woodcuts)
- 《文學大綱》 (Wen xue da gang) (Outline of literature)
- 《插圖本中國文學史》 (Cha tu ben Zhongguo wen xue shi) (Illustrated history of Chinese literature)
- 《中國俗文學史》 (Zhongguo su wen xue shi) (History of Chinese popular literature)
- 《中國文學論集》 (Zhongguo wen xue lun ji) (Essays on Chinese literature)
- 《俄國文學史略》 (Eguo wen xue shi lüe) (Brief history of Russian literature)
- 《佝僂集》 (Goulou ji) (Rickets)
- 《西諦書話》 (Xidi shu hua) (Xidi on books)
- 《鄭振鐸文集》 (Zheng Zhenduo wen ji) (Collected works of Zheng Zhenduo)
- 《談〈金瓶梅詞話〉》 (Tan Jin Ping Mei Cihua) (On Plum in the Golden Vase)
- 《編輯方針與編輯計劃》 (Bianji fangzhen yu bianji jihua) (Editing: policy and plan )
Novels
- 《取火者的逮捕》 (Arrest of the fire-stealer)
- 《桂公塘》 (Gui gong tang)
- 《家庭的故事》 (Jia Ting de Gu Shi)
Prose
He wrote more than 20 prose texts and the following are some of the examples:- 《中山集記》 (Shan zhong Za Ji)
- 《海燕》 (Hai Yan)
- 《避暑會》 (Bei Shu Hui)
- 《大同》 (Da Tong)
- 《山市》 (Shan Shi)
- 《離別》 (Li Bie)
- 《貓》 (Mao) (Cat)
- 《歐行日記》 (Ou xing ri ji ) (Diary of Travels in Europe)
- 《最後一課》 (Zui Hou yi ke)
- 《月夜之話》 (Rou Ye Ji Hua )
Magazines and newspapers
- 新社會 (Xin Shehui) (New Society)
- 兒童世界 (Children's World)
- 戲劇 (Xiju)(Drama)
- 救國講演周刊 (Jiuguo Jiangyan Zhoukan)
- 小說月報 (Novel Monthly)
- 新學報 (Xinxue Bao)
- 時事新報 (Shishi xinbao) (Current events newspaper)
- 救亡日報 (Jiuwang Ribao)
Chief editing
- 《世界文庫》 (Shi jie wen ku) (The World's Library)
- 《醒世恒言》 (Xingshi hengyan)
- 《警世通言》 (Jingshi tongyan)
Translation works
- 《戀愛的故事》 (The Story of Love)
- 《飛鳥集》(StrayBird)
- 《俄國戰曲集》 (The Russian War Collections)
- 《灰色馬》 (Grey Horse)
- 《印度寓言》 (The Indian Fable)
- 《希臘羅馬神話傳說中的英雄傳說》 (The Hero Legends of Greek and Roman Myth Legends)
- 《希臘神話》 (The Legends of Greece)
- 《列那狐的歷史》 ( The History of Liena Fox)
Annotated Writings
- Cats mouseover annotated version of Zheng Zhenduo's famous short story Cats, intended for native English speakers.
External links
- A concise biography of Zheng (English)
- A description of famous scholar (Chinese)
- The literary works of Zheng Zhenduo 鄭振鐸文集 (Chinese)
- The Love story between Zheng and Gao (Chinese)
- President of "Pole Raising Club". Zheng Zhenduo 抬杠會長鄭振鐸 (Chinese)
- Content of The World's Library edited by Zheng Zhenduo (Chinese)