North and South Poles

Author: Mu Shiying
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: Mu Shiying (1912–1940) was a modern novelist. His pen names included Wei Yang and Anymous. He was from Cixi, Zhejiang. His father was a banker, and he studied in Shanghai from a young age. During his high school years, he developed a passion for literature. He graduated from the Chinese Literature Department of Guanghua University. While in college, he immersed himself in studying foreign modern literary trends. In 1929, he began writing short stories. The following year, he published the short story "Our World" and "Black Cyclone" in New Literature, and "North and South Poles" was recommended by Shi Zhecun and published in Monthly Novel Magazine, drawing attention from the literary world and gaining fame. In 1932, he published the short story "Cemetery" in the inaugural issue of Modern, which became the magazine's first work and established him as a master of the modernist movement. Known for his prolific output at a young age and unique style, he was called a "genius" writer. That same year, he published the short story collection "North and South Poles," reflecting the stark contrast between the upper and lower classes. In 1933, his second short story collection "Cemetery" shifted focus to the fantastical life of the city, demonstrating the author's deliberate study and application of modernist techniques from Japanese writers like Yokomitsu Ryūichi. He also tried writing Freudian psychological novels, which differed greatly from "North and South Poles." From then on, he formed the Chinese literary movement known as the "New Sensibility" alongside Liu Nao'ou and Shi Zhecun. He later published the short story collections "White Gold Female Statue," "The Feelings of a Sacred Virgin," "Five People in the Night Club," and "Shanghai's Foxtrot Dance," which became representative works of this modernist movement. These novels also revealed a clear sense of decadence and melancholy, yet Mu Shiying's writing style was immensely popular. With the sharp shift in political ideology, he joined the Nationalist Party's Book and Magazine Censorship Committee around 1933. Later, he worked as an editor for Literary Illustrated Magazine. After the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, he moved to Hong Kong. In 1939, he returned to Shanghai and took charge of the literary supplements "Literary Weekly" and "Huafeng" for the pro-Wang Jingwei regime's China Daily, as well as editing National News. He was later assassinated by Nationalist intelligence agents.