Mao Dun: Eighty Years of a Literary Life

Author: Ding Ergang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-12-01
Features: Cultural celebrities all possess outstanding cultural character. However, their most charming essence always lies in their unique brilliance. Mao Dun was a perfect combination of a statesman and a literary figure, a pioneer of the May Fourth Movement and a leading figure in the literary world. Compared to his contemporary literary giants, he not only had a revolutionary enlightenment experience that was ahead of its time but also a life pursuit and achievements that spanned East and West, ancient and modern, as well as diverse endeavors in theoretical criticism and literary creation. When we step into his journey through life, we will undoubtedly feel its profound and boundless depth, as vast as the ocean. Throughout the long history from the May Fourth Movement to the new era of reform and opening up, Mao Dun was an irreplaceable and unique figure. To glimpse the depths of his world is no easy task. Mao Dun's long career in writing deeply moved people, and his even longer spiritual journey left us in awe. Even today, we can still hear his breath and heartbeat, feel the passionate, fervent, confused, and troubled gaze in his eyes. We can follow in his footsteps to admire and appreciate his later, and also perceive the hardships and twists of his life. Many of us were companions on this long journey of his life, and many others may still be his followers and admirers. During the new era of reform and opening up, Mao Dun, in his advanced years and with a frail body, worked to rectify the chaos and restore order in the literary field, clearing away the ruins left by the Cultural Revolution. At the same time, he overcame his illnesses, using his withered hands like a giant brush to weave the tides of history into his writings, condensing his declining life into three volumes of memoirs to present to his readers, who were as dear to him as family. At the very end of his life, he "realized he was dying and, in his final moments," dictated two letters: one to the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, requesting the restoration of his party membership, and another to the Secretariat of the Chinese Writers' Association, offering his life savings in to establish a fund for rewarding outstanding long literary works. Comrade Hu Yaobang, on behalf of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, gave Mao Dun a posthumous evaluation: "A pioneer of modern progressive culture in our country, a great revolutionary litterateur and one of the earliest members of the Communist Party of China." "An outstanding proletarian cultural warrior who dedicated his life to the cause of the Chinese revolution and the emerging revolutionary literary movement!" Mao Dun's life was a unique combination of an outstanding statesman and a great literary figure. From the beginning of his life with the mindset of "taking the world upon himself" to the end of his life dedicated to the lifelong struggle for communism, the literary and political colors in his life were an organic whole. It was precisely this unique life experience that made him the pioneer of the social critique genre in modern Chinese literature. If we lose the political dimension, we would also lose the splendid aesthetic radiance of Mao Dun's artistic world and the gallery of typical characters, as well as the vibrant vitality of the era's great tides reflected in them! This is an objective historical and real existence. Even if our orientations differ from his or even oppose him, we cannot and should not ignore or deny the truth of this past history. Otherwise, Mao Dun would no longer be Mao Dun! At the turn of the century and in the world literary scene of the 20th century, Mao Dun was a literary master unlike any other, irreplaceable and unrepeatable, with a solid historical position and a well-deserved reputation. Following in his historical footsteps to explore the sources and marvels, we will find an endless array of beauty on the path of Shanyao. Any cultural heritage is formed through solid historical accumulation. No matter how proud and glorious a human cultural history may be, it is always a meticulous masterpiece of grass, trees, bricks, and stones. Hard work brings rich rewards. In the face of today's harvest, we must never forget the hardships of the cultivation. Posterity is naturally the inheritor and enjoyer of the fruits of the past; we have the responsibility to use our eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and heart to experience and understand the past. This is also an integral and inseparable part of our own precious life experience and social cognition. There is no choice but to actively absorb, refine what is valuable, digest and nourish, to sustain our endless life body passed down through generations! Mao Dun is a seasoned individual and also our pioneer. How did he complete this process of cultural metabolism in human history? Here, I would like to introduce two contemporaries of Mao Dun, both of whom were witnesses to his life journey. One is Sun Jiarui, one of Mao Dun's secretaries during his tenure as Minister of Culture. Mr. Sun had a moving and true recollection: I saw that apart from official duties, he rarely engaged in private social activities or entertainment and seldom participated in recreational events. His entire spare time was almost spent on reading. It seemed that reading was his only hobby, and he was immersed in books from morning till night. It is no exaggeration to say that he lived in an ocean of books. His study was filled with books; in addition, his office, living room, and bedroom were also stacked with books. Books were scattered on his bedside and desk, and even on the small stool in the corner of the bathroom, there were piles of books. The abundant books at home could not satisfy his need for extensive reading, so he often made long lists of books to borrow from the Beijing Library. The China Bookstore would occasionally send rare ancient books they had acquired for his selection. He read quickly, borrowing a batch of books and returning them in due time. Books and periodicals were his "nerves" that connected the past and the present, linking China and the world. He was always well-informed about the objective situation and social dynamics. Every year, he extensively read new works from various literary journals across the country and made many insightful and unique critiques.