Hu Lancheng (; Feb 28, 1906 – July 25, 1981) was a Chinese writer and politician who was denounced as a traitor for serving a propaganda official in the Wang Jingwei regime, the Japanese puppet regime during the Second Sino-Japanese War. He was the first husband of the celebrated novelist Eileen Chang.
Early life
Hu Lancheng (February 28, 1906 – July 25, 1981), also known as Zhang Jiayi 张嘉仪, was born in Zhejiang, China. Hu had six brothers, and he was the sixth child of Hu Xiumin (胡秀铭) and Wu Juhua (吴菊花).Zhang, G. 张桂华. (2010). Hu lancheng zhuan 胡兰成传. Changchun: Bei fang fu nv er tong chu ban she, 1-26.
In 1918, when Hu was twelve years old, he attended the entrance examination of Zhishan elementary school, in the summer of the same year, Hu enrolled in Secondary School Affiliated to Shaoxing No.5 Normal School.Zhang 2010, p. 16. In 1919, Hu got into Shaoxing No.5 Secondary School. Hu studied for only one semester; the school closed down during the second semester due to boycott of classes.Zhang 2010, p. 17.
In 1920, Hu went to Hangzhou with his cousin Wu Xuefan (吴雪帆), they both enrolled in Hangzhou Huilan Secondary School. He met many people during this time and made friends with Wang Jingzhi (汪静之), Liu Zhaoyang (刘朝阳), and Cui Zhenwu (崔真吾).Zhang 2010, p. 19-21.
In 1923, Hu was eighteen years old and started his third year in Huilan Secondary School, he got engaged to Tang Yufeng (唐玉凤). When Hu was one semester short of earning his degree in Huilan Secondary School, Hu was expelled from school because he offended the registrar by editing the school newsletter.Zhang 2010, p. 24. Two years later, in September 1925, Hu's father was found dead in his house and it was only one month after this event that Hu married Tang Yufeng, his first wife of five.Zhang 2010, p. 26.
Education Hu grew up in the countryside where most people were uneducated, and although Hu was quite smart and good at learning, his original family was too poor to afford his education. Fortunately, he was well supported by his adoptive parents (义父) and finished his elementary education in Shaoxing.Zhang, G. (2010). Hu Lancheng Zhuan. Changchun: Beifang funv ertong chubanshe.
In 1921, Hu entered the Wayland High School (蕙兰中学), a Christian School in Hangzhou. The school was famous for its English education, and many big-name writers such as Yu Dafu (郁达夫) and Lu Li (陆蠡) had also studied there. Throughout the four-year study in the Wayland School, Hu refused to go to church and spent most of the time reading.Qin, X. (2010). Lie and Truth - Biography of Hu Lancheng. New Literature History, 24(135), pp.28-41. Apart from studying, Hu took an active part in developing social connections with many alumni, which later played an important role in his life.
Unlike Hu's poor hometown, Hangzhou was a city with enormous opportunities and new ideas that attracted many young people like Hu. During his stay in Hangzhou, Hu was connected with the Hupan Poets Club (湖畔诗社), which has made an important impact in the Chinese New Culture Movement and the history of modern Chinese poetry.Zhang, G. (2010). Hu Lancheng Zhuan. Changchun: Beifang funv ertong chubanshe. By having access to education in Hangzhou, Hu was provided opportunities to develop his talent in literature, and therefore marked a turning point in his life.
Marriages and affairs
Hu Lancheng was, and still is, recognized for his numerous lovers during the duration of his life.David Der-wei Wang, “Chapter Four. A Lyricism of Betrayal: The Enigma of Hu Lancheng” in The Lyrical in Epic Time: Modern Chinese Intellectuals and Artists Through the 1949 Crisis, by David Der-wei Wang (New York Chichester, West Sussex: Columbia University Press, 2015) pg. 155-190 .https://doi.org/10.7312/wang17046-007 His first marriage, on the other hand, came to an end when his wife Tang Yufeng died, and two short marriages followed when he moved from Guangxi to Nanjing, respectively Wang 2015, p. 181.
For fans of Eileen Chang, also known colloquially as Zhangmi (張迷), Hu Lancheng's trysts are nothing short of notorious.Wang 2015, p. 155. Eileen Chang was his fourth wife out of five, a relationship that began through an affair while Hu was still married to his third wife.Wang 2015, p. 155-156. It is said that their attraction to one another was sparked through their impressive literary talent and Hu often spoke of Chang in high praise.Wang 2015, p. 155-156. Their marriage, similar to his past relationships, was riddled with affairs from beginning to end (1944–1946).Wang 2015, p. 155-156. His amorous affairs were only made worse by the fact he was largely financially dependent on Eileen Chang.Wang 2015, p. 155. According to his own memoir, Hu seduced a nurse named Zhou Xunde, who was just seventeen, shortly after marrying Chang.Wang 2015, p. 181. Moreover, near the end of their marriage, his affair with the widow Fan Xiumei, a member of the host family with whom he was staying, even led to a pregnancy.Wang 2015, p. 181.
Following his escape to Japan after World War II, Hu Lancheng married the widow of a Shanghai political collaborator, She Aizhen, but not before characteristically having a three-year affair with the wife of his then-landlord.Wang 2015, p. 181.
Career In China Hu Lancheng began his career by working as a clerk in the University of Yen-ching, located in Beijing, which eventually exposed him to the western intellectual thought that inspired much of his writing and political beliefs, Marxism being one example.Wang 2015, p. 159. This was followed by a period of teaching positions at various high schools, this lasted about five years approximately. Hu Lancheng's acclaimed literary career began in Guangxi province in 1932 with the publishing of various essays in local in journals and newspapers.Wang 2015, p. 159. Under the employment of Wang Jingwei in the late 1930s, Hu's essays functioned as propaganda for the movement, most of which were featured in an organization devoted to the supporting Wang's ideals, such as the South China Daily.Wang 2015, p. 160. In 1938, Hu was the general editor of the South China Daily newspaper and simultaneously worked as an editor of the international relations sector of Weilan Shu Dian 蔚蓝书店 (Blue Bookstore).Zhang, G. 张桂华. (2010). Hu Lancheng zai <Nanhua> he “Weilan”. 胡兰成在《南华》和“蔚蓝”. Du shu wen thai: wen shi ban, (12), 49-54 It has been said that the latter of the two provided him with the ability to critically analyze international relations, a topic which was continuously featured in his editorials.Zhang 2010, p.51-53 One of his most popular works from this era was the essay Zhannan he yi buyi (To seek battle is difficult; to seek peace is no less easy). Once Wang Jing-wei officially left the GMD (or Nationalist party), Hu Lancheng was promoted to the position of Deputy Minister of Propaganda within the party, and also worked for a time as Wang's secretary.Wang 2015, p. 160.
In Japan In April 1950, Hu Lancheng managed to escape to Japan by cruise with the help of Xiong Jiandong (熊剑东) after staying in Hong Kong for five months.Wang, Yixin 王一心. “Hu lancheng wangming riben de zuichu rizi” 胡兰成亡命日本的最初日子. Zhongshan fengyu 钟山风雨 5 (2003): 38-41. Print. Having landed at Yokohama, Hu headed for Tokyo in search of help from his old friends, Tōzō Shimizu and Tomoki Ikeda, who later introduced him to the then socialites in Japan and helped broaden his social circle.Zhang, G. 张桂华. (2010). Hu lancheng zhuan 胡兰成传. Changchun: Bei fang fu nv er tong chu ban she. In 1951, Hu settled down in Tokyo where he attended several political party meetings and composed articles to offer strategies for Japan in the Korean War. Even though the Taiwan government went against him for his being a traitor, Hu got to continue his work with the Japanese government at his back. When the Korean War was over, Hu started to lose his status as an “amateur politician.” Zhang, G. 张桂华. (2010). Hu lancheng zhuan 胡兰成传. Changchun: Bei fang fu nv er tong chu ban she. Later in March 1954, Hu Lancheng married She Aizhen (佘爱珍) who came to Tokyo with Li Xiaobao (李小宝). In the following three to four years, Hu finished two of the most important books in his life: Shanhe suiyue (China through Time) and Jinsheng jinshi (This Life, This World), aiming to tap into the field of literature after his political failure in Japan.Zhang, G. 张桂华. (2010). Hu lancheng zhuan 胡兰成传. Changchun: Bei fang fu nv er tong chu ban she. During his exile in Japan, Hu Lancheng kept in touch with mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan with his friend Tang Chun-i (唐君毅) as the intermediary. They have written over 100 letters to each other and nearly one-third of them were written from 1950 to 1951.Zhang, G. 张桂华. (2010). Hu lancheng zhuan 胡兰成传. Changchun: Bei fang fu nv er tong chu ban she.
In Taiwan After Hu fled to Japan, a period of his life lasting approximately 20 years, he moved to Taiwan to teach in 1974.Houqi Zhou. (2017) “A Wandering Identity: Home, Nation and Modernity in Hu Lancheng's Literary Works” (Master’s thesis) Indiana University. Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations Publishing (Order No.10280072) However, his career at the Chinese Culture Institute of Taiwan was short-lived. Other academics and intellectuals had exposed Hu as a collaborationist from the Sino-Japanese War via essays in public journals and newspapers, ultimately ending his time as a formal teacher in Taiwan.Zhou 2017, p. 2. That being said, Hu continued to act as a mentor while in Taiwan, the Taiwanese writers and intellectuals Chu Tien-hsin and Chu Tien-wen being among his pupils.Zhou 2017, p. 2-3. The latter of the two went on to write a memoir devoted to Hu, Huayi quanshen (Last life of a flower), as well as many other literary pieces. Some other examples of these works include ‘On Myths and Riddles’ and ‘On Confessions’.Chu T'ien-wen & Li Guo (Translator) (2016) ‘On Confessions’, Chinese Literature Today, 5:2, pg.58-62, Retrieved from Taylor and Francis Online, doi: 10.1080/21514399.2016.11834096Chu T'ien-wen & Ping Zhu (Translator) (2016) ‘On Myths and Riddles’, Chinese Literature Today, 5:2, 63-69, Retrieved from Taylor and Francis Online, doi: 10.1080/21514399.2016.11834097
Politics Wang's political engagement truly began in 1926, when he joined the Nationalist party in Nanjing.Wang 2015, p. 159. Although involved with the GMD, Hu Lancheng's political stance was largely inspired by the concept of xing, a term which can be simply explained as the fabrication of some force that stirs and encourages others.Carlos Rojas and Andrea Bachner. “The Oxford Handbook of Modern Chinese Literatures” (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016) 605-607 When applied to the makings of history, xing could be understood as the catalyst of revolution, and the belief that modern China was in desperate need of this was the foundation to Hu Lancheng's political stance.Rojas and Bachner 2016, p. 606 It was these values that could lead to Hu's controversial political values, including this quotation on his thoughts on human life in the making of a revolution, “Even if… [they] have killed millions of people, I won’t blink my eyes for a moment… it is the Way of heaven to kill the innocent.”Rojas and Bachner 2016, p. 607