Xiao Song 小松 (1912-?) was primarily a novelist. Originally named Zhao Mengyuan 趙孟原, alias Zhao Shuquan 趙樹全. Pen names included Mengyuan夢園 and Bai Yeyue 白野月.
On 4 October 1912, he was born in Dahu 大虎 city, Heishan黑山 country, Liaoning 遼寧province. In 1932, he was a member of the Bai guang she 白光社 (White light society). The magazine White Light was published by the Fengtian Gongbao 奉天公報 (Fengtian bulletin). In 1934, he graduated from the Western Literature Department of Wenhui College (文會學院) and began work at Fengtian’s Minsheng Wanbao 民聲晩報(People’s voice evening newspaper) where he edited the supplement Wenxue Zhoubao 文學週報 (Literature weekly). In 1935, he moved to Dalian to work at Manzhou Bao滿洲報 (Manchuria newspaper). From January 1937, he edited the literary supplement Wenyi Zhuanye文藝專頁 (Literature and art specialized pages). At the end of the year, he moved to Xinjing to edit the journal Mingming 明明 (Brightness). In 1938, he participated with Manchukuo’s National Propaganda Office, to visit Japan to interview Japanese reporters. The same year, he became editor-in-chief of Manchuria Yinghua 滿洲映畫 (Manchuria movies), which was renamed, in 1941, Dianying Huabao 電影畫報 (Movie pictorial). In 1939, he participated in the founding of the Yiwenzhi藝文志(Record of art and literature) faction. In 1941, he was named deputy general manager of the Yiwen shufang藝文書房 (Art and literature study; it was a bookstore and publishing company). In 1941, his novel Bei gui 北帰(Return north) was awarded the Shengjing Literature and Art Award. In 1946, he was the chief editor ofZhongguo Xinwen 中國新聞 (China news). In 1947, he worked as a teacher at Railway Primary School in Jinzhou錦州. In 1948, he edited the Tielu Gongbao鐵路公報 (Railway bulletin) and at the end of the year he joined the clerical section of the Railway Administration. It is unknown how the Communist Party’s wholesale political persecution of Manchukuo’s writers impacted on his life. His reputation was restored in 1982.
– Norman Smith