Mao Tun Biography

Mao Dun, born Shen Dehong, stands as one of modern China's most celebrated left-wing realist novelists and a sharp cultural critic. His chosen pen name, meaning 'contradiction,' perfectly encapsulates the turbulent ideological landscape of 1920s China that so profoundly shaped his work. Through vivid depictions of bustling Shanghai and the lives of ordinary people, he masterfully explored the social and political transformations of his era. Mao Dun's writing is characterized by its keen realism and its deep engagement with the complex human experiences within a rapidly changing society.