Huang Yuanyong

Huang Yuanyong (黃遠庸), (Pen name: Huang Yuansheng 黃遠生) (1885 - 1915) was a renowned Chinese author and journalist during the late Qing Dynasty (清朝) and early Republic of China (民國初年).

Influence on China

Journalism

Huang's writings were an important element in transforming traditional China into its modern form. Huang and other famous journalists such as Kang Youwei (康有為) and Liang Qichao (梁啟超) formed the Group of Journalists (報人集團), which played an important role in late Qing Dynasty. As the educated ones, the group's opinions towards the society would be released to the public so that the dark side of the nation could be disclosed, enhancing the public's awareness of social issues. The group was undeniably a major breakthrough in China's journalistic history.

Related Topics:
Kang Youwei - Liang Qichao

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Huang was most active before and after the Xinhai Revolution (辛亥革命). That period was a dark age for cultural development in China, with the interference from the past and the present, China and the West. Huang showed his concern and worries in that period through his writings. Strictly speaking, there was nobody who would write so many articles as Huang did at that time.

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Huang emphasized that a journalist should be equipped with four important abilities:

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• The ability to think critically (腦筋能想)
• The ability to run (腿腳能奔走) - to develop and broaden interpersonal network to enrich news sources
• The ability to listen (耳能聽即) - to analyze and co-ordinate trivial pieces into consequence
• The ability to write (手能寫即) directly, without distortion

Literature

Many intellectuals such as Chen Duxiu (陳獨秀) were influenced by Huang's ideas. They organized and published "New Youths" 《新青年》 and "New current of ideas" 《新潮》, which were largely promoted in Shanghai. More than thirty articles of the two publications mentioned Huang's name and his innovative ideas. One famous intellectual, Hu Shih (胡適), even considered Huang as the "First Voice" of promoting a new type of literature in his book Wu shi nian lai zhi wen xue (Literature within fifty years) 《五十年來之文學》.

Related Topics:
Intellectuals - Chen Duxiu - New Youths - Shanghai - Hu Shih - Literature

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Huang has been regarded as the pioneer of the May Fourth Movement (五四運動). He advocated the Literary Enlightenment Movement (文藝啟蒙運動) by promoting modern Chinese literature and introducing Western ideas to China. In his article, My Confession 《懺悔錄》, he argued that a prerequisite for the betterment of the society is to improve the personality and quality of citizens. (?今日無論何等方面，自以改革為第一要義?，要改革國家).

Related Topics:
May Fourth Movement - Modern Chinese literature

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Education

Although Huang achieved a good result in the Imperial Examination himself, he was highly critical of the system. Instead he stated that after the collapse of Qing Dynasty, the examination system should also eventually be removed. Although new examination systems and schools were immediately introduced to China following the collapse, there were still a large number of people who gained nothing in the old system and could not fit into the new one. Huang argued that these people would become a threat to the society.

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Writing

Before becoming a journalist Huang immersed himself in writing literature, as classical Chinese literature was still popular in the late Qing dynasty. He was known for writing fluently, with major use of rhetoric and allusion.

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However, Huang realized that news articles should be comprehensible enough to be read by many people and that the use of classical Chinese language might obstruct the flow of expression. He therefore decided to change his style of writing. By writing in simple and colloquial language, Huang's articles magnified his critical and satirical attitude.

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