Qin Zhaoyang 1916-1994

Born in Hubei, he was a literary editor for the greater part of his career. In the mid-1950s, as Associate Editor of Renmin wenxue [Peopleˇ¦s literature], Qin promoted the works of the young writers Wang Meng (1934-) and Liu Binyan (1925-2005), both of whom became targets in the Anti-Rightist movement in 1957. This, and the fact that Qin wrote a long article on the question of Realism versus Socialist Realism, were the major reasons for his purge in the same movement. Qin was banished to Guangxi to work in a factory. Though he was allowed to join the Writersˇ¦ Association in Guangxi as a professional writer from 1962 to 1966, Qin was arrested soon after the start of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) and sent to work on a farm. He was allowed to return to Beijing in 1975, and was rehabilitated as a member of the Chinese Communist Party in 1979. His publications include full-length novels such as Zai tianyeshang, qianjin! [Forward, in the fields!] (1956) and Liangbeiren [Two generations] (1963). Among his volumes of short stories are Xingfu [Happiness] (1951) and Nongcun sanji (1954); the latter is available in English as Village Sketches (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1957).

         close