Originally named Jiang Bingzhi, Ding Ling (1904-1986) was born in Linli County, Hunan Province. Her father died when she was little, and she was raised by her independent and strong-minded mother, who passed strong democratic values down to Ding Ling, as well as a keen interest in literature.
The May Fourth Movement of 1919 aroused by students and intellectuals was one of China's greatest patriotic and cultural movements in modern times, and also had a significant impact on Chinese literature. In 1927, the 23-year-old Ding Ling wrote her first successful novel, "Miss Sophia's Diary." It was very popular among young readers and also attracted the attention of writers like Lu Xun, the father of modern Chinese Literature, and the celebrated realistic writer, Mao Dun. The book, clearly inspired by the progressive thought of the May Fourth Movement, is the story of a young lady who bravely pursues true love, and at the same time also shows deep concern over the tumultuous condition of her country.
Ding Ling later joined the League of Left-Wing Writers led by Lu Xun, and turned to realism and communism in her writings. Her full-length novel "The Sun Shines Over the Sanggan River," about Chinese land reform in 1948, was another masterpiece, which won her the "Stalin Literature Prize."
Ding Ling kept writing throughout her life, despite all the hardships she
suffered in her later years, and produced a series of great works amounting to over three million characters during the 60 years of her career. She is a major figure in the main hall of the National Museum of Modern Chinese Literature in Beijing.
Consisting of several three-story white buildings, the museum is located near the Third Ring Road in northeast Beijing.
On the third floor of one of the museum's major exhibition halls, there is a recreation of Ding Ling's study, simply furnished with a plain writing desk, a chair and a chaise longue that were donated by her family. Along with other such donated materials in another exhibition hall, they are part of a new exhibition dedicated to Ding Ling being held from early October to the end of the year. The museum held its first Ding Ling exhibition in the early 1990s.
The head of the museum's Exhibition and Communications Section believes this great writer deserves a commemorative exhibition to mark her 100th birthday anniversary, "Ding Ling is a writer with a sharp-cut character. She experienced hard times throughout her life and created a lot of great works. She should never be forgotten."
(CRI October 15, 2004)
