# Ru Zhijuan

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Chinese writer

Ru Zhijuan Born (1925-10-30)October 30, 1925 Shanghai, Republic of China Died October 7, 1998(1998-10-07) (aged 72) Shanghai, People's Republic of China Language Chinese Notable works "Lilies" (1958) Spouse Wang Xiaoping (王啸平) Children 3, including Wang Anyi Chinese name Traditional Chinese 茹志鵑 Simplified Chinese 茹志鹃 Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Rú Zhìjuān Wade–Giles Ju2 Chih4-chüan1

In this [Chinese name](/source/Chinese_name), the [family name](/source/Chinese_surname) is *[Ru](/source/Ru_(surname))*.

**Ru Zhijuan** ([Wade–Giles](/source/Wade%E2%80%93Giles): **Ju Chih-chüan**, 30 October 1925 – 7 October 1998) was a Chinese writer best known for her short stories.[1] Ru was one of the most important writers of her generation.[2] Her second daughter [Wang Anyi](/source/Wang_Anyi) is also a famous writer.

## Biography

Ru Zhijuan, the youngest of 5 children, was born in [Shanghai](/source/Shanghai) to migrants from [Hangzhou](/source/Hangzhou). When she was 3, her mother died and her father left; she and a brother were raised by their grandmother. She did not begin primary school until age 10, and a year later moved to Hangzhou with her grandmother, who died shortly after. She was sent to an orphanage in Shanghai. After a year each at a women's vocational school, a Christian missionary boarding school for girls, and a county school, she graduated from secondary school with only four years of schooling. She taught school for a short time in 1943 before joining the propaganda division of the [New Fourth Army](/source/New_Fourth_Army). In 1944, she married Wang Xiaoping, who was born in [Singapore](/source/Singapore) but arrived in China to fight the Japanese during the [Second Sino-Japanese War](/source/Second_Sino-Japanese_War). In 1947, she joined the [Chinese Communist Party](/source/Chinese_Communist_Party).

In 1955, she became the editor of the *Monthly for Literature and Art*,[3] retiring in 1960 to write full-time.[4]

In 1960, Ru published *All Quiet in the Maternity Clinic*, which was republished in a collection of the same name in 1962 and which received significant literary attention and analysis.[5]: 138 Its setting in the maternity clinic of a [people's commune](/source/People's_commune) was notable for being an uncommon site in other labor narratives of the period.[5]: 138 The short story depicts the arrival of Sister He, a modern-trained midwife from the city, and Auntie Tan, and older midwife at the clinic.[5]: 138 Largely narrated from Auntie Tan's perspective, *All Quiet in the Maternity Clinic*'s narrative addresses the tensions and disagreements between the two nurses, with Auntie Tan's life experience in pre-liberation China resulting in her skepticism of Sister He's modern methods.[5]: 138

The 1958 short story "Lilies" was criticized by some for its "bourgeois sentimentality"[4] but became popular after it was praised by Minister of Culture and author [Mao Dun](/source/Mao_Dun). Many of her stories of this period were intended to show popular support for the revolution and the communist party. She also dealt with the changes in Chinese society from traditional values. She did not publish any work from 1962 to 1965, because it was felt at the time that her work dealt with the worries of everyday people rather than more important issues.[3]

She regained favour when the values from the [Cultural Revolution](/source/Cultural_Revolution) were being reconsidered. They are generally critical of earlier policies and promote the new social norms.[3]

She served as [Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary](/source/Chinese_Communist_Party_Committee_Secretary) for the Shanghai Writer's Association. She died in Shanghai at the age of 73.[4]

Her daughter [Wang Anyi](/source/Wang_Anyi) also became a prominent writer.[6]: 147

## Works translated into English

Year Chinese title Translated English title Translator(s) 1958 百合花 "The Lilies on a Comforter"[7] Kai-yu Hsu "Lilies" R. A. Roberts[8] Robert E. Hegel[9] 1959 澄河边上 "On the Banks of the Cheng" Gladys Yang[10] 春暖时节 "The Warmth of Spring" Sabina Knight[11] 如愿 "A Promise Is Kept"[12] Yu Fanqin 1960 静静的产院 "The Maternity Home"[10] Tang Sheng 1961 三走严庄 "A Third Visit to Yanzhuang"[10] Qin Sheng 同志之间 "Comradeship"[10] Gladys Yang 阿舒 "Just a Happy-Go-Lucky Girl"[10] Wen Xue 在那东海边上 "Between Two Seas"[10] Zhang Su 1962 第二步 "The Beginning of Tomorrow"[13] 1979 剪辑错了的故事 "A Story Out of Sequence"[14] Tian Fan, John Minford "A Badly Edited Story"[10] Wang Mingjie 草原上的小路 "The Path Through the Grassland"[10] Yu Fanqin 1980 儿女情 "Sons and Successors"[15] Ellen Klempner "My Son, My Son"[16] Nancy Lee 我写〈百合花〉的经过 "How I Came to Write 'Lilies on a Comforter'"[17] John Balcom

## Filmography

Year English title Chinese title Notes 1960 Their Wishes 她们的心愿 Segment 3: "Just Mention Your Need" (只要你说一声需要) 1961 Spring Hastens the Blossoms Blooming 春催桃李 Co-wrote with Ai Mingzhi

## Major awards

- 1980: 2nd National Short Story Prize, "A Story Out of Sequence" ("A Badly Edited Story")

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-history_1-0)** Hong, Zicheng (2007). [*A History of Contemporary Chinese Literature*](https://books.google.com/books?id=S7C9xtFKGWEC&pg=PA133). BRILL. pp. 133–35. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-9004157545](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-9004157545).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** Hegel, Robert E. (1990). "Political Integration in Ru Zhijuan's 'Lilies'". In Huters, Theodore (ed.). *Reading the Modern Chinese Short Story*. [M.E. Sharpe](/source/M.E._Sharpe). pp. 92–104. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87332-572-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87332-572-9).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-bio_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-bio_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-bio_3-2) Lee, Lily Xiao Hong (2003). [*Biographical Dictionary of Chinese Women: The Twentieth Century, 1912-2000*](https://books.google.com/books?id=XOGdnCPJSOMC&pg=PA432). M.E. Sharpe. pp. 432–34. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0765607980](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0765607980).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-atoz_4-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-atoz_4-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-atoz_4-2) Ying, Li-hua (2010). [*The A to Z of Modern Chinese Literature*](https://books.google.com/books?id=bkJ1QrAxZAAC&pg=PA161). Scarecrow Press. pp. 161–62. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1461731870](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1461731870).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:Kindler2_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:Kindler2_5-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:Kindler2_5-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:Kindler2_5-3) Kindler, Benjamin (2025). *Writing to the Rhythm of Labor: Cultural Politics of the Chinese Revolution, 1942-1976*. New York City, NY: [Columbia University Press](/source/Columbia_University_Press). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-231-21932-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-231-21932-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-:02_6-0)** Tu, Hang (2025). *Sentimental Republic: Chinese Intellectuals and the Maoist Past*. [Harvard University Asia Center](/source/Harvard_University_Asia_Center). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780674297579](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780674297579).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** [*Literature of the People's Republic of China*](https://archive.org/details/literatureofpeop00hsukrich). [Indiana University Press](/source/Indiana_University_Press). 1980. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-253-16015-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-253-16015-4).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** *One Half of the Sky: Stories from Contemporary Women Writers of China*. [Heinemann](/source/Heinemann_(publisher)). 1987. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-434-64038-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-434-64038-7).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** *Reading the Modern Chinese Short Story*. [M.E. Sharpe](/source/M.E._Sharpe). 1990. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-87332-572-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-87332-572-9).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-lilies_10-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-lilies_10-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-lilies_10-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-lilies_10-3) [***e***](#cite_ref-lilies_10-4) [***f***](#cite_ref-lilies_10-5) [***g***](#cite_ref-lilies_10-6) [***h***](#cite_ref-lilies_10-7) Ru Zhijuan (1985). *Lilies and Other Stories*. [Chinese Literature](/source/Chinese_Literature_(magazine)). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8351-1332-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8351-1332-9).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** *Writing Women in Modern China: The Revolutionary Years, 1936–1976*. [Columbia University Press](/source/Columbia_University_Press). 2005. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-231-13216-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-231-13216-6).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-12)** *Sowing the Clouds: A Collection of Chinese Short Stories*. [Foreign Languages Press](/source/Foreign_Languages_Press). 1961.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** *[Chinese Literature](/source/Chinese_Literature_(magazine))*, April 1962.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** [*Prize Winning Stories from China, 1978–1979*](https://archive.org/details/prizewinningstor0000liux). [Foreign Languages Press](/source/Foreign_Languages_Press). 1981.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-15)** [*The New Realism: Writings from China After the Cultural Revolution*](https://archive.org/details/newrealismwritin0000unse). [Hippocrene Books](/source/Hippocrene_Books). 1983. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-88254-794-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-88254-794-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-16)** *The Rose Colored Dinner: New Works by Contemporary Chinese Women Writers*. [Joint Publishing](/source/Joint_Publishing). 1988. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [962-04-0615-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/962-04-0615-X).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-17)** [*Furrows: Peasants, Intellectuals, and the State: Stories and Histories from Modern China*](https://archive.org/details/furrowspeasantsi0000unse). [Stanford University Press](/source/Stanford_University_Press). 1990. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-8047-1805-9](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-8047-1805-9).

Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF GND FAST WorldCat National United States Czech Republic Netherlands Israel Academics CiNii Other IdRef Yale LUX

v t e The Yujiulü clan of Rouran tribe Khagans of Rouran (includes chieftains, members, noblemen, consorts and descendants) Pre-khaganate Unified rule Mugulü→Cheluhui→Tunugui→Bati→Disuyuan Divided rule Eastern area Pihouba Western area Wenheti→Heduohan & Shelun Re-unified rule Heduohan & Shelun Former Khaganate Unified rule (fanli) Shelun→Hulü→Buluzhen→Datan→Wuti→Tuhezhen→Yucheng→Doulun→Nagai Middle Khaganate Unified rule Futu→Chounu→Anagui→Poluomen Divided rule Xihai rule Poluomen Huaishuo rule Anagui Re-unified rule Anagui Later Khaganate Divided rule Eastern area Tiefa→Dengzhu→Kangti→Anluochen Western area Dengshuzi Members, noblemen, consorts and descendants of the Yujiulü clan Puhun Zhaoyi Zuo Zhaoyi Gong Tuoba Yu Pi Ruowen Ruru Chidilian Dao Furen Ru Zhijuan Wang Anyi related people Afuzhiluo Ashina Natalu Ashina Tumen Ashina Yandou Tuoba Ke Tuoba Xu Tuoba Baoju Puliuru Jian Family tree Surname list Category

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ru Zhijuan](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ru_Zhijuan) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ru_Zhijuan?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.