Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t26: Munshi Premchand
Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t26
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Munshi Premchand
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Munshi Premchand (July 31, 1880 - October 8, 1936) was a Hindi and Urdu novelist. He was born in Lamhi, a village near Banaras, Uttar Pradesh, India. His former name was Dhanpat Rai. He was the founder of Indian modern literature and was crowned as ‘King of Indian Novels’.
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He engaged in teaching for a long time since he was 19 years old. In 1929, he resigned from the well-paid public office and engaged in literary creation. He was the editor-in-chief of various magazines like *‘Hans’*
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Munshi Premchand
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and *‘Jagaran’*. He also founded the Saraswati Press that has become an important base for Indian modern cultural development and cultivated a large number of young writers. In April 1936, he chaired the first congress of the Progressive Writers’ Association and delivered a keynote speech entitled *The Purpose of Literature*. He was elected as the first Chairman of the Progressive Writers’ Association at the congress, and he passed away on October 8, 1936.
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Munshi Premchand composed 15 long and medium-length novels, and over 300 short stories in his life. He also wrote screenplays, children’s literature works, dramas and abundant running comments, political comments and literature reviews. His first collection of short stories *Soz-e-Watan* (1907) was banned by the British colonial authority due to the strong sense of patriotism. His major works include *Sevasadan* (1918), *Premashram* (1922), *Rangabhumi* (1925), *Nirmala* (1927) and *Godan* (1936). *Godan* is his representative work that extensively demonstrates the landscape of Indian
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'Rangbhoomi', Chinese edition
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rural society under British colonial rule in 1930s, exposes acute class contradictions, and shapes the typical image of farmers, which is known as ‘Indian rural epic’.
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Munshi Premchand had a deep attachment towards China, its people and their culture. In 1930s, when Japan invaded China, he continuously wrote editorials in *‘Hans’* and *‘Jagaran’* to condemn the brutality of Japanese aggressors and express support for the Chinese’s struggle. He wrote in his article *Japanese Appetite*, “‘Play the bully’ is the best description for Japan. It seized the land of North Korea and then Manchu. Now, it wants to seize the land of China.” He looked at India-China relations from the overall pattern of the world that big powers were running amok and small and weak nations were resisting. He called on small and weak nations to unite, cooperate and mutually support each other. He wrote in a running review ‘*North China*’ that, “India and China maintains amicable relations for thousands of years. Indians respect,
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Ghasvali, front cover of the Chinese edition
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admire and love China, which can only be felt by Indians themselves.”
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Chinese people respect and love this Indian writer who had a broad world view and deep sense of justice. China witnessed two waves of translation of his works, in 1950s and in 1980s respectively. In 1950s, his representative works *‘Godan’*, *‘Nirmala’* and some short stories were translated into Chinese and were very popular among readers, and influenced the creation of Chinese modern rural writers, including Hao Ran and Liu Shaotang. In 1980s, his short story collections *Newly Married* (Xin Hun) (1981), *Best Tree* (Ru Yi Shu) (1982), *Selected Short Stories of Munshi Premchand* (1984) and *Mowing Woman* (Gecao De Nvren) (1985) were translated and published. His long stories *Stage* (*Rangabhumi*) (1980), *A String of Necklace* (*Corruption*) (1983) and *Premashram* (*New Village of Philanthropy*) (1986) were also translated and published. His thought and creation have always been research subject of Chinese scholars and the topic of postgraduates and doctoral theses. China Indian Literary Research Association once held a special seminar for him in 1986. *Critical Biography of Munshi Premchand* (1999) written by Liu Anwu is a symbolic achievement of Chinese scholars in studying Munshi Premchand.
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(*Li Yuejin*)