AI QING

born March 27, 1910, Chin-hua, Chekiang province, China died May 5, 1996, Peking Wade-Giles romanization Ai Ch'ing, pseudonym of Jiang Haiqing, or Chiang Hai-ch'eng Chinese poet who was committed to the doctrines of Chairman Mao Zedong and who held various literary and political posts until he was denounced as a rightist in 1957; he was finally cleared of that charge in 1961. The son of a well-to-do landowner, Ai Qing was encouraged to learn Western languages. He studied painting in Paris from 1928 to 1932, and he developed an appreciation for Western literature. Imprisoned for his radical political activities, he began to write poetry under his pen name. The title poem of Dayanhe (1936), his first collection of verse, recalls the foster nurse who reared him. This book reflects his concern for the common people of China and his agreement with the literary teachings of Mao. Ai Qing published a number of additional volumes in the 1940s, and from 1949 to 1953 he worked on the editorial staff of the magazine Renmin wenxue (People's Literature). He served on various cultural committees until he was officially censured in 1957. Ai Qing remained silent for 21 years and was interned in labour camps in Heilungkiang and Sinkiang. He began publishing again in 1978. An advocate of free expression and the role of the writer as social critic, Ai Qing used simple language and a free style in creating his socially oriented poems. Selected Poems of Ai Qing was published in 1982.