Zheng Zhenduo (December 19, 1898 – October 17, 1958) was a Chinese journalist, writer, archaeologist and scholar. He made a significant contribution towards the establishment of the Chinese literature and the editing of a variety of literary magazines. In 1921, he,

Mao Dun Shen Dehong (Shen Yanbing; 4 July 1896 – 27 March 1981), best known by the pen name of Mao Dun, was a Chinese novelist, essayist, journalist, playwright, literary and cultural critic. He was highly celebrated for his Literary realism, rea ...

, Jiang Baili, Geng Jizhi (耿濟之), and others organized the Literary Study Society ( zh, labels=no, c=文學研究會, p=Wenxue yanjiu hui). In 1923, he became the chief editor of '' Fiction Monthly''. 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 became a professor at both

Yenching University Yenching University () was a Private university, private research university in Beijing, China, from 1919 to 1952. The university was formed out of the merger of four Christian colleges between the years 1915 and 1920. The term "Yenching" come ...

and

Tsinghua University Tsinghua University (THU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Constructio ...

, the president of Faculty of Arts and the director of Chinese department of

Jinan University Jinan University ( ; JNU, zh, 暨南大学) is a national public university in Guangzhou, Guangdong, China. It is managed by the United Front Work Department of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The university is part of the Double First-Class ...

. He was also the chief editor of ''The World's Library'' ( zh, labels=no, c=世界文庫, p=Shijie Wenku) at the same time. After the establishment of the People's Republic of China, he was assigned to be head of the Cultural Relic Bureau (文物局), Director of the Institute of Archaeology of the

Chinese Academy of Sciences The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS; ) is the national academy for natural sciences and the highest consultancy for science and technology of the People's Republic of China. It is the world's largest research organization, with 106 research i ...

and literary research institute, the assistant minister of cultural department, committee member of State Council scientific program committee and Chinese Academy of Science philosophical social sciences, the vice-chairman of Chinese folk literature and art research council, etc. He died in a

plane crash An aviation accident is an event during aircraft operation that results serious injury, death, or significant destruction. An aviation incident is any operating event that compromises safety but does not escalate into an aviation accident. Pre ...

in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

during his journey in 1958.

Biography

Family

Zheng Zhenduo was born on 19 December 1898 in Yongjia,

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 ...

Province. His ancestral home was in Changle,

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

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. In addition, his grandfather gave him the childhood name "Mu Guan" (木官; lit. 'Wooden official').

Schooling

In 1917, Zheng began studying at the Beijing Railway Management School 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 The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese cultural and anti-imperialist political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen to protest the Chinese government's weak response ...

, he was a student representative, spreading the news of student movements in Beijing. In 1919, he helped publish two magazines called "New Society" (新社會; ''Xin Shehui'') and "National Salvation Speeches Weekly" (救國講演周報; ''Jiuguo jiangyan zhoubao''). In January 1921, Zheng Zhenduo and twelve others, including

and

Ye Shengtao Ye Shengtao (28 October 1894 – 16 February 1988) also known as Ye Shaojun, was a Chinese writer, journalist, educator, publisher and politician. He was a founder of the Association for Literary Studies (), the first literature association dur ...

founded the earliest literary society of the New Literature Movement, Literary Research Association (文學研究會; ''Wenxue yanjiu hui''; 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 "Demotic Opera Troupe" (民眾戲劇社; ''Minzhong Xiju She'') with

, Chen Dabei,

Ouyang Yuqian Ouyang Yuqian (; May 12, 1889 – September 21, 1962) was a Chinese playwright, Peking opera actor and writer, film screenwriter and director, and drama educator. He is considered by drama historians as one of the three founders of the modern Chi ...

, Xiong Foxi and other writers. They published a monthly magazine named ''Drama'' (戲劇; ''Xiju'') 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, '' Fiction Monthly''. 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'' (中國文學史; lit. 'History of Chinese Literature') 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

, in

from 1935 to 1941 as the Dean of faculty of Arts and in

Peking University Peking University (PKU) is a Public university, public Types of universities and colleges in China#By designated academic emphasis, university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the Peop ...

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-shek launched a sudden 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 ''Diary of Travels in Europe'' (歐行日記; ''Ouxing Riji'').

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 the civil war and Chiang Kai-shek's pro-American policy.

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

antique An antique () is an item perceived as having value because of its aesthetic or historical significance, and often defined as at least 100 years old (or some other limit), although the term is often used loosely to describe any object that i ...

s. Chen was a founding member of the Shanghai " Rare Book Preservation Society" and its leader. 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 17 October 1958, Zheng led national cultural delegates to visit

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

and

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

. He died in the crash of a Tupolev Tu-104 in Kanash,

Chuvashia Chuvashia, officially known as Chuvash Republic — Chuvashia, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is the homeland of the Chuvash people, a Turkic languages, Turkic ethnic group. Its capital city, capital i ...

during the journey.

Journalism

Zheng started his journalistic career in the 1920s during the

. Together with some classmates including

Zhong Tao Zhong Tao ( zh, 钟涛; born 12 August 2002) is a Chinese pole vaulter. He became a national indoor champion in 2024 and then won the gold medal at the 2024 Asian Indoor Athletics Championships, Asian Indoor Championships. Career Zhong earned his ...

(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; Chinese postal romanization, historically known as Wenchow is a prefecture-level city in China's Zhejiang province. Wenzhou is located at the extreme southeast of Zhejiang, bordering Lishui, Zhejiang, Lishui to the west, Taizhou, Zheji ...

for only 6 to 7 times - was closed by the authorities 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 #discuss society problems #introduce social theories #research on common people education #record society matters #criticize 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 The New Culture Movement was a progressivism, progressive sociopolitical movement in China during the 1910s and 1920s. Participants criticized many aspects of traditional Chinese society, in favor of new formulations of Chinese culture inform ...

to publicize and promote new social ideals for the Chinese future development.

Chen Duxiu Chen Duxiu ( zh, t=陳獨秀, p=Chén Dúxiù, w=Ch'en Tu-hsiu; 9 October 1879 – 27 May 1942) was a Chinese revolutionary, writer, educator, and political philosopher who co-founded the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in 1921, serving as its fi ...

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 ''Literary Study Society'' (文學研究會; ''Wenxue Yanjiu Hui'') with

and

in November 1920. In January 1923, he took over the position of chief editor of ''Fiction Monthly'' 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 supported a writing style of realism. In June 1925, he founded a newspaper called ''Kongli Ribao'' (公理日報) with Wu Yuzhi and

in Shanghai. This newspaper was aimed at criticizing the " May Thirtieth Incident" and the rising foreign

imperialism Imperialism is the maintaining and extending of Power (international relations), power over foreign nations, particularly through expansionism, employing both hard power (military and economic power) and soft power (diplomatic power and cultura ...

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 literature

Translation

Zheng was proficient in foreign languages including English,

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

, Indian languages,

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

. 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 Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev ( ; rus, links=no, Иван Сергеевич ТургеневIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poe ...

(1818-1883),

Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works " The Nose", " Viy", "The Overcoat", and " Nevsky Prosp ...

(1809-1852), Chekov (1860-1904), Gorky (1868-1936) and

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy Tolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; ,Throughout Tolstoy's whole life, his name was written as using pre-reform Russian orthography. ; ), usually referr ...

(1828-1910). Zheng also translated many Indian literature. He mainly translated the poems as well as the Indian ancient-times fable such as Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). Zheng had translated a prominent number of Tagore's poems to Chinese since the 1920s. In October 1922, he published his translation of Stray Birds (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 ''Heroes of Greek and Roman Mythology'' (希臘羅馬神話傳說中的英雄傳說). Then in 1935, he published a book called ''Greek Mythology'' (希臘神話), an analysis of

Ancient Greek mythology Greek mythology is the body of myths originally told by the ancient Greeks, and a genre of ancient Greek folklore, today absorbed alongside Roman mythology into the broader designation of classical mythology. These stories concern the ancient ...

. In a second edition of ''Greek Mythology'' published after the creation of the People's Republic, his introduction included

Karl Marx Karl Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, political theorist, economist, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. He is best-known for the 1848 pamphlet '' The Communist Manifesto'' (written with Friedrich Engels) ...

's well-known ''

A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy ''A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy'' () is a book by Karl Marx, first published in 1859. The book is mainly a critique of political economy achieved by critiquing the writings of the leading theoretical exponents of capitalism ...

''.

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,

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' revolutionary 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).

Works

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 editor

*《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》 (''Heroes from Greek and Roman Mythology'') *《希臘神話》 (''Greek Mythology'') *《列那狐的歷史》 (''The History of Liena Fox'')

Notes

References

* Chen, Fukang. (1996). ''Yi dai cai hua: Zheng Zhenduo zhuan'' 《一代才華:鄭振鐸傳》 (Biography of Zheng Zhenduo).

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 ...

: Shanghai People's Press (上海人民出版社). * Zheng, Erkang. (1998). ''Shiliu you hong le: huiyi wo de fuqin Zheng Zhenduo'' 《石榴又紅了：回憶我的父親鄭振鐸》 (The pomegranates are red again: Remembering my father, Zheng Zhenduo).

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 ...

: Renmin University Press (人民大學出版社). * Chen, Fukang. (1997). ''Ming jia jian zhuan shu xi:Zheng Zhenduo'' 《名家簡傳書系-鄭振鐸》(Biographies of famous figures: Zheng Zhenduo).

: Zhong guo hua qiao publishing house (中國華僑出版社). * Zheng, Zhenduo & Zheng, Erkang. (1986). ''Zhongguo xian dai zuo jia xuan ji - Zheng Zhenduo'' 《中國現代作家選集 – 鄭振鐸》. (Selected works of modern Chinese authors – Zheng Zhenduo)

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

: San lian shu dian Xianggang fen dian;

: Renmin wenxue Press (人民大學出版社). * Zheng, Erkang. (2002). ''Xing yun gao qiu : Zheng Zhenduo zhuan'' 《星隕高秋 : 鄭振鐸傳》(Star fallen at height of autumn: Biography of Zheng Zhenduo).

: Jinghua Press. * Lu, Rongchun. (1998). ''Zheng Zhenduo zhuan'' (Biography of Zheng Zhenduo) 《鄭振鐸傳》.

Fuzhou Fuzhou is the capital of Fujian, China. The city lies between the Min River (Fujian), Min River estuary to the south and the city of Ningde to the north. Together, Fuzhou and Ningde make up the Eastern Min, Mindong linguistic and cultural regi ...

: Haixia wenyi Press (華廈文藝出版社).

External links

*
A description of famous scholar (Chinese)
* ttp://www.people.com.cn/GB/14738/14759/21864/2395015.html The Love story between Zheng and Gao (Chinese)
President of "Pole Raising Club". Zheng Zhenduo 抬杠會長鄭振鐸 (Chinese)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zheng, Zhenduo 1898 births 1958 deaths Academic staff of Yenching University 20th-century Chinese journalists 20th-century Chinese writers Writers from Fuzhou Chinese publishers (people) Educators from Fujian Academic staff of Tsinghua University Academic staff of Fu Jen Catholic University Academic staff of Jinan University Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the Soviet Union Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1958 Chinese literary theorists 20th-century Chinese archaeologists Chinese expatriates in France