Li Boyuan

Li Boyuan ( Chinese  李伯 元 , Pinyin Lǐ Bóyuán ) (* 1867 in Wujin ; † 1906 in Shanghai ) was a Chinese writer and publicist at the end of the imperial era.

Surname

Li Boyuan is also known as Li Baojia ( Chinese  李宝嘉 ). Some of his writings were published under pseudonyms, although these were also used by other writers who published in a similar style and on a similar subject. The authorship of certain works is therefore controversial. Two of the secured pseudonyms are Nanting tingzhang ( Chinese  南 亭 停 长 ) (“Guardian of the southern pavilion”) and Zhuyuan xinzhe ( Chinese  竹园 新 者 ) (“The new master of the bamboo garden”).

biography

Li Boyuan was born in Wujin, Jiangsu Province in 1867 . His father died very early, which is why he is brought up by his uncle, who temporarily held the office of prefect . He is likely to receive the traditional training that will enable him to reach a lower official level. He later bought the post of assistant officer, but soon emigrated to Shanghai . There he founded the tabloid Youxi bao ( Chinese  游戏 报 ) ("entertainment") in 1897 , the first of its kind, which had a great influence on subsequent publications. In 1901 he failed an examination for higher state offices and turned down a post in another city; he is likely to stay in Shanghai ( concession area at the time ) to avoid censorship. In the same year he published a work on the boxer rebellion , Gengzi guobian tanci ( Chinese  庚子 國 變 彈詞 ) ("Ballad about the rebellion from the year gengzi"). In 1903, Li Boyuan was the editor of the respected magazine Xiuxiang Xiaoshuo ( Chinese  繡像 小説 ) ("Illustrated Storytelling"), in which he published some of his own satirical writings, all of which were great successes with the public. As a political author, he can be assigned to the reformists of the end of the Qing period ; however, he is critical of the violent and total revolution. He died in Shanghai in 1906 at the age of only 39.

plant

The first major publication is Gengzi guobian tanci ( Chinese  庚子 國 變 彈詞 ) (“Ballad about the rebellion from gengzi”), which was published in 1900. In it, Li deals with the Boxer Rebellion in the traditional tanci form. The political events and social changes in his home country China, at that time shaped by the increasingly weaker rule of the Qing dynasty and the presence of the foreign colonial powers, will keep him busy in all future works.

From 1903 (the book version is only published from 1906) appears in a magazine Guanchang xianxingji ( Chinese  官场 现形 记 ) ("The Bureaucrats"). The episode novel consists of a total of 60 chapters, but remains unfinished. It is a satirical denunciation of grievances in the examination system for civil servants, of buying offices, corruption and wrong justice. Like many other authors of such writings, he was probably influenced by Wu Jingzi ( Chinese  吴敬梓 ) and his book Rulin waishi ( Chinese  儒林外史 ). A German translation is available: The house for shared happiness. Translated by M. Liebermann and W. Bettin, Berlin: Rütten & Loening, 1964.

At the same time, Wenming xiaoshi ( Chinese  文明 小 史 ) (“Little History of Civilization” / “Modern Times”) appears, also periodically, initially under a pseudonym in “Illustrated storytelling” (see above). This episodic novel takes a critical look at the concept of culture, especially in the relationship between China and abroad. Adoption of western science and technology is recognized as necessary on the one hand, but false reform zeal, abuse, corruption, selfishness and inability of the officials are criticized on the other. The role of women and the problems of the Chinese diaspora are also topics. Together with the “Bureaucrats”, it is probably Li's best-known work. An English translation is available: Modern Times. A Brief History of Enlightenment. Translated by Douglas Lancashire. Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Renditions Book, 1996.

Between 1903 and 1906 Huo diyu ( Chinese  活 地狱 ) ("Living Hell"), a collection of 16 independent stories about the evil machinations of the officials, was published. In 1904 he began publishing Zhongguo xianzaiji ( Chinese  中国 现在 记 ) ("The current situation in China"). After 12 chapters, however, work on this novel was not continued.

Impact history

Not only the political-satirical episodic novels were a great success with the public and were often copied, Li's work as a magazine publisher also had a great influence on subsequent publications.

literature

• Meribeth E. Cameron: The Reform Movement in China, 1898-1912 . Stanford University Press, Stanford 1931 [information on the so-called reformists in the late imperial era]
• Wolfgang Franke: The Reform and Abolition of the Traditional Examination System . Harvard University Press, Cambridge 1960 [Explanations of the traditional examination system in China and its reforms]
• Otto Gast: Wen-ming hsia-shih. A prose satire from the end of the Ch'ing period . Dissertation at the Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg, 1982 [work analysis]
• Douglas Lancashire: Li Po-Yüan . Twayne Publishers, Boston 1981 [biography, work analysis and excerpts]
• Rudolf G. Wagner: Joining the Global Public. Word, Image, and City in Early Chinese Newspapers, 1870-1910 . SUNY Press, Albany 2007 [covers Li Boyuan's achievements as a magazine publisher]
• Thomas Zimmer: The Chinese novel of the late imperial era . In: History of Chinese Literature . Volume 2/2. Munich: KG Saur Verlag, 2002 [biography, work analysis and excerpts]

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Chinese. Li is the family name here, Boyuan is the first name.