Zhou Yang or Chou Yang (November 7, 1908 – July 31, 1989), courtesy name Qiying (起应), was a Chinese literary theorist, translator and Marxist thinker, active from the founding of the League of the Left-Wing Writers in 1930. In the 1930s he was notable for his sharp disagreements with other leftist writers, including Lu Xun, concerning leftist literary theory.[1]
After the People's Republic of China was declared in 1949, Zhou became one of Mao Zedong's most-supported literary theorists. His report, On the Military Tasks of Philosophy and Social Science Workers, delivered to Mao in 1963, was one of the catalysts for the Cultural Revolution.[2] However, during the late stage of the Cultural Revolution Zhou was himself imprisoned after falling out of favor due to differing view points on the importance of art in politics.[3] After the Cultural Revolution ended, he was rehabilitated and given new political offices. At that time he apologized to victims of his literary witch-hunt campaigns in the past. He also advocated the humanist aspects of Marxism within the Communist Party near the end of his life, and was attacked again for such views.[4]
Zhou also translated the works of Leo Tolstoy and other Russian writers into Chinese.[5]