Wang Shiwei
Wang Shiwei (Wade-Giles: Wang Shih-wei)(王實味) (1906-1947), originally named as Wang Sidao (王思禱), was a journalist and literary writer. He was famous for his contribution in the Chinese history of modern revolution and Chinese modern literature. He wrote several controversial articles in the 20th Century, which made him suffered from witch-hunt and led to his persecution in 1947.
Early life
His family
Wang Shiwei was born in a small town in Yunan (豫南), China on 12 March,1906. His courtesy name ("zi" 字) was "Shuhan" (叔翰). His father was a scholar who worked as a teacher in a local school. Wang was the third eldest child in his family, with eight brothers and sisters. The hard financial situation of his family trained him to be aware of the social problems and unfairness in the state.
Education
Wang received his very first education from his father, who taught him Chinese classics. It strengthened his knowledge in the Chinese Literature. In 1914, he entered Huangchuan Second Higher Elementary school (潢川第二高等小學) for Primary three education. Later, he went to Huangchuan Seventh Middle School (潢川第七中學). He then left his hometown and entered the Fundamental School of Europe. He was forced to leave school a year later as his family could not afford the expensive school fees. However, this did not hinder his pursuit of knowledge. He joined an America Exchange Studies program in the Henan Province (河南省留學歐美預備學校)at the age of 17.
With a strong will to further his studies, he worked in a post office for one year. In 1925, Wang got a chance to study Arts in the Beijing University. He actively participated in the student campaign in the University. However, he was again forced to quit the University due to economic problems in 1927. During late 1920s and early 1930, Wang studied at the Marx-Engels Institute in Moscow.
Involvement in politics
In 1919, Wang and his schoolmates joined the demonstrations in the May Fourth Movement to support the patriotic Beijing students. He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1926. A year later, he left the Party for the criticism of his love affair with Li Fan (李芬), who was also a Communist member. During his study at Moscow, Wang formed the Twenty-Eight Bolsheviks together with other Chinese students such as Wang Ming (王明), Ding Ling (丁玲). In 1937, he rejoined the Communist Party when Mao Zedong (毛澤東) was the chairman.
Life as a writer
He began writing at the age of 19 when he was studying at the Beijing University. He used "Shiwei" (實味) as his pen name. His talent was greatly appreciated by Xu Zhimo (徐志摩), who was a modern Chinese poet. Xu always posted Wang's writings in the Features page when he was the editor-in-chief of that page of the Morning Post.
From 1930 onwards, he started to use some new pen names such as ShiWei (詩薇/石巍). His novella Xiuxi(Rest) (休息) , which talked about how young people should fight against the darkness of a country, was published in Xu Zhimo's "New literary collection" in 1930. His work shows the framework of what an ideal society should be liked. Equality of opportunity was emphasized. The western idea of Marxism in his work gave people a new insight.
In 1942, he wrote a famous article Ye bai he hua(Wild Lilies)(野百合花) which discussed the "ugliness and indifference" in Yunan. It criticized some "big men", whom Wang thought should be responsible for the growth of darkness in the country. It was published on the People's Liberation Army Daily (解放日報) on 13th and 23rd March, 1942.
The article caused him lots of troubles. On 27th May 1942, the Central Committee held a seminar to discuss whether Wang was guilty. On 23rd October, Wang was expelled from the Communist Party for the reason that he was one of the anti-party cliques (托派份子). Wang defended himself by reinforcing that he did not get involved in any anti-Communist activities, except helping his anti-Communist friends Wang Wen-yuan (王文元) and Chen Qing-chen (陳清晨)to translate 2 proses in "Tuoluociji Zizhuan" (《托洛茨基自傳》), which he had already informed the Party. However, the Party did not believe in him and he was soon arrested at the end of 1942.
Wang tried his best to explain during the captured period, but all his attempts failed. On 1st July, 1947, he was prosecuted by the order of the Social Section of the Communist Party in Jin Sui (晉綏). He died at the age of 41.
After the reforms and modernization of China, the first wife of Wang, Liu Ying (劉瑩) fought for vindication of the accusation his husband wrongly received. In 1991, the Ministry of Public Security indicated the accusation of Wang.
In memory of Liu's love for Wang, she contributed a consolation of Ten thousand dollars that received from the Ministry of Public Security to the Young Literary Scholarship Fund (青年文學獎勵基金) in HuBei Province (湖北省).
Famous publications
Most of Wang’s literary works were published in the late 20th century. His style of writing was thought to be "having the energy and power to enrich the humanity" (有著蓬勃人性之熱與力).
His works reflected his sincerity and love towards his home country and native land. He felt sorry for the weak who were suppressed in the society. He sincerely hoped that he would change the society through revolution.
Novels
- 楊五奶奶, 1926 (Yang Wu Nainai)
- 毀滅的精神, 1926 (Huimie de Jingshen)
- 陳老四的故事, 1929 (Chenlaoshi de Gushi)
- 小長兒與罐頭荔枝, 1929 (Xiao Zhanger Yu Guantou Lizhi )
- 休息, 1930 (Xiuxi)/(Rest)
- 野百合花, 1942 (Ye Baihehua)/(Wild Lilies)
- 政治家·藝術家, 1942 (Zhengzhijia, Yishujia)
- 鬥爭日記, 1942 (Douzheng Riji)
Other texts published
- 文藝民族形式問题上的錯誤舆新偏向, 1941
- 零感两則, 1942
- 答李宇超、梅洛兩同志, 1942
- 我對羅邁(別名李维漢)同志在整風檢工動員大會上發言的批評, 1942
Translation Works
Wang has translated a lot of works, including those of Karl Marx and O'Neill Eugene. However, he did not lead a shinning life as that of Marx, in contrast, he ended up in life that is painted with tragic colour of O' Neill Eugene.
- The Heretic of Soana <<珊拿的邪教徒>> by Gerhart Hauptmann, 1930
- Sapho<<薩芙>> by Alphonse Daudet, 1933
- The Man of Property <<資產家>> by John Galsworthy, 1936
- Strange interlude <<奇異的插曲>> by O'Neill Eugene, 1936
- The Return of the Native <<還鄉>> by Thomas Hardy, 1937
- The Water Babies <<水孩子>> by Charles Kingsley
Wang as a journalist
'Wild Lilies' was one of Wang's famous work which was published on the People's Liberation Army Daily (解放日報) in 1942.
In this article, Wang showed two fundamental elements of journalism:
1. "Its practitioners must be allowed to exercise their personal conscience"
One day Wang overheard a dialogue between two girls. They criticized the senior leaders of not being considerate towards the people. He wrote it down and used it to express his concern over the country. He wrote that he was silent after overhearing the dialogue and he finally realized what was lacking in one's life at that time. Instead of blindly following the corruption in China, he tried to uncover the complaints and criticisms of the commoners. He was able to exercise his personal conscience.
2. "It must provide a forum for public criticism"
Wang explained that his piece of work was called "Wild Lilies" because wild lilies had a higher medical value than other lilies. He hoped to criticize the unhealthy phenomenon in the country so that people could find remedies for the country. His work aroused criticisms from others. From April to May 1942, passages criticizing "Wild Lilies" were posted on the newspapers. There were also criticisms towards Wang's ideas of 'hierarchy system'. Critics of the distribution of materials by the staff of Yunan were different from the hierarchy system in the past. Since Wang's works provided a chance for others to discuss and criticize, it fulfilled the element that journalism must provide a forum for public criticism.
Contributions to literature
Wang's works were criticized, but at the same time, they helped the people of Yunan to get a better understanding on different concepts, for example, the relationship between politics and literature.
Besides, there were lots of subjective Chinese literary works focusing too much on the rules of the Party in the 1940s. After Wang's works were published, people began to notice that education on the rules of the Party was not practical. Wang was the first writer in Yunan who really practiced the theories, that is to reflect the reality through literature. In "Wild Lilies", the bureaucracy and hierarchy system of Yunan were vividly described.
Apart from that, literature at that period focused on the skills of writing, without concern of the needs of reality. This led to the emphasis on the appreciation of Western literature. Wang's works often reflected the reality, which made people started to appreciate Chinese literature. Many Chinese writers also began to write more about the reality, examining on the local arts and the Marxist ideas.
Timeline
- 1906 March 12 - Born in Yunan, Henan (豫南, 河南).
- 1914 - Entered Primary 3 at Huangchuan Second Higher Elementary schoo (潢川第二高等小學)
- 1920 - Studied at Huangchuan Seventh Middle School (潢川第七中學)
- 1923 - Admitted into Henan's Europe and America Preparatory School (河南省留學歐美預備學校)(Henan University predecessor), majored in English.
- 1924 - Worked at the Henan Province Postal Service Administrative Bureau as a postal officer
- 1925 - Admitted into Beijing University Literary Academy Preparatory course. Finished his short novel, Xiuxi (休息)
- 1926
- January - Joined the Chinese Communist Party.
- February 27 - Wrote a short novel, Yang wu nainai(楊五奶奶) published in "Chenbao Fukan" (晨報副刊)
- July - Another publication, Hui mie de jing shen(毀滅的精神) in "The Modern Critics" (現代評論).
- 1927 - Separated from the party organization because he was in love with a communist member, Li Fan (李芬). Then he went to places such as Nanjing (南京), Shandong Tai'an (山東泰安), worked as a copy clerk and teacher.
- 1929
- 1930
- 1931 January - Daughter, Wang Chingfeng (王勁楓) was born.
- 1933 - Translation work "Sapho" (薩芙) was published.
- 1935 July - Son, Wang Hsufeng (王旭楓) was born. Returned to Henan Kaifeng (河南開封) and was an English teacher at Province Female Middle School (省立女子中學).
- 1936 - Translation work "Strange interlude" (奇異的插曲) and "The Man of Property" (資產家) were published in "The World's Literary Collections" (世界文學全集)
- 1937 - Rejoined the Chinese Communist Party. Translation work "The Return of the Native" (還鄉) was published in "The World's Literary Collections".
- 1938 October - Due to Changsha Siege(長沙淪陷), he lost contact with his wife who was in Xiang Xi (湘西)
- 1939 - Married his second wife, Baoping (薄平)
- 1941 August - Assigned as a special researcher at Central Research Institute (中央研究院)
- 1942
- March - Published his work, Ye bai he hua(野百合花) in People's Liberation Army Daily (解放日報) and Zheng zhi jia, Yi Shu jia (政治家·藝術家).
- April - Mao criticized his work as anti-Communist. He was then asked to attend the Symposium about his "anti-Communist" work in "Yen'an" (延安).
- October - He was expelled from the communist party.
- 1943 April 1 - Kang Sheng (康生) gave an order to arrest him. He was claimed as the "Counter-revolutionary anti-Communist spy"(反革命托派奸细分子), "Undercover agent of Kuomintang"(暗藏的國民黨特務) and "Five-people anti-party group"(五人反黨集團).
- 1947 July 1 - Wang Shiwei was secretly executed. Died at the age of 41.
External Links
- Publications of Wang Shiwei
- Biography of Wang Shiwei (楚漢狂人王實味)
- [http://www.wjez.net/aqisi/-ds/sswsw.html
Biography of Wang Shiwei (說說王實味)]
Wang Shiwei and the Strange interlude (王實味與<<奇異的插曲>>)]