Chen Hengzhe and her husband Ren Hongjun [File photo/Peking University Alumni]

Chen Hengzhe (1890—1976) was the first female professor, and one of the first prolific female writers, in modern Chinese history.

Born to a traditional and educated family in Wujin, east China's Zhejiang Province, Chen learned about literature and arts from an early age under the influence of those around her. In particular, her uncle taught her about science, culture and women's spirit of independence in the West. Because of her upbringing, she rebelled against arranged marriage and left home to live with her aunt.

In 1914, she was accepted at the acclaimed Tsinghua University as one of its first 10 female students to enroll. During her second year, she was chosen by Vassar College in New York to study the history of the West and Western literature, and later she went to the University of Chicago to pursue her master's degree in literature.

After graduating in 1920, Chen returned and got married to scientist Ren Hongjun(1886-1961). As Peking University was preparing to recruit female students at that time, its president Cai Yuanpei (1868-1940) invited her to teach Western history and English language.

Literature Achievements

Because of her outstanding achievements and contributions in the field of literature, she is remembered as one of the earliest writers in the history of China's modern literature and the earliest female writer to create literary works in modern vernacular Chinese, instead of using the classical Chinese scripts.

Notably, she was China’s first woman author to describe foreigners' lives in an overseas setting, the first female poet in the era of China's modern literature, and the first female Chinese writer of fairytales.

In 1917, she released her short story One Day and the following year she wrote the poem I Was Said to Be Crazy. In 1920, Chen had her fairytale Raindrops published in New Youth magazine.

In her works, Chen expressed her thoughts on women's meaning of life, the value of their existence, and their pursuit of free life against the backdrop of the May 4th Movement (1915-1921), which evolved from a student protest against Chinese government's weak response to the Treaty of Versailles and an effort to shift the country toward cultural and political modernization.

Chinese writer Sima Changfeng (1920-1980) wrote in A History of China's New Literature, "When the literary revolution was thriving, the first writer who picked up the pen and wrote novels to respond was Lu Xun [1881-1936], and the second was Chen Hengzhe."

Hu Shi (1891-1962), who was a leading figure also advocating the use of writing in the vernacular, wrote in his preface to Raindrops, "She was one of the earliest comrades of mine."

Historian with Unique Perspective

Though she was better known for her contemporary achievements, Chen dedicated a significant portion of her life to the study of history. When she taught the subject, she was popular among students for her vivid interpretation and knack for communicating China's spirit as a nation.

Opposed to spoon-feeding in education, Chen asked her students to collect materials to assist or support her lectures. But the attempts made her realize that there were too few reference books written in Chinese.

"I decided to quit my teaching job and commit myself to compiling a book," wrote Chen in the preface to her significant work, History of the West.

"When we study the history of a nation, we can not only learn about this group but also ourselves," said Chen, pointing out her purpose of studying history, in the introduction.

In the first half of the 20th century, Chen was the only Chinese female to analyze history from the perspective of women. In her studies, she urged readers to focus on women, their role and positions in history and, based on this, she called to renew interpretations of the discipline.

Chen herself was a pioneering figure in the women's liberation movement.

"The fundamental way for women to have the same rights as men is to liberate their mind, improve their skills and, most importantly, their personality," commented Chen in the book.

"The most significant responsibility of those who are passionate about women's movements is to help young women find the most proper way to give full play to their talents."

Viewpoints on Women's Role in Family

When she was young, Chen wanted to remain single as she believed that for a modern educated woman, career could be all. Unlike most Chinese women who married young at that time, Chen got engaged at the age of 29 to Ren, who traveled from China to the U.S. to make the proposal.

During the May 4th Movement, Chen was concerned with social issues, especially those about women. Many of her articles contained insights into such problems and created quite a stir. Chen said that women's liberation was built on "equal opportunities to develop."

She wrote in an essay, "we have to demand an equal opportunity for women to develop... in the fields of education, environment and employment."

As for women's roles as wives and mothers, Chen wrote that motherhood was a sacred and special career, and that women could build their career while being a good mother and marriage partner.

"All jobs that are completed with physical power, intelligence, purpose and result should be considered careers," said Chen. "Wifehood and motherhood are no humbler than any other careers."

At the end of the 1930s, Chen quit her job and became a full-time mother to educate her three children.

"Motherhood is the basis of culture and it is irreplaceable," said Chen. "When family and career cannot be taken good care of at the same time, I would rather abandon the latter."

The reason for her to make the decision was said to be the fact that she witnessed the tragedy where Hu Shi's own baby daughter died of illness.

An Unswerving Patriot

Like her peers who lived in a chaotic China which suffered wars between factions and invasions of world powers, Chen was enthusiastic to save the country and reform Chinese society.

"What I can do is to use culture to carry out my responsibility to reform the social mindset," wrote Chen to Hu in 1923.

When Japan staged the Manchurian Incident and occupied northeast China in 1931, Chen wrote a number of articles to condemn Japan's plot and urged Chinese people to revive the country.

In 1935, the army of the Chinese central government entered southwest China's Sichuan Province, which had long been controlled by local warlords. As part of the policy to establish the authority of the central government in the remote province, Chen's husband was appointed to the position of the president of Sichuan University.

Chen moved there along with her husband and taught Western history at the local institution. "The reform of social mindset has to be the responsibility of the academic world," said Chen.

When the New China was established in 1949, Chen and her husband chose to stay in the mainland. After serving as a member of the Shanghai Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference for decades, she died in Shanghai at the age of 86.

The works Chen left behind have assumed a pioneering position in the modern history of China.

(Source: Peking University Alumni/Translated and edited by Women of China)