Duanmu Hongliang

Who was Duanmu Hongliang?

Duanmu Hongliang is a notable Chinese author whose works were prominent during the Second Sino-Japanese War and for whom the land and environment were pivotal fictional elements. He died in Beijing on October 5, 1996, at the age of 84.

Duanmu attended Tsinghua University where he studied and wrote fiction, but returned to his homeland of Manchuria in his post-university years. His fiction in both short stories and novels are characterized by the 'native soil' style, which heavily emphasizes the agrarian environment and heartland values of his homeland region, a style pioneered by Duanmu and other Modern Chinese authors such as Shen Congwen.

In his novels dating from before the Communist victory in 1949, Duanmu evidences his ardour for the Manchurian landscape and environment most evidently in "The Khorchin Grasslands", Duanmu's first full-length novel. "Eyes of Daybreak" and "An Early Spring" are his most important short stories, featuring earthy characters and simple plots focused on rural people, shown in a very positive light.