Qu Bo was a Chinese novelist. His name was also translated as Chu Po. Qǔ, the family name, has meanings of curve, melody and tune. Bō stands for ripples and waves. His first book Tracks in the Snowy Forest made him one of the most popular authors at the time.
Life
Born in Zaolinzhuang Village, Huang County, at the north-east coast of Shandong province, Qu Bo's early education was through a private school where he started to gain his sound knowledge of Chinese classical literature and succinct language skills. His father, Qu Chunyang and mother, Qu Liushi owned a small business of cotton dyeing, which failed when western textiles poured into China. In 1938, at the age of 15, he left home and fought in the war against the Japanese invasion. His name was changed from his childhood name Qu Qingtao into Qu Bo by the officials of the Eighth Route Army. Qu Bo had further education at the Counter-Japanese Military and Political University in Shandong and became a journalist of an army newspaper, The Progress. The army turned into the People's Liberation Army after the Japanese surrendered, and Qu Bo continued to battle in the Chinese civil war in the northeast of China, protecting the regional civilians from robbery and killings by the regional bandits and brigands. In the army, he served as a young literacy teacher, a political commissar and finally a colonel. In 1946 he married Liu Bo who was a head nurse of a hospital at the same army regional headquarters. During the communist regime after 1949, Qu Bo worked in the railway industry and the Ministry of Machinery until his retirement, and lived in Beijing for the rest of his life. Qu Bo was an active member of the China Writers'Association, and was recognised as a Chinese contemporary writer in the history of Chinese Literature. He had, however, never stopped his full-time industrial management jobs and only wrote books and articles during his spare time. He visited Russia, Pakistan and England as an author as well as industrial director. His novels were made into films, Beijing Opera musicals and TV shows. Qu Bo's Family: See 曲波 in Chinese Wikipedia
Novels
Tracks in the Snowy Forest , People's Literature Publishing House 人民文学出版社. A thrilling tale of a small group of selected soldiers who went into the snowy mountains searching and fighting dangerous hidden bandits and brigands. 1,560,000 copies of were printed during 1957-1964 in three editions. The book was translated into English, Russian, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese, Mongolian, Norwegian and Arabic. A film adaptation of the novel was made in 1960. A later film adaptation titled The Taking of Tiger Mountain was released December 23, 2014. Roar of the Mountains and the Seas , China Youth Press 中国青年出版社. An adventure story and romance set in Shandong Province during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The writing was completed before the Cultural Revolution and the publication was delayed for more than 10 years. Qiao Longbiao , People's Literature Press 人民文学出版社. A tale of a patriotic hero who was later enlisted into the communist forces during the war against Japanese. The book was completed before the Cultural Revolution, but again the publication was delayed for more than 10 years.
Stele of Rong E , Shandong People's Publishing House 山东人民出版社. A story reflecting the importance of Chinese women in the war against Japanese.
Short Stories
Mostly about daily life in an industrial frontier, e.g. , .
