Zeng Pu (; 1872-1935

Idema Advanced Format (AF) is any disk sector format used to store data in HDDs, SSDs and SSHDs that exceeds 528 bytes per sector, frequently 4096, 4112, 4160, or 4224-byte sectors. Larger sectors of an Advanced Format Drive (AFD) enable the integratio ...

, p
387
) was a Chinese novelist. Zeng Pu published a scholarly work on the later

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

in 1895. He later enrolled in the

College of Foreign Languages VNU University of Languages and International Studies (VNU-ULIS; Vietnamese: ''Trường Đại học Ngoại ngữ, Đại học Quốc gia Hà Nội''; formerly College of Foreign Languages), or Hanoi University of Languages and International ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

to learn the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

. Zeng Pu returned to

Jiangsu Jiangsu is a coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province in East China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its capital in Nanjing. Jiangsu is the List of Chinese administra ...

in 1898 and built a school. In 1903 he began a business in Shanghai, which failed. He returned to his focus in literature.McDougall and Louie, p
90
"This was also the year when China was defeated in the War against Japan, an event which had a tremendous effect on Zeng Pu. Moving away from classical learning, he enrolled in the College of Foreign Languages in Beijing to learn French" Zeng Pu was a

Francophile A Francophile is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, History of France, French history, Culture of France, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, lang ...

Writing style

The language in Zeng Pu's novels borrowed allusions and images from classical Chinese literature and Zeng Pu used symbolism in his novels. Therefore, his works appealed to readers who had a classical education and were considered sophisticated in their society.Doleželová-Velingerová, p
724
Zeng Pu knew the French language.

David Der-wei Wang David Der-wei Wang (; born November 6, 1954) is a Taiwanese-American literary historian, critic, and the Edward C. Henderson Professor of Chinese Literature at Harvard University. He has written extensively on post-late Qing Chinese fiction, compa ...

, author of '' Fin-de-siècle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849-1911'', wrote that Zeng Pu was "probably" the sole late Qing novelist who knew a foreign language.Wang, Dewei, p
103
David Wang explained that since Zeng Pu knew French he had "direct access to European literature without the mediation of distorted translations." The

First Sino-Japanese War The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 189417 April 1895), or the First China–Japan War, was a conflict between the Qing dynasty of China and the Empire of Japan primarily over influence in Joseon, Korea. In Chinese it is commonly known as th ...

had a large effect on Zeng Pu.

Works

Jin Tianhe Jin Tianhe (Chinese: 金天翮; 18731947) was a scholar, poet, politician, and writer from the Anhui Province. Jin Tianhe is most well-known for publishing the first Chinese feminist manifesto, ''The Women's Bell''. Other popular works include ''Ji ...

(Jin Songcen) started ''

A Flower in a Sinful Sea A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, and others worldwide. Its name in English is '' a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes''. It is similar in shape to the Ancient ...

'' as a

political novel Political fiction employs narrative to comment on political events, systems and theories. Works of political fiction, such as political novels, often "directly criticize an existing society or present an alternative, even fant ...

criticizing Russian advances into China.Zeng Pu's "Niehai Hua" as a political novel--a world genre in a Chinese form
(database listing with abstract)
Archive

The University of Hong Kong Libraries The University of Hong Kong (HKU) is a public university, public research university in Pokfulam, Hong Kong. It was founded in 1887 as the Hong Kong College of Medicine for Chinese by the London Missionary Society and formally established as t ...

. Retrieved on October 26, 2013. Zeng Pu, writing under the pseudonym "

Sick man of Asia The phrase "Sick man of Asia" (), or "Sick man of East Asia" () first referred to Qing China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries which, experiencing internal divisions and social upheaval at the time, was taken advantage of by the great powe ...

", took control of the novel in 1904. He completed it as a historical novel.

References

* Doleželová-Velingerová, Milena. "Chapter 38: Fiction from the End of the Empire to the Beginning of the Republic (1897-1916)" in: Mair, Victor H. (editor). ''

The Columbia History of Chinese Literature ''The Columbia History of Chinese Literature'' is a reference book edited by Victor H. Mair and published by the Columbia University Press in 2002. The topics include all genres and periods of poetry, prose, fiction, and drama but also areas not ...

''.

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's la ...

, August 13, 2013. p. 697-731. , 9780231528511. * Idema, Wilt L. "Prosimetric and verse narrative." p. 343-214. In:

Kang-i Sun Chang Kang-i Sun Chang (born Sun K'ang-i, ; 21 February 1944) is a Taiwanese-American sinologist. She is a scholar of classical Chinese literature. She is the inaugural Malcolm G. Chace Professor, and former chair of the Department of East Asian Langu ...

and Stephen Owen (editors). ''The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature: From 1375''.

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 2010. , 9780521855594. * McDougall, Bonnie S. and Kam Louie. ''The Literature of China in the Twentieth Century''.

, 1997. , 9780231110853. * Wang, David Der-wei. '' Fin-de-siècle Splendor: Repressed Modernities of Late Qing Fiction, 1849-1911''.

Stanford University Press Stanford University Press (SUP) is the publishing house of Stanford University. It is one of the oldest academic presses in the United States and the first university press to be established on the West Coast. It is currently a member of the Ass ...

, 1997. , 9780804728454.

Notes

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Zeng, Pu Qing dynasty novelists 1872 births 1935 deaths Writers from Suzhou 20th-century Chinese novelists Chinese male novelists

Writing style

Works

References

Notes

Further reading

External links