Zhao Shuli
{{Short description|Chinese writer (1906–1970)}}
{{family name hatnote|Zhao|lang=Chinese}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Zhao Shuli
| image = 180px
| birth_date = 24 September 1906
| death_date = {{death date and age|1970|09|23|1906|09|24|df=y}}
| notable_works = Little Erhei's Marriage
The Rhymes of Li Youcai
| birth_place = Qinshui, Shanxi, Qing dynasty
| death_place = Taiyuan, Shanxi, China
| language = Chinese
| spouse = Ma Shuying(1922-1927)
Guan Lianzhong(1931-1970)
| children = The eldest son: Zhao Dahu
The eldest daughter: Zhao Guangjian
The second son: Zhao Erhu
The third son: Zhao Sanhu
}}
Zhao Shuli ({{zh|s=赵树理|t=趙樹理|p=Zhào Shùlǐ|w=Chao Shu-li}}; 24 September 1906 – 23 September 1970) was a novelist and a leading figure of modern Chinese literature.{{Cite web |title=Zhao Shuli {{!}} Socialist Realism, Chinese Literature & Revolution {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Zhao-Shuli |access-date=2024-01-04 |website=www.britannica.com |language=en}}{{Cite book |last=Hong |first=Zicheng |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S7C9xtFKGWEC |title=A History of Contemporary Chinese Literature |date=2007 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-15754-5 |pages=108–115 |language=en}} He died in 1970, following persecutions during the Cultural Revolution.
Biography
Zhao was born in 1906 in Qinshui County, Shanxi Province. He was originally called 趙樹禮, which, in Mandarin Chinese, was a homophone of the name he later adopted in his adult career.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}} He attended a teachers college and went on to teach in primary schools.
Zhao's major fictional works include 小二黑結婚 Xiao Erhei jiehun, "Little Erhei's Marriage";{{Cite book |last=Wang |first=Xiaoping |url=https://brill.com/view/title/54206 |title=Contending for the "Chinese Modern": The Writing of Fiction in the Great Transformative Epoch of Modern China, 1937-1949 |date=2019-05-15 |publisher=BRILL |isbn=978-90-04-39863-4 |pages=475 |doi=10.1163/9789004398634_010|s2cid=243347197 }} 李有才板話 Li Youcai banhua, "The Rhymes of Li Youcai"; 李家莊的變遷 Li jiazhuang de bianqian, "Change Comes to Li Family Village"; and 三里灣 Sanliwan, "Sanliwan Village". The action of Zhao's novels typically takes place in the countryside of Northern China. In this setting, Zhao explores the dilemmas and conflicts of villagers who are facing growing social upheaval. Zhao was renowned for achieving nuanced portrayals of the diverse cast of human characters which were to be found in provincial life. Zhao became known as a leader of the Shanyaodan (White Potato) rural realists ({{lang|zh|山藥蛋派}}), one of the most influential literary movements in mid-20th century China.
Zhao was a member of the executive committee of the Chinese Writers Association and also served as the director of the Society of Chinese Authors, the president of the Society of Chinese Poets, and an editor of the journals 曲藝 Quyi (Performing Arts) and 人民文學 Renmin Wenxue (People's Literature). He was also appointed a representative to the 8th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, and a deputy in the first, second, and third sessions of the National People's Congress.{{cite book |last1=Maosheng |first1=Li |title=General History of Shanxi Characters (Contemporary) |publisher=Fangzhi Publishing House |isbn=978-7-5144-1796-8 |pages=292–295}}
He died in 1970, having fallen victim to the persecutions that were launched against intellectuals, artists, and other "undesirables" during the Cultural Revolution.
References
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Category:Delegates to the 3rd National People's Congress
Category:Delegates to the 2nd National People's Congress
Category:Delegates to the 1st National People's Congress
Category:Politicians from Jincheng
Category:People persecuted to death during the Cultural Revolution
Category:20th-century Chinese novelists
Category:Chinese male novelists
Category:Chinese male short story writers
Category:20th-century Chinese short story writers
Category:People's Republic of China politicians from Shanxi