Baren (; 1901–1972) was a modern Chinese writer, critic and translator.

Biography

Baren was born Wang Renshu () in

Fenghua Fenghua (; ) is a district (China), district of the city of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China. The district and its administrative hinterlands have a population of over 480,000. Fenghua is the hometown of two former president of the Republic of ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

. He went to elementary school when he was 8, and entered the Fourth Normal School of Zhejiang in 1915. After graduating in 1920, he became a grade school teacher. In 1923 he started to write short stories and poems, and joined the Literature Research Society. One year later, Baren became a member of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

. In 1930, he joined the League of the Left-Wing Writers. When the anti-Japanese War broke out, Baren stayed in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

to publicize anti-war culture. In 1942, he went to Indonesia, pursuing the anti-war movement. He returned to China in 1948. After the

founding of the People's Republic of China The proclamation of the People's Republic of China was made by Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), on October 1, 1949, in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The government of a n ...

, he served as Chinese ambassador to Indonesia and the director of the People's Literature Publishing House. Baren was persecuted and put to death during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. Baren preferred fiction writing. He created collections of short stories including ''Jail'', ''Shack'', ''In the Decline'' and ''Martyrdom'', novellas such as ''Vagrant Life of Ah Quei'' and ''Badge'', and the novel ''Rebellion of Mang Xiucai''. His work on literary theory, ''On Literature'', was heavily influenced by the ideals of anti-Soviet critics.

References

* * 1992 /1 {{DEFAULTSORT:Baren 1972 deaths 1901 births Ambassadors of China to Indonesia Writers from Ningbo Politicians from Ningbo Victims of the Cultural Revolution 20th-century Chinese essayists Chinese male short story writers 20th-century Chinese journalists 20th-century Chinese historians Chinese male novelists 20th-century Chinese novelists Historians from Zhejiang Short story writers from Zhejiang 20th-century Chinese short story writers Chinese literary theorists