History of Hangzhou
Yu Dafu (Wade-Giles: Yu Ta-fu, December 7, 1896—September 17, 1945), born in Fuyang(on the Fuchun river which flows into the Qiantang River which goes by Hangzhou), Zhejiang, was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet. Yu Dafu's father died at his age three, leaving the family poverty-stricken and destitute and latter recalled experiencing hunger (which might have affected his health later in life). And his mother succeeded in getting all three of her sons to attend school. Yu Dafu started out his study at private schools and then attended Fuyang County Gaodeng Xiaoxue tang (formed from the "Spring River Academy," shuyuan), graduated a top student in 1910. From 1911-13 he studied at home on his own. From 1932 to 1936, he retreated in Hangzhou. During that time, he became editor of Lin Yutang's Analects, dedicated to all subjects except politics (1936-37), traveled diaries in a very traditional style and in 1936 worked for two months in the Fujian government. In 1945, he was murdered by the Japanese MP in Indonesia when they finally revealed his true identity. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, the central government honored him as a revolutionary martyr. Jih-chi chiu-chung "Nine Diaries", which detailed his affair with the writer Wang Ying-hsin, was Yu Dafu’s most popular work and was breaking all Chinese sales records. Meanwhile, Kuo-ch'u or "The Past", written in 1927, which is said to have psychological depth, was the most critically acclaimed work is.
