Chen Mengjia | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Chen in 1947 | |||||||||
| Born | (1911-04-20)20 April 1911 | ||||||||
| Died | 3 September 1966(1966-09-03) (aged 55) | ||||||||
| Alma mater | Yenching University | ||||||||
| Occupation | archaeologist | ||||||||
| Known for | research onoracle bones | ||||||||
| Spouse | Zhao Luorui | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 陳夢家 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 陈梦家 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Chen Mengjia (simplified Chinese:陈梦家;traditional Chinese:陳夢家; 20 April 1911 – 3 September 1966) was a Chinese scholar, poet,paleographer andarchaeologist. He was considered the foremost authority onoracle bones and was Professor of Chinese atTsinghua University inBeijing.
He was married to the poet and translatorZhao Luorui (aka Lucy Chao, 1912–1998). Chen died in 1966, at the beginning of theCultural Revolution after being labeled a "capitalist intellectual" andRightist and being persecuted by officials.[1]
Chen was born and raised inNanjing,Jiangsu province. His father was aPresbyterian minister.
In his youth Chen had been a poet, under the pen nameWanderer,[clarification needed] his first poem was published when he was 18. He was a member of theCrescent Moon Society inShanghai, a group ofromantic poets during the early 20th century. In 1932 he joined the resistance againstJapanese aggression in Shanghai during theJanuary 28 Incident. At that time he also studied law in Nanjing, but in 1932 began to research classicalChinese literature and religion, before turning to the study of Chinese writing and archaeology atYenching University in Beijing, where he specialised in the study oforacle bones and ancientChinese bronzes.[1] Chen and his wife moved toKunming in the mid-1930s, where had a position at theNational Southwest Associated University.
In 1936, Chen published an influential article on the religion and magic of theShang dynasty, in which he compared the list of the kings of theXia dynasty (the first dynasty of China in the traditional recorded history, often thought to be legendary) with that of theShang dynasty that followed it, and argued that the (legendary) Xia were just a "duplication" of the (real) Shang. He also argued that theYellow Emperor andYu the Great were originally the same personage.[2]
In 1944 Chen and his wifeLucy Chao were both awarded humanitiesfellowships by theRockefeller Foundation to study at theUniversity of Chicago in the United States. Chen also received financial support from theHarvard-Yenching Institute.[1] Chen traveled around the United States, as well as making trips toCanada andEurope studying both private and public collections of ancient Chinese bronzes. He completed the project with the support ofC. T. Loo, a famousart dealer. His study, with descriptions of over 850 bronze vessels, was turned into a draft for a book, possibly to be published in the United States. In 1947 Chen returned to China (his wife the following year), and he sent the manuscript toHarvard University before. After theKorean War broke out, Chen was disconnected with Harvard. However, the book remained unpublished in the United States. According toEdward L. Shaughnessy, Chen's manuscript left in Harvard has been found.[citation needed]
The book was eventually published in China in 1962 under the titleOur country’s Shang and Zhou Bronzes Looted by American Imperialists, edited by theChinese Institute of Archaeology.[1] Chen himself, however, did not choose the title, and indeed his name is not written on the cover. The book had been considered important to publish, even though its author was a "Rightist", who were not allowed to publish. Among the "American imperialists" listed in the book are theSaint Louis Art Museum,Mrs. W.K. Vanderbilt of New York, MissDoris Duke of New York,Avery Brundage of Chicago, and Alfred F. Pillsbury ofMinneapolis. The book is going to be republished under its original title signed with the name of Chen in China in 2016.[needs update]
Before his problems with the Chinese authorities Chen published in 1956 the workA comprehensive study of the divination inscriptions from the Ruins of Yin. The inscriptions, made onoracle bones atYin, the last Shang capital near today'sAnyang (Henan), were recognized at the time (and, largely, still are) as the earliest examples of Chinese writing.[1]
Chen Mengjia's work has long been well known to Shang scholars worldwide.[3] His life and achievements became known to wider audience outside China with the publication in 2006 ofPeter Hessler’s bookOracle Bones.[1]
In the 1950s, Chen opposed the Communist government's proposal tosimplify more than 2,000Chinese characters. After theAnti-Rightist Movement began in 1957, Chen was labeled aRightist and an enemy of theCommunist Party, and was sent to a labour camp. In 1966, at the beginning of theCultural Revolution, he was again severely persecuted and committed suicide in Beijing.[1]: 386 [4]
Chen Mengjia and his wife Lucy Chao collected Chinese antiques, especially furniture. Before his suicide, Chen wrote a letter toMa Chengyuan of theShanghai Museum, declaring his intent to donate the furniture to the museum. However, after the deaths of the couple, Chao's brother-in-law Zhao Jingxin refused to donate the collection, instead selling it to the museum.[1]
Wang Shixiang's magisterial bookClassic Chinese Furniture: Ming and Early Qing Dynasties (the first book about Chinese classical furniture written by a Chinese author) is dedicated to Chen Mengjia, who was his good friend, and a fellow collector of Chinese classical furniture.[5]
Media related toChen Mengjia at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| People | |
| Other | |
