Yuan Changying
Chinese writer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Yuan Changying (Chinese:袁昌英; October 11, 1894 – April 28, 1973) was a Chinese writer.[1][2] She was the first Chinese woman to graduate from the University of Edinburgh and the first Chinese woman to be a Master's student in Britain.[1][3][4] She is best known for her collection of plays - Southeast Flies the Peacock.[1][2][4][5][6]
Yuan Changying | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | 11 October 1894  |
| Died | 28 April 1973 (aged 78) |
| Alma mater | |
| Children | Yang Jingyuan |
Personal life
On October 11, 1894, Yuan Changying was born in the city of Liling in Hunan.[1][2] Her father Yuan Jiapu was educated at Waseda University.[1] Yuan's mother died when Yuan was young.[6] Her father remarried and had a son and another daughter.[6] Yuan married Chinese economist Yang Duanliu (杨端六).[5] Yuan met Yang when he was studying at the University of London.[5] After graduating from University of Edinburgh in 1921, Yuan returned to China with Yang.[1] In February 1923 in Changsha, Yuan gave birth to Yang and hers daughter, Yang Jingyuan (杨静远).[7] Later on, Yuan gave birth to their son - Yang Hongyuan (杨弘远).[7]
Education
In 1916, Yuan started attending Blackheath High School in London.[1] From 1916 to 1921, Yuan studied at the University of Edinburgh, where she earned a Master's Degree in English drama and literature.[1][4][8] Her master's thesis was about William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.[1]
Career
In 1922, she started teaching women at Beijing Normal University.[1]
In 1928, Yuan became a professor at Wuhan University in the School of Chinese Language and Literature.[4][9] While at Wuhan University, she worked and befriended Su Xuelin and Ling Shuhua and the three of them were known together as the "Three Female Talents of Luojia Mountain,"[4] the "Three Heroines of Luojia,”[1] or "The Three Musketeers of Luojia."[5] She also taught at the China University of Political Science and Law.[10]
In 1930, she published Southeast Flies the Peacock, which was a collection of Chinese plays in the "spoken drama" style instead of in an opera style.[4][5] Yuan's nickname - "the peacock of Liling" - originated from her 1930 collection.[5] In 1935, students at Wuhan University performed Southeast Flies the Peacock.[4] Yuan was also a part of a literary group called The Crescent Moon Society.[11]
In 1931, she accused Hong Shen of plagiarism in her article "Zhuang shi huangdi he Zhao yanwang."[12] Hong Shen would deny these accusations.[12]
Later in life, Yuan became a member of Chinese Democratic League.[1]