Wen Jiasi

Wen Jiasi (Chinese: 闻家驷; February 7, 1905 – November 8, 1997), originally named Wen Ji, was a Chinese scholar of French literature and translator. A native of Xishui, Hubei Province, he was the younger brother of the poet Wen Yiduo. Wen was a prominent figure in the study and translation of French literature in China and played an active role in intellectual and political circles, serving in positions within the China Democratic League and national and municipal legislative bodies.^[1] He is the younger borther of Wen Yiduo.^[2]

Wen received a traditional education in his early years under the guidance of his father in a private school. Influenced by his brother Wen Yiduo, he began reading modern publications such as New Citizen Journal (Xinmin Congbao). In 1919, he went to Wuhan, where he studied at a missionary secondary school from 1919 to 1921, followed by the Hankou French School from 1921 to 1923. He later continued preparatory studies in French at Aurora University in Shanghai from 1923 to 1925.^[3]

During the May Thirtieth Movement in 1925, Wen participated in student protests and was expelled for joining a strike and refusing to take supplementary examinations. He subsequently engaged in self-study in Beijing, Wuhan, and his hometown. In 1926, he traveled to France at his own expense and enrolled at the University of Paris to study literature, but returned to China after one year due to financial difficulties. In 1931, he received government sponsorship from Hubei Province to resume his studies in France, enrolling at the University of Grenoble, where he specialized in French literature.^[4]

After returning to China in 1934, Wen began his academic career, serving as a lecturer in French at Peking University and the Beiping Art School. In 1938, he was appointed associate professor in the Department of Foreign Languages and Literatures at the National Southwestern Associated University in Kunming, and was later promoted to professor. In 1946, he returned to Beiping and resumed his professorship at Peking University, where he also taught at the Sino-French University. From 1949 to 1952, he served as a standing member of the university affairs committee and head of the Department of Western Languages at Peking University.^[5][6]

Wen joined the China Democratic League in 1944 while teaching at the National Southwestern Associated University and participated in the establishment of the Southwest Cultural Research Society under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party's Southern Bureau. He later held a number of important positions within the League, including member of its central committee, standing committee member, and vice chairman. He also served as vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People's Congress and as vice chairman of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.^[7] At the national level, he was a member of the 3rd National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and a standing committee member of its 4th to 7th National Committees.^[8]

As a translator, Wen produced influential Chinese translations of major works of French literature, including selections of Victor Hugo's poetry and Stendhal's The Red and the Black. He also contributed to the compilation of major reference works such as A History of European Literature and the foreign literature volumes of the Encyclopedia of China.^[9] In 1982, he published an article in Guangming Daily titled "On Fully Recognizing the Hardship of Intellectual Labor", advocating greater recognition of the role of intellectuals in society.^[10]

Wen died in Beijing on November 8, 1997.^[11]