What's New - Home - Login

Wen was born in Xishui County, Hubei. After receiving a traditional education he went on to continue studying at the Tsinghua University. In 1922, he traveled to the United States to study fine arts and literature in the Art Institute of Chicago. It was during this time that his first collection of poetry, Hongzhu (??, "Red Candle"), was published. In 1925, he traveled back to China and took a university teaching post. In 1928, his second collection, Sishui (??, "Dead Water"), was published. His poetry is influenced by Western models. In the same year he joined the Crescent Moon Society and wrote essays on poetry, mostly stressing that poetry should have "formal properties". He also began to publish the results of his classical Chinese literature research.

At the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War, he moved to Kunming, Yunnan, and continued to teach in National Southwestern Associated University. He became politically active in 1944 in support of the China Democratic League and continued to be so until his death. His outspoken nature led to his assassination by secret agents of Kuomintang, right after eulogizing his friend Li Gongpu's funeral in 1946.

His grave can be found at the Yunnan Normal University campus in Kunming.