Biography
Wei Wei was born into a poor family in Zhengzhou, Henan, and received a rudimentary primary education. He showed early interest in calligraphy and literature, but was unable to receive much education after elementary school, when both of his parents died. He was largely self-taught and was greatly influenced by the radical Chinese literature of the 1920s and 30s, including works by authors like Lu Xun and Mao Dun.
Wei Wei joined the Eighth Route Army at the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 and was educated to be a propagandist and journalist. After joining the Chinese Communist Party in 1938, he rose quickly through party ranks. He became known for reporting from the front lines, which continued throughout the Korean War and the Vietnam War. He also became known for composing a series of Communist-themed novels, short stories, and operas.
Wei died on August 24, 2008 in Beijing.
Read more about this topic: Wei Wei (writer)
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.”
—James Boswell (1740–95)
“The best part of a writer’s biography is not the record of his adventures but the story of his style.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)