Wang Yuanhua (1920–2008) was a prominent literary theorist. He joined the Communist Party of China in 1938 and later served as a member of the first Literature Review Panel of the Academic Degree Committee of the State Council, the first doctoral supervisor and adjunct professor in Chinese Literature at East China Normal University, the Head of the Publicity Department of the CPC Shanghai Municipal Committee, and the Director of the Shanghai Ancient Books Collation and Planning Group. He was also elected as a delegate to the 12^th CPC National Congress, a member of the Standing Committee of the 8^th Shanghai Municipal People’s Congress, and a member of the Standing Committee of the 7^th Shanghai Municipal Committee of the CPPCC.

Wang began writing in the 1930s and remained a prolific scholar throughout his 60-year academic career. His work A Creative Theory of Wenxin Diaolong received the first Honorary Award for Comparative Literature in China. In 1998, he was awarded the Shanghai Award for Outstanding Contributions to Literature and Art, and in the same year, his essay collection Speculative Essays received the National Book Award. In 2006, he won the Shanghai Award for Academic Contributions in Philosophy and Social Sciences. The year after his passing, he was honored as a “Thinker of Our Time” in the “Exhibition Commemorating the 60^th Anniversary of Shanghai’s Liberation” held at the Shanghai Exhibition Center, and was recognized alongside figures such as Chen Yi, the first mayor of Shanghai in the PRC era, as one of the “Eternal Exemplars of the City.”

As Mr. Wang Yuanhua willed, East China Normal University established the Wang Yuanhua Exhibition Hall to promote his spirit of intellectual independence and freedom, and to continue exploring the scholarly questions he left behind.

The library warmly welcomes ECNU departments to hold academic and cultural events in the Wang Yuanhua Exhibition Hall. The venue is provided free of charge as part of our effort to help cultivate an innovative, inclusive, and harmonious campus culture. For inquiries, please contact us in advance.

Contact: Room 701, Putuo Campus Library

Tel: 021- 62232797 (Ms. Jiang)