Chinese Literary Association

The Chinese Literary Association (Chinese: 文学研究会; pinyin: Wénxué yánjiū huì; lit. 'Literary Research Association') was the largest literary society active in China during the 1920s. Founded in Beijing by a group of twelve writers (including Shen Yanbing, Ye Shengtao, Zheng Zhenduo, and Zhou Zuoren) in late 1920, the association abandoned its initial plans to begin a literary journal after Shen was appointed the editor-in-chief of the Commercial Press literary magazine Fiction Monthly. Association members contributed to the Fiction Monthly and the Literature Trimonthly, established as a supplement to the Shanghai China Times. Branches of the association were established in Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, each producing their own version of the Literature Trimonthly. The association managed the production of literary book series for the Commercial Press throughout the 1920s and 1930s. However, the society largely ceased independent activities after 1925. The Literature Trimonthly (renamed the Literature Weekly after 1925) ceased publication in 1929.