{{Short description|Chinese writer (1906–1970)}} {{family name hatnote|[[Zhao (surname)|Zhao]]|lang=Chinese}} {{Infobox writer | name = Zhao Shuli | image = [[File:Zhao Shuli.jpg|180px]] | birth_date = 24 September 1906 | death_date = {{death date and age|1970|09|23|1906|09|24|df=y}} | notable_works = ''The Marriage of Young Blacky''<br>''The Rhymes of Li Youcai'' | birth_place = [[Qinshui County|Qinshui]], [[Shanxi]], [[Qing dynasty]] | death_place = [[Taiyuan]], [[Shanxi]], [[China]] | language = Chinese | spouse = Ma Shuying(1922-1927)<br>Guan Lianzhong(1931-1970) | children = The eldest son: Zhao Dahu <br>The eldest daughter: Zhao Guangjian <br>The second son: Zhao Erhu <br>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]].<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{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}}</ref> He died in 1970, following persecutions during the [[Cultural Revolution]].
==Biography==
=== Background === Zhao was born in 1906 in [[Qinshui County]], [[Shanxi]] Province.<ref name=":1" /> 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}} Zhao's family was declining gentry, and owned land on which his father worked.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=153}} Zhao's family members were adherents of late-imperial era sectarian religions, including the Three Sages Sect and the Pure Tea Sect.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=153}}
=== Early life and career === Zhao read widely at a young age, including the Confucian classics, divination books, and Three Sages Sect scriptures.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=153}} Growing up, he was a talented musician in the village opera band.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=154}} At age 19 in the Changzhi Provincial Normal School, he learned about [[May Fourth Movement|May Fourth]] literature and began reading even more broadly, including Ming-Qing vernacular fiction, [[Lu Xun]], [[Henrik Ibsen]], and [[Ivan Turgenev]].<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=154}}
Zhao experimented with writing in the May Fourth style of "new fiction," but found village audiences preferred more traditional forms.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=154}} This prompted him to advocate political and social change through writing in traditional literary forms.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=154}}
At age 21, he developed his opposition to practices deemed superstitious and abandoned his former vegetarianism (which was a tenet of the Three Sages Sect).<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=154}}
He attended a teachers college and went on to teach in primary schools.<ref name=":0" />
In 1937, Zhao joined the Communist-led Sacrifice League and in 1939 became a Communist cultural worker.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=154}}
=== Prominent writings === Zhao's major fictional works include 小二黑結婚 ''Xiao Erhei jiehun'', "The Marriage of Young Blacky";<ref>{{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 }}</ref> 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 [[North China and South China|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 [[Shanyaotan School|Shanyaotan (White Potato) School]] ({{lang|zh|山藥蛋派}}), one of the most influential literary movements in mid-20th century China.<ref name=":0" />
Zhao first became a prominent literary figure as a result of his 1943 short story, "The Marriage of Young Blacky."<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=148}} The story's protagonist (Young Blacky) and Xiaoqin pursue the style of free choice marriage promoted by the Communists.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=148}} In doing so, they overcome abuses of authority by some village cadres and the authority of their parents.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=148}} Zhao used colloquial peasant language, traditional storytelling techniques, and dramatic narratives in the text.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=148}} "The Marriage of Young Blacky" was initially not used by the Communist Party press, and was published after [[Peng Dehuai]] praised it, noting, "It is rare to see such an easy-to-understand story that comes from the masses.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=151}} Upon publication, it became an instant hit among the rural population in the Mount Taihang region.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=151}} The story became influential and resulted in other adaptations, including in theatre and cinema.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|pages=148-149}}
=== Politics === In 1946, the [[Chinese Communist Party]] praised Zhao as a model of peasant writers.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Kang |first=Xiaofei |title=Enchanted Revolution: Ghosts, Shamans, and Gender Politics in Chinese Communist Propaganda, 1942-1953 |date=2023 |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-765447-7 |location=New York (N.Y.) |pages=}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=142}} His works were promoted as an ideal combination of political education with popular entertainment, and the Communist Party distributed them to local cadres and urged Communist writers and artists to follow the "Zhao Shuli direction".<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=152}}
Zhao was a member of the executive committee of the [[China Writers Association|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 delegate to the [[8th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party]], and a deputy in the [[1st National People's Congress|first]], [[2nd National People's Congress|second]], and [[3rd National People's Congress|third]] sessions of the [[National People's Congress]].<ref name="li">{{cite book |last1=Maosheng |first1=Li |title=General History of Shanxi Characters (Contemporary) |date=2015 |publisher=[[Fangzhi Publishing House]] |isbn=978-7-5144-1796-8 |pages=292–295}}</ref>
Zhao's works passed in and out of political favor at various times.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=152}} Among the criticisms of his works was that they depicted peasant characters who were "in-the-middle" rather than heroes.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=152}}
During the [[Cultural Revolution]], Zhao was persecuted<ref name="li" /> and tortured.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=152}} He died on 23 September 1970.<ref name=":03" />{{Reference page|page=152}}
== References == {{Reflist}}{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhao, Shuli}} [[Category:1906 births]] [[Category:1970 deaths]] [[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:Chinese Communist Party politicians from Shanxi]] [[Category:Short story writers from Shanxi]]