Ko Pao-ch’iian

1912

Tung-t’ai, China

He spent the remainder of the war in Chungking, the wartime capital of the Nationalists, working as an editor-translator (from Russian and English into Chinese) for the important Communist newspaper, the Hsin-hua jih-pao (New China daily). Concurrently, he edited a literary monthly put out by the left-wing Sino-Soviet Cultural Association (SSCA). His association with the SSCA may have brought him into contact with Ch’ien Chün-jui, one of the founders of the SSCA and a man with whom Ko was to be closely associated in later years. After the war Ko went to Shanghai where he continued to promote Sino-Soviet relations. In the period from 1946 to 1947 he was a translator for the Russian-sponsored weekly Shih-tai (Epoch), chief of the Translation Department of the Shanghai branch of Sheng-huo shu-tien (Life bookstore; one of the largest left-wing publishing companies in China) and head of the Shanghai branch of the Sino-Soviet Cultural Association. Following the collapse of KMT-CCP cooperation in 1946-47, almost all Communist Party members were evacuated from Nationalist-held areas. Ko apparently left Shanghai for the Communist-held areas at this time, in any event, he was with the Communists in the spring of 1949 when he accompanied Kuo Mo-jo to Prague for the World Peace Congress. Following his return to China he attended the All-China Congress of Literary and Art Workers held in Peking in July 1949. At the close of the meetings the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles was established, as well as several subordinate organizations, including the All-China Association of Literary Workers (ACALW; known as the Union of Chinese Writers after 1953). Ko was named to membership on the ACALW’s National Committee. Although he was abroad when the next congress was held in September-October 1953, he was reappointed to the Executive Committee (the new name of the National Committee) of the Writers’ Union. He served on the SSFA Preparatory Committee when it was set up in July 1949, and when the organization was permanently established in October 1949 (just a few days after the inauguration of the PRC), he was named to the SSFA’s First Executive Board. However, because of an appointment abroad (see below), he played no role in the activities of the organization until his return to China in 1954. Ko’s assignment abroad was as counselor and concurrently chargé d’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Moscow; he has the distinction of being the first diplomat appointed in the history of the PRC - his appointment coming a few days before that of Wang Chia-hsiang, Peking’s first ambassador to Moscow. On three occasions during his tour in Moscow, Ko went on missions outside the Soviet Union. The first of these trips took him to Montreux, Switzerland, in May 1950 when he served as an adviser to the Chinese delegate at meetings of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), described by the Chinese press as the first United Nations agency to seat a representative of the PRC. Less than a year later, in January 1951, he was again the adviser to the Chinese delegate to UPU meetings in Cairo. In the interim, in November 1950, Ko had visited Poland as a guest of a Polish writers’ association. During his stay in Moscow, where Ko often served as the chargé d’affaires in the absence of the ambassador, he also took part in one of the most important rounds of negotiations between China and the Soviet Union in the early fifties. These took place in August-September 1952 when Chou En-lai negotiated the return to China of the Chinese Changchun Railway, as well as the continued joint use by China and the USSR of the naval facilities at Port Arthur. As already described, at a congress of writers, which closed in Peking in October 1953, Ko was elected in absentia to the Executive Committee of the Union of Chinese Writers (UCW), a position he continues to hold. At about this same time he was also named as a vice-chairman of the UCW’s Foreign Literature Committee (although official Chinese sources after 1956 list him only as a member). In the latter part of 1953, presumably in anticipation of his return to China, Ko was also named as a deputy secretary-general of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Association (SSFA), a post that placed him directly under Ch’ien Chiin-jui, the most important Party leader in the SSFA at that time. Not long after receiving these appointments, Ko returned to Peking (early 1954) where he resumed his past work as a leading figure in the Chinese literary world, especially in connection with the promotion of Soviet cultural ties. From 1954 to 1960, most frequently in his capacity as a deputy secretary-general of the SSFA, Ko was constantly in the news-writing articles or giving lectures about leading Soviet cultural figures (like Gorky or Pushkin) or escorting the numerous delegations from Moscow that visited China so frequently in the 1950’s. Moreover, on three occasions he returned to the Soviet Union. The first of these trips was in April 1956 when he was a deputy leader of a SSFA delegation sent to Moscow for the May Day celebrations, Ko remained in Moscow to confer with Soviet literary figures, returning to China in June. He was back in Moscow in mid-1958 to take part in preparations for the convocation of the First Afro-Asian Writers’ Conference, and when this was held in Tashkent in October of the same year, Ko was a member of the Chinese delegation led by writer Shen Yen-ping. Tn accordance with a decision taken at the Tashkent meetings, a permanent bureau for the writers was established; when the Chinese established the China Committee for Liaison with the Permanent Bureau of Afro-Asian Writers in April 1959, Ko was named as a member (see under Yang Shuo, the secretary-general of the Chinese Committee).

Ko Pao-ch’iian

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translator writer

Background

Ko was born about 1912 in Tung-t’ai hsien in central Kiangsu into a family that includes two well-known professional men, journalist Ko Kung-chen and Ko Shao-lung, a medical doctor.

Education

Ko reportedly received some of his education in the Soviet Union. If true, this might explain why he was sent in 1935 to the USSR as a correspondent for the Tientsin Ta-kung pao, one of China’s most important newspapers. Initially, Ko went to cover a tour of Russia by China’s foremost Peking opera star, Mei Lan-fang, but he remained in Moscow for three years, returning home in 1938 after the Sino-Japanese War had broken out.

Career

He spent the remainder of the war in Chungking, the wartime capital of the Nationalists, working as an editor-translator (from Russian and English into Chinese) for the important Communist newspaper, the Hsin-hua jih-pao (New China daily). Concurrently, he edited a literary monthly put out by the left-wing Sino-Soviet Cultural Association (SSCA). His association with the SSCA may have brought him into contact with Ch’ien Chün-jui, one of the founders of the SSCA and a man with whom Ko was to be closely associated in later years.

After the war Ko went to Shanghai where he continued to promote Sino-Soviet relations. In the period from 1946 to 1947 he was a translator for the Russian-sponsored weekly Shih-tai (Epoch), chief of the Translation Department of the Shanghai branch of Sheng-huo shu-tien (Life bookstore; one of the largest left-wing publishing companies in China) and head of the Shanghai branch of the Sino-Soviet Cultural Association. Following the collapse of KMT-CCP cooperation in 1946-47, almost all Communist Party members were evacuated from Nationalist-held areas. Ko apparently left Shanghai for the Communist-held areas at this time, in any event, he was with the Communists in the spring of 1949 when he accompanied Kuo Mo-jo to Prague for the World Peace Congress. Following his return to China he attended the All-China Congress of Literary and Art Workers held in Peking in July 1949. At the close of the meetings the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles was established, as well as several subordinate organizations, including the All-China Association of Literary Workers (ACALW; known as the Union of Chinese Writers after 1953). Ko was named to membership on the ACALW’s National Committee. Although he was abroad when the next congress was held in September-October 1953, he was reappointed to the Executive Committee (the new name of the National Committee) of the Writers’ Union.

He served on the SSFA Preparatory Committee when it was set up in July 1949, and when the organization was permanently established in October 1949 (just a few days after the inauguration of the PRC), he was named to the SSFA’s First Executive Board. However, because of an appointment abroad (see below), he played no role in the activities of the organization until his return to China in 1954. Ko’s assignment abroad was as counselor and concurrently chargé d’affaires of the Chinese embassy in Moscow; he has the distinction of being the first diplomat appointed in the history of the PRC - his appointment coming a few days before that of Wang Chia-hsiang, Peking’s first ambassador to Moscow.

On three occasions during his tour in Moscow, Ko went on missions outside the Soviet Union. The first of these trips took him to Montreux, Switzerland, in May 1950 when he served as an adviser to the Chinese delegate at meetings of the Universal Postal Union (UPU), described by the Chinese press as the first United Nations agency to seat a representative of the PRC. Less than a year later, in January 1951, he was again the adviser to the Chinese delegate to UPU meetings in Cairo. In the interim, in November 1950, Ko had visited Poland as a guest of a Polish writers’ association. During his stay in Moscow, where Ko often served as the chargé d’affaires in the absence of the ambassador, he also took part in one of the most important rounds of negotiations between China and the Soviet Union in the early fifties. These took place in August-September 1952 when Chou En-lai negotiated the return to China of the Chinese Changchun Railway, as well as the continued joint use by China and the USSR of the naval facilities at Port Arthur. As already described, at a congress of writers, which closed in Peking in October 1953, Ko was elected in absentia to the Executive Committee of the Union of Chinese Writers (UCW), a position he continues to hold. At about this same time he was also named as a vice-chairman of the UCW’s Foreign Literature Committee (although official Chinese sources after 1956 list him only as a member).

In the latter part of 1953, presumably in anticipation of his return to China, Ko was also named as a deputy secretary-general of the Sino-Soviet Friendship Association (SSFA), a post that placed him directly under Ch’ien Chiin-jui, the most important Party leader in the SSFA at that time. Not long after receiving these appointments, Ko returned to Peking (early 1954) where he resumed his past work as a leading figure in the Chinese literary world, especially in connection with the promotion of Soviet cultural ties. From 1954 to 1960, most frequently in his capacity as a deputy secretary-general of the SSFA, Ko was constantly in the news-writing articles or giving lectures about leading Soviet cultural figures (like Gorky or Pushkin) or escorting the numerous delegations from Moscow that visited China so frequently in the 1950’s. Moreover, on three occasions he returned to the Soviet Union. The first of these trips was in April 1956 when he was a deputy leader of a SSFA delegation sent to Moscow for the May Day celebrations, Ko remained in Moscow to confer with Soviet literary figures, returning to China in June. He was back in Moscow in mid-1958 to take part in preparations for the convocation of the First Afro-Asian Writers’ Conference, and when this was held in Tashkent in October of the same year, Ko was a member of the Chinese delegation led by writer Shen Yen-ping. Tn accordance with a decision taken at the Tashkent meetings, a permanent bureau for the writers was established; when the Chinese established the China Committee for Liaison with the Permanent Bureau of Afro-Asian Writers in April 1959, Ko was named as a member (see under Yang Shuo, the secretary-general of the Chinese Committee).

Politics

Ко has not appeared in public very often since mid-1960 after years of making frequent ap-pearances in connection with Sino-Soviet relations. This abrupt change in his work is almost certainly a result of worsening Sino-Soviet affairs and is reflected by the fact that sometime in 1960 or 1961 he was removed as a deputy secretary-general of the SSFA. It is noteworthy that his superior, SSFA Secretary-general Ch’ien Chiin- jui, an alternate member of the Party’s Central Committee, was also removed from the SSFA at the same time and has since suffered a serious decline in his career. But Ko’s public appearances and published writings since 1960 have been sufficient in number to suggest that he has not been purged; rather, it seems that he has been relegated to the background because of his long and intimate association with the Soviet Union.

Membership

As one of the more knowledgeable Chinese in regard to Soviet affairs, Ko was a logical choice for membership in the Sino-Soviet Friendship Association (SSFA), which, in effect, was the successor organization of the Sino-Soviet Cultural Association, in which Ko had played a leading role.

Like most Chinese officials who have close connections with international affairs, Ko has been appointed to some of the mass organizations devoted to foreign relations. From 1958 to 1965 he was a Standing Committee member of the China Peace Committee, and since the formation of the China-Albania Friendship Association in September 1958 Ko has been a member of the' Association’s national Council. As might be expected from his background, he has been associated with Chinese journals dealing with foreign literature. Since at least 1956 he has been a member of the editorial committee of I-wen (Translated literature), an organ of the Union of Chinese Writers.

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Ko Pao-ch’iian

Background

Education

Career

Politics

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Born

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Career

1946 - 1947

1949

1954 - 1960