Ai Qing
艾青
1910–1996
- Poet
Biography
Ai Qing (1910–1996), born Jiang Haicheng in Jinhua, Zhejiang, was one of China's most prominent modern poets. He studied painting in France from 1929 to 1932; upon returning to China he turned to literary creation and was imprisoned for participation in left-wing activities, during which time he wrote his landmark poem 'Dayanhe — My Nurse,' establishing his place in modern Chinese poetry.
He joined the Chinese Communist Party in 1941 and produced numerous works reflecting the war and rural life during his time in Yan'an. After 1949 he served in the Chinese Writers' Association, but was labelled a 'rightist' during the Hundred Flowers Campaign of 1957 and subsequently dispatched to the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps for labour reform — a period lasting nearly two decades during which his creative output fell largely silent.
Rehabilitated in 1978, he returned to writing and continued to receive international recognition in his later years. His son Ai Weiwei later became an internationally prominent contemporary artist and social activist.
Related Events (2)
Hundred Flowers Campaign
Mao Zedong invited open criticism of the Party with the slogan "Let a hundred flowers bloom," but swiftly reversed course, using the expressed criticisms to identify and purge intellectuals in the subsequent Anti-Rightist Campaign.
politicalAnti-Rightist Campaign
Following the Hundred Flowers Campaign that encouraged criticism of the Party, Mao launched the Anti-Rightist Campaign, labelling an estimated 550,000 to 700,000 intellectuals and officials as "rightists," the majority of whom were sent to labour camps or dispatched to the countryside.
political