Chinese Literature - Li-hua Ying 2010

WU ZUXIANG (1908—1994)
The Dictionary

WU ZUXIANG (1908—1994). Fiction writer and essayist. Born in Jingxian, Anhui Province, Wu Zuxiang became known in 1932 when his short story “Guanguan de bupin” (Young Master’s Tonic) was published. He was then a student at Qinghua University. In the following years, Wu wrote more short stories collected in Xiliu ji (Western Willow) and Fanyu ji (After Meals). Wu’s stories are characterized by their sardonic wit and satirical attacks on social evils, such as exploitation, corruption, and hypocrisy. During the Sino-Japanese War, he wrote a novel, Shanhong (Landslide), portraying the Chinese people’s struggle against Japanese aggression. In the three decades after 1949, Wu taught at Beijing University and turned his attention to scholarly work on classical Chinese literature, especially the fiction of the Ming and Qing dynasties. In the post-Mao era, Wu resumed his creative work, producing several collections of essays.