(Vientiane History Special Author: Tao Sheng)
【March 12, 1997】Liu Shaotang's biography: A child prodigy writer who dropped out of Peking University and was not the "son of the Grand Canal" who was not a vice mayor
Liu Shaotang was born on February 29, 1936, on the banks of the Grand Canal in Tong County, Beijing. Since he was a child, he listened to his father and father tell stories and comment on books, had a strong interest in literature, and read a large number of extracurricular books. At the age of 10, he wrote the essay "Journey of Xihaizi" for the first time, and he actually wrote five volumes of texts, which caused a sensation in the whole school.
In 1948 (at the age of 12), he was admitted to Beijing No. 2 Middle School. The following year, at the age of 13, he successively published works in newspapers and periodicals such as Beijing Youth Daily, Xinmin Bao, Guangming Daily, Progressive Youth, and Hebei Literature and Art. Some editors called him a "child prodigy," and the title of "child prodigy writer" went unnoticed.
Before graduating from junior high school, Liu Shaotang was seconded to the Hebei Provincial Federation of Literature and Literature as a trainee editor in the editorial department of Hebei Literature and Art.
(Liu Shaotang in 1948)
In 1951 (at the age of 15), entering high school, Liu Shaotang's article "Finishing Autumn" was published in the Tianjin Daily, edited by Sun Li, who founded the "Lotus Dian School". He was appreciated by Sun Li, and he also repeatedly read the Lotus Flower Dian and was deeply influenced, becoming Sun Li's "proud protégé".
In 1952 (at the age of 16), Liu Shaotang published his first novel "Red Flower" in China Youth Daily, followed by the famous work "Green Branches and Green Leaves". "Green Branches and Green Leaves" was later compiled by Ye Shengtao into the high school Chinese textbook.
In 1953 (at the age of 17), he joined the Communist Party of China.
In 1954 (at the age of 18), Liu Shaotang was admitted to the Department of Chinese of Peking University. At this time, he studied the Soviet writer Sholokhov and wanted to write a "new Chinese pastoral pastoral". But the university's curriculum prevented him from concentrating, and a year later, he dropped out of Peking University.
After dropping out of school, he concentrated on writing, and in 1955, he completed his first novel, The Sound of Paddles of the Canal. In 1956, he joined the Chinese Writers Association and was the youngest member at the time.
His fame grew, and together with Wang Meng, Cong Weixi, and Deng Youmei, he was known as the "Four Little Swans".
(Liu Shaotang during peking university)
In 1956 (at the age of 20), he published articles such as "Some Brief Views on Current Literary and Art Issues". In 1957, when the "Anti-Rightist Movement" began, Liu Shaotang was classified as a "rightist", deprived of the right to write, and went to the countryside for labor reform.
In 1961 (at the age of 25), Liu Shaotang was stripped of his "rightist" hat, but was still forbidden to publish his works. He returned to his hometown on the banks of the Grand Canal and disappeared from the literary world. Under the protection of his fellow villagers, he luckily escaped the ten years of turmoil of the Cultural Revolution.
(Liu Shaotang and Zeng Caimei married)
In 1979 (at the age of 43), Liu Shaotang published "Earth Fire" and returned to the literary world. In 1980, he published "Pu Liu Ren Ren Jia", which caused wide repercussions and became his masterpiece.
Since then, he has created more than 20 works such as "Fishing Fire", "Jingmen Face", "Melon Shed Willow Lane" and so on, which have won frequent awards and are widely welcomed by readers.
After his comeback, because of his great fame, Liu Shaotang was once invited to serve as the vice mayor of Beijing. However, Liu Shaotang said that "it is better to engage in politics than to follow literature, and it is better to be in the opposition in the DPRK" and resigned from the government. He continued to devote himself to writing, and in 1984 set a plan to publish 12 novels in 12 years.
In his creation, Liu Shaotang advocated that language "is the first element of literature", deliberately learning the colloquial language of the villagers and borrowing from the language of classical literature. This makes the image of the work vivid, the language fresh and fluent, and infectious. Because his works depict the history and customs of beijing's rural areas along the canal, he became a representative figure of "canal literature".
(Liu Shaotang (second from left) in his hometown of Rulin Village)
In August 1988 (52 years old), due to years of writing and overwork, Liu Shaotang suddenly suffered from cerebral thrombosis, and after treatment, he was still paralyzed on his left side. But he claimed that "the three armies can seize the marshal, not the will", and continued to insist on writing.
In 1995 (at the age of 59), he completed plans to publish 12 novels a year ahead of schedule.
(In 1995, Liu Shaotang and his wife Zeng Caimei took a group photo)
On April 11, 1996, Liu Shaotang was found to have ascites in his liver, and his abdomen was bulging and compressing his heart, and he was forced to be hospitalized. However, he still wrote a long novel "Village Woman" on his hospital bed, and completed the essay "Sentenced to Suspended Death" according to his own experience. At the same time, I hope to write new novels.
On March 12, 1997, Liu Shaotang died of cirrhosis and ineffective rescue of liver ascites at the age of 61. After his death, he was buried on the banks of the Grand Canal, where he was born.
(The 267th work of the Vientiane History and Biography Writing Camp, and the 17th work of camper "Tao Sheng")