Mao Dun

Born Chen Dehong (沈德鴻), Mao Dun (茅盾 or Mao Tun, 1896-1981) was one of the greatest Chinese writers of the 20th century. His courtesy name was Yanbing (雁冰).

Mao was born in Zhejiang province of China in 1896. Mao studied at the University of Beijing, although he did not graduate. By the age of 24 he has been recognised by many as a journalist for a Xuesheng Zazhi(Students' Magazine).

In 1920, Mao and his friends took over the magazine Xiaoshuo Yuebao(Fiction Monthly), and started to publish famous Western literature, as well as introducing new literature theories and techniques. In the next year, Mao joined the Communist Party of China. He was one of the earliest members of the party. He started to publish novels in 1927.

At the same time, Mao participated Chiang Kai-shek's Northern Expedition (1926-1928), which main purpose is to unity the country. He quit, however, when the Kuomintang broke with the CPC. He then helped to found the League of Left-Wing Writers in 1930. His most famous and important novel, Ziye (Midnight), was published after that, in 1933. When the new government was established by the CPC in 1949, Mao became the Minister of Culture. Mao was dismissed and cruelly treated in the Cultural Revolution. After the Cultural Revolution, he became an editor of a children's magazine, and died in 1981.