This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2011)

Bey (Ottoman Turkish: بك, Beg, Beğ) is a title for chieftain, traditionally applied to the leaders of small tribal groups. According to some sources, the word "Bey" is of Turkish language^[1][2][3] In historical accounts, many Turkish, other Turkic and Persian leaders are titled Bey, Beg, Bek, Bay, Baig or Beigh. They are all the same word with the simple meaning of "lord". The regions or provinces where beys ruled or which they administered were called beylik, roughly meaning "emirate" or "principality" in the first case, "province" or "governorate" in the second (the equivalent of duchy in Europe). Today, the word is still used informally as a social title for men (somewhat like the English word "mister"). Unlike "mister" however, it follows the name ("Fahrettin Bey") and is used generally with first names and not with last names.

Turkish and Azerbaijani beys[link]

The first three rulers of the Ottoman realm were titled Bey. The chief sovereign of the Ottoman Empire only came to be called sultan starting in 1383 when Murad I was granted this title by the shadow caliph in Cairo.

The Ottoman state had started out as one of a dozen Turkish Ghazi Beyliks, roughly comparable to western European duchies, into which Anatolia (i.e., Asian Turkey, or Asia Minor) had been divided after the break-up of the Seljuk Sultanate of Ikonion (Konya) and the military demise of the Byzantine Empire. Its capital was Bursa. By 1336 it had annexed only the Beylik of Karasy, its western neighbour on the coast of the Sea of Marmara, but it began to expand quite rapidly thereafter.

As the Ottoman realm grew from a Beylik into an imperial sultanate, the title "Bey" came to be applied to subordinate military and administrative officers, such as a district administrator and lower-level minor military governors. The latter were usually titled sanjakbey (after the term "Sanjak", denoting a military horsetail banner). Beys were lower in rank than pashas and provincial governors (wālis, usually holding the title of pasha), who governed most of the Ottoman vilayets (provinces), but higher than effendis.

Eventually the chiefs of the former Ottoman capitals Bursa and Edirne (formerly the Byzantine Adrianople) in Turkish Thrace both were designated "Bey."

Over time the title became somewhat devalued, as Bey was even used as a courtesy title (alongside Pashazade) for a pasha's son. It also came to be attached to officers and dignitaries below those entitled to be pashas, notably the following military officer ranks (still lower ranks were styled efendi):

• Miralai (army colonel or navy captain)
• Kaimakam (army lieutenant-colonel or navy commander)

Oddly, the compound Beyefendi was part of the title of the husband (full style Damad-i-Shahyari (given name) Beyefendi) and sons (full style Sultanzade (given name) Beyefendi) of an Imperial Princess, and their sons in turn were entitled to the courtesy title Beyzade (literally "Son of a Bey". For the grandsons of an imperial princess, the official style was simply Bey after the name.).

By the late 19th century, "Bey" had been reduced in the Ottoman Empire to an honorary equivalent of the English-speaking address (not the British courtesy title) "Sir", somewhat akin to the contemporary Cockney usage of "guv'nor." While in Qazaq and other Central Asian Turkic languages, бай [baj] remains a rather honorific title, in modern Turkish, and in Azerbaijan, the word "bey" (or "bay") simply means "mister" (compare efendi) or "sir" and is used in the meaning of "chieftain" only in historical context. Bay is also used in Turkish in combined form for certain military ranks, e.g. albay, meaning colonel, from alay "regiment" and -bay, and yarbay, meaning lieutenant colonel, from yardim "assistance" and -bay (thus an "assistant albay").

As with most Turkish titles, it follows the name rather than precedes it as in western languages, e.g. "Ahmet Bey" for "Mr. Ahmet". When one speaks of Mr. Ahmet, the title has to be written with a capital (Ahmet Bey), but when one addresses him directly it is simply written without capital (Ahmet bey). Bey may combine with efendi to give a common form of address, to which the possessive suffix -(i)m is usually added: beyefendim, efendim.

Beyefendi has its feminine counterpart: hanımefendi [haˈnɯmefendi], used alone, to address a woman without her first name. And with the first name: Ayşe Hanım or Ayşe hanım, for example, according to the rule given above about the use of the capital letter.

Beys elsewhere[link]

The title Bey (Arabic: بيه‎; Egyptian Arabic pronunciation: [beː]) could be maintained as a similar office within Arab states that broke away from the High Porte, such as Egypt and Sudan under the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, where it was a rank below pasha (maintained in two rank classes after 1922), and a title of courtesy for a pasha's son.

Even much earlier, the virtual sovereign's title in Barbaresque North African 'regency' states was "Bey" (compare Dey). Notably in Tunis, the Husainid Dynasty used a whole series of title and styles including Bey:

• Just Bey itself was part of the territorial title of the ruler, and also as a title used by all male members of the family (rather like Sultan in the Ottoman dynasty).
• Bey al-Kursi 'Bey of the Throne', a term equivalent to reigning prince.
• Bey al-Mahalla 'Bey of the Camp', title used for the next most senior member of the Beylical family after the reigning Bey, the Heir Apparent to the throne.
• Bey al-Taula 'Bey of the Table', the title of the Heir Presumptive, the eldest prince of the Beylical family, who enjoyed precedence immediately after the Bey al-Mahalla.
• Beylerbeyi (or Beglerbegi) 'Lord of Lords', was the administrative rank formally enjoyed by the ruler of Tunis and by rulers of parts of the Balkans in their official capacity of Ottoman Governor-General within the Turkish empire.
• Bey was also the title that was awarded by the Sultan of Turkey in the twilight of the empire to Oloye Mohammed Shitta, an African merchant prince of the Yoruba people who served as a ranking leader of the Muslim community in the kingdom of Lagos. Subsequently, he and his children became known in Nigeria by the compound name Shitta-Bey, a tradition which has survived to the present day through their lineal descendants.

In the Mani Peninsula, in times of the Ottoman conquest of Greece, the de facto sovereign country of the Maniots in the southern Peloponnesus, had as head of state a chieftain which combined both military command and judiciary activities who was entitled as Bey following the Turkish influence over conquered areas, especially in the Balkans. It was usual to add the title to their own given names, therefore the most renowned Bey of Mani, Petros Mavromichalis was simply known as Petrobey.

Other Beys saw their own Beylik promoted to statehood, e.g.:

• in Qusantina (Constantine in French), an Ottoman district subject to the Algiers regency since 1525 (had its own Beys since 1567), the last incumbent, Ahmed Bey ben Mohamed Chérif (b. c.1784, in office 1826 - 1848, d. 1850), was maintained when in 1826 the local Kabyle population declared independence, and when it was on 13 October 1837 conquered by France, until it was incorporated into Algeria in 1848.

Bey or a variation has also been used as an aristocratic title in various Turkic states, such as Bäk in the Tatar Khanate of Kazan, in charge of a Beylik called Bäklek. The Balkar princes in the North Caucasus highlands were known as taubiy (taubey), meaning the "mountainous chief".

Sometimes a Bey was a territorial vassal within a khanate, as in each of the three zuzes under the Khan of the Kazakhs.

The variation Beg, Baig or Bai, is still used as a family name or a part of a name in South and Central Asia as well as the Balkans. In Slavic-influenced names, it can be seen in conjunction with the Slavic -ov/-ović/ev suffixes meaning "son of", such as in Kurbegovic, Izetbegović, Abai Kunanbaev (Abai Kunanbaiuli).

The title is also used within the Moorish American community / membership of the Moorish Science Temple of America as a tribal honourific which denotes an Islamic governor along with the pre-word El.

For the use of the title in the former Polish Lithuanian Commonwealth please check Mirza

Etymology[link]

The word entered English from Turkish bey,^[1] and the Turkish word has its origins in Old Turkic beg.^[2] There are different theories about the further etymology of the word beg. According to one theory the word may ultimately come from Middle Chinese baak, pak.^[4] Another theory states that the word may have its origins in Sogdian baga.^[5] Gerhard Doerfer pointed out the possibility that the word is genuinely Turkic.^[6]

See also[link]

• Anatolian beyliks
• Atabeg
• Baig
• Begum
• Beylerbey
• Chughtai
• Dey
• Effendi
• Kailar beys
• Khagan Bek
• Moorish Science Temple of America
• Ottoman titles
• Maniots
• Skanderbeg

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Encyclopaedia of the Orient
• Westermann Großer Atlas zur Weltgeschichte (German)
• WorldStatesmen - click on each present country
• ACROSS THREE CENTURIES: The Life and Legacies of Mohammed Shitta-Bey (1824-1895) by Doctor Siyan Oyeweso

Roland "Wee-Bey" Brice is a fictional character on the HBO drama The Wire, played by actor Hassan Johnson. Wee-Bey was the Barksdale Organization's most trusted soldier before being sentenced to life imprisonment for multiple homicides.

Character storyline[link]

Wee-Bey dropped out of school in sixth grade and started dealing drugs on a corner with Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell (both slightly older than he was), eventually becoming the primary soldier in their criminal organization. Wee-Bey was also responsible for more mundane activities including driving and picking up money. Despite his history of violent crime, Wee-Bey is good-natured towards his friends, and has a passion for keeping tropical fish. He has a son, Namond, by a woman named De'Londa, though he had no hesitation about sleeping with other women and maintains a separate residence. De'Londa uses his last name although they are not married.^[1] Wee-Bey has the distinction of being one of the few "street" characters to appear in every season of The Wire, the others being Poot Carr, Proposition Joe, Omar Little and Bubbles.

Season 1[link]

Wee-Bey is Barksdale's main soldier. When Avon is "cleaning up" any possible trail of evidence leading back to him, Wee-Bey kills a witness who had previously been bought off. Wee-Bey gets involved in two different gun fights with legendary stick-up man Omar Little, after torturing and killing Omar's partner, accomplice and lover Brandon. Their first encounter ends with Wee-Bey being shot in the leg, but he later defends Avon against Omar, shooting him in the shoulder and forcing him to retreat.

Wee-Bey was also linked to the body of a dancer from Orlando's strip club, a Barksdale front company. Although not responsible for her death, he slept with her the evening before and showed little concern after she died from a drug overdose. His callous disposal of her body leads another stripper to give information to the police.

Wee-Bey's eventual downfall comes when he and Little Man kill Orlando, who was working as a police informant. During the killing, Little Man shoots Detective Greggs, who was working undercover. Stringer orders Wee-Bey to kill Little Man, stating that he is unreliable as a soldier, and flee town; D'Angelo Barksdale is responsible for driving Wee-Bey to Philadelphia (and taking care of his fish). When D'Angelo is arrested soon after, he gives the police information concerning Wee-Bey's whereabouts and his murder of Dierdre Kresson, a former girlfriend of Avon's. Later, through a combination of the active wiretap and phone records, the police are able to determine Wee-Bey's exact location. Baltimore and Philadelphia police arrest Wee-Bey by activating his car alarm, luring him out of his residence unarmed. Once in custody, and guaranteed a life sentence for his involvement in the shooting of a police officer, Wee-Bey confesses to numerous murders, including several he did not commit (with the aim of protecting other people in the Barksdale Organization); in return he asks for a pit beef sandwich with extra horseradish.

Season 2[link]

Wee-Bey is imprisoned with Avon, serving life without parole. He keeps artificial fish in his cell and enjoys a relatively easy life under Barksdale's protection. A correctional officer named Dwight Tilghman harasses him because he confessed to murdering a relative of Tilghman's. Wee-Bey complains to Avon, and the problem is swiftly dealt with. Later on, after D'Angelo's supposed suicide (his death was in fact orchestrated by Stringer Bell, who felt D'Angelo may turn informer against the Barksdale Organization), Wee-Bey reassures Avon that D'Angelo's death was not his fault.

Season 3[link]

Wee-Bey appears only briefly, helping Avon approach legendary prisoner Dennis "Cutty" Wise to offer him a position in their organization. Both Wise and Avon are paroled, leaving Wee-Bey to serve his time without them.

Season 4[link]

Wee-Bey's teenaged son becomes involved with the drug trade, getting a job with his old colleague Bodie Broadus. Namond is also responsible for his fish. When Brianna Barksdale cuts off the monthly payments that the Barksdale organization had been making to the Brices, Namond is further pressured into dealing, mainly by his mother De'Londa. Howard "Bunny" Colvin takes a liking to Namond after meeting him in a special program for troubled youth that Colvin helped supervise. Seeing potential in the boy, Colvin approaches Wee-Bey and asks his permission to take Namond into his home. Colvin tells Wee-Bey that the changing face of the drug trade and Namond's capabilities in other areas make him better suited to a life off the streets. Though initially reluctant, Wee Bey agrees that Colvin's offer gives Namond the best chance of escaping the drug trade and making something of himself. Acknowledging that anything would be preferable to a life as a soldier, Wee-Bey orders De'Londa to allow Colvin to assume guardianship of Namond, implicitly threatening her when she appears reluctant to let Namond go.

Season 5[link]

Wee-Bey is briefly seen during the end-of-season montage conversing amicably with Chris Partlow in the courtyard of the Maryland State prison; they are in a similar situation, both having been primary enforcers for West Baltimore kingpins, and now both serving life sentences for committing (and taking sole responsibility for) murders at the behest of their respective bosses.

Real life origins[link]

Ed Burns investigated several high-end drug traffickers in the 1980s. One of these was a heroin dealer named Thomas H. Taylor, whose partner, Vernon Collins, was known as Bey-Brother. He was described by one FBI informant as a "narcotics hit man who is feared throughout the narcotics underworld in Baltimore."^[2] Collins is mentioned in David Simon's book Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets as one of Baltimore's notorious contract killers in the late 1970s along with Dennis Wise (who spawned a character of the same name played by actor Chad Coleman.) Wee-Bey is a reference to this hit man and drug trafficker. Collins was arrested in 1987 and sentenced to thirty-five years in prison.

References[link]

Richard Bey
Bey at the 2012 Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Évocateur: The Morton Downey Jr. Movie
Born	(1951-07-22) July 22, 1951 (age 60) Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Talk show host, TV and radio personality
Years active	? - present
Website
http://richardbey.org/

Richard Wayne Bey (born July 22, 1951) is an American talk show host. He was popular in the 1990s as host of The Richard Bey Show, a daytime talk show containing ordinary people's personal stories incorporated into entertaining competitive games.

Early years[link]

Bey was born in Far Rockaway, Queens, New York, to a Jewish father and an Irish Catholic mother and attended Far Rockaway High School.^[1][2] Prior to The Richard Bey Show, Bey hosted People Are Talking (telecast in New York City and Philadelphia) and 2 On the Town for WCBS-TV. He is an alumnus of the University of California, Santa Barbara and the Yale School of Drama. The show was called 9 Broadcast Plaza in its early years before changing its name to The Richard Bey Show.

The Richard Bey Show[link]

The Richard Bey Show (1987–1996) was produced from WWOR-TV in Secaucus, New Jersey and later syndicated across the country by All American Television. It featured such competitive events as the "Miss Big Butt" contest, the "Mr. Puniverse" contest, "Dysfunctional Family Feud" and "Blacks who think O.J. is guilty vs. Whites who think he is innocent." Young women who were guests on the show were sometimes placed in a spoof of The Dating Game in which the guest interviewed three hidden "bachelors", all of whom were an obvious mismatch for the "bachelorette" (e.g., a drag queen or a dwarf). Bey's show made frequent use of sound effects like "uh-duh" for an insane response, "I've been framed" for a guest proclaiming innocence and "You're busted!" for one accused of wrongdoing. Bey would often exclaim "Where do they find these people?!" in the presence of unbelievable guests or audience members. During some shows, there would be a secret word, and if an audience member used it in a comment, he would receive $100 (an homage to a prior talk and game show, You Bet Your Life). A joking suggestion was then made on how to spend it: "Lobster dinner tonight!"

The show was a precursor to reality television, featuring a variety of games incorporating guests' stories, most notoriously "The Wheel of Torture", in which a guest would be strapped to a spinning wheel while a spouse or lover poured slime on them as punishment for a misdeed. The show was executive produced by Bob Woodruff and David Sittenfeld.

Richard would frequently make fun of Jerry Springer on his show, as when he lost his contact lenses and was forced to wear eyeglasses, remarking, "Don't worry, you're not watching Jerry Springer" and showing Jerry in his "Bad Neighbors" segment, a reference to Springer's show being the lead-in or lead-out to Bey on many stations in the early-to-mid 1990s. He would also make light of Ricki Lake, Rosie O'Donnell, Phil Donahue, and Oprah Winfrey's shows. Bey also hosted a prime time show called "Night Games". It was short-lived but ran around the time his daytime show was at its peak. It ran after 10 o'clock and was a little more gratuitous, mostly sexually clad women engaged in contests.

Bey claimed his TV show was canceled in December 1996 (despite the high ratings it maintained^{[citation needed]}) as a direct result of doing a program with Gennifer Flowers, discussing her sexual relationship with then President Bill Clinton.^[3]

A scene from the film Brüno depicts the filming of an episode of a fictional variation on the show called Today with Richard Bey. The production team, along with Bey, set up the program to invite an unsuspecting audience to participate in a segment where Brüno (Sacha Baron Cohen) appears as a guest, talking about his adopted son who is black. In response to questions from the audience, Brüno reveals that he gave his son the "traditional African name" O.J. and claims that he "swapped" an iPod for his son. The predominantly black audience becomes outraged over Brüno's responses.

Radio years[link]

After the TV show was canceled, Bey was an evening and later afternoon radio co-host along with Steve Malzberg on The Buzz, which aired on New York's WABC from 2000 to 2003.^[4]

According to the New York Post, he was one of only two talk hosts at the time on commercial New York radio to openly oppose the Iraq War, contesting the WMD evidence.^{[citation needed]} He has since hosted on Sirius Satellite Radio, The Bill Press Show, and for the syndicated Wall Street Journal: This Morning.

Bey hosted for a week on WXRK 92.3 FM from February 5 to February 9, 2007 from 10:00 PM to midnight. He regularly fills in for Lynn Samuels and Alex Bennett on the Sirius Satellite Radio channel Talk Left when they go on vacation or take a day off.

In August 2007, Bey began hosting a new show on WWRL in New York City from 8-10 PM. In November 2007, he was teamed up with Mark Riley and moved to the morning drive, replacing the team of Sam Greenfield and Armstrong Williams.^[5]

In March 2008, family reasons caused Mark Riley to leave WWRL by mutual agreement^[6] to return to WLIB, and Richard was teamed up with long time broadcaster Coz Carson. Bey later decided to leave WWRL himself, citing personal reasons (namely spending time with his son).

Until December 2009, he appeared daily on internet TV station UBA-TV from 12:00 PM until 1:00 PM. He currently fills in on Sirius Left and hosts a blog at richardbey.org.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Richard Bey's website
• Richard Bey at the Internet Movie Database
• The Richard Bey Show at the Internet Movie Database
• Richard' Bey's Facebook Message App

Darrius Heyward-Bey

At a game in Denver in October, 2010.
No. 85     Oakland Raiders
Wide receiver
Personal information
Date of birth: (1987-04-11) April 11, 1987 (age 25)
Place of birth: Silver Spring, Maryland
Height: 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Weight: 210 lb (95 kg)
Career information
College: Maryland
NFL Draft: 2009 / Round: 1 / Pick: 7
Debuted in 2009 for the Oakland Raiders
Career history
Oakland Raiders (2009–present)
Roster status: Active
Career highlights and awards
2008 All-ACC honorable mention 2006 All-ACC second-team 2006 Sporting News first-team freshman All-America
Career NFL statistics as of Week 17, 2011
Receptions 99 Receiving Yards 1,465 Receiving Average 14.8 Receiving TDs 6 Stats at NFL.com

Darrius Heyward-Bey (born February 26, 1987) is an American football wide receiver for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Raiders seventh overall in the 2009 NFL Draft. He played college football at Maryland.

Early years[link]

Heyward-Bey attended the McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland, where he played football as a wide receiver and linebacker. During his senior year, he earned first-team all-state honors and was named a PrepStar All-American. In track and field, he finished fifth at nationals as a junior and was the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) champion in the 100- and 200-meter dashes.^[1] He also ran a 60 meter indoor time of 6.83 his junior year and 6.82 his senior year, the joint 6th and joint 4th fastest times in the nation respectively.^[2]

College career[link]

Heyward-Bey greets Maryland fans in 2008.

Heyward-Bey was recruited by Alabama, Boston College, Michigan State, Pittsburgh, and Virginia, before ultimately choosing to attend Maryland.

He spent 2005 on redshirt status. In 2006, he ran a 4.23-second 40-yard dash, which set the school record for a wide receiver. That season, he was considered one of the top rookies in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and earned first-team freshman All-America from the Sporting News and Rivals.com. He led the Terps with 45 receptions, and set a school record for a freshman with 694 receiving yards.^[3]

In 2007, Heyward-Bey was placed on the Biletnikoff Award watchlist. He led Maryland in receptions, with 51, and receiving yards, with 786. His 63-yard touchdown reception in the 2007 Emerald Bowl against Oregon State stands as the second-longest in Maryland bowl history. At season's end, Heyward-Bey was awarded the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player honor.^[1]

During his junior season in 2008, he made 42 catches for 609 yards and five touchdowns, and earned an All-ACC honorable mention. On January 7, 2009, Heyward-Bey announced that he would forgo his senior season to enter the NFL Draft.^[4] He finished his career at Maryland second in school history in career receiving yards with 2,089, third in receptions with 138 and tied for third in touchdown catches with 13. In just three years, he was second only to Jermaine Lewis in receiving yards.^[5]

College statistics[link]

Professional career[link]

2009 NFL Draft[link]

In the 2009 NFL Draft, Heyward-Bey was selected by the Oakland Raiders as the seventh overall pick. As the first wide receiver selected, he was picked earlier than most projections, and before Michael Crabtree and Jeremy Maclin, who most analysts thought would precede Heyward-Bey.^[6] At the 2009 NFL Combine, he had recorded the best 40-yard dash time of 4.3 seconds.^[7]

Oakland Raiders[link]

2009[link]

During Organized Team Activities following the draft, Heyward-Bey practiced early but was plagued by multiple hamstring injuries. On July 30, 2009, the Oakland Raiders agreed to terms on a five-year deal with Heyward-Bey. As a rookie, Heyward-Bey started 11 games. In those games, he made nine receptions for 124 yards and one touchdown and rushed twice for 20 yards.^[9] He averaged 11.3 yards per reception in 2009.^[10]

2010[link]

In 2010, Heyward-Bey started 14 of his 15 games. He made 26 receptions over 366 yards and made one touchdown.^[9] On September 19 against the St. Louis Rams, Heyward-Bey made a career-high six receptions.^[9] In the first half of that game, he caught one for 6 yards from Jason Campbell, and Heyward-Bey made all five of his other receptions in the second half from passes by Bruce Gradkowski. Vittorio Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle highlighted Heyward-Bey's performance that game as a marked improvement from the preseason.^[11] Then on October 31 in a 33-3 victory over the Seattle Seahawks, Heyward-Bey made a career-long 69-yard touchdown reception from Campbell, part of a career high of 105 receiving yards in that game.^[12] Nearly double last year's average, Heyward-Bey averaged 24.4 yards per catch.^[10]

2011[link]

On October 2, 2011, in the Raiders' 31-19 loss to the New England Patriots, Heyward-Bey made 4 receptions for 115 yards, including a 58-yard grab. Over the next three games, he would receive for 99 (October 9 against Houston Texans), 82 (October 16 against Cleveland Browns), and 89 (October 23 against Kansas City Chiefs) yards. On December 18, 2011, in a 28-27 loss to the Detroit Lions, Heyward-Bey made 8 receptions for 155 yards, both career highs, and the most single game receiving yards for the Raiders since Jerry Rice in 2003.^[13] However, on December 24, the Raiders won over the Kansas City Chiefs 16-13 in overtime. Heyward-Bey caught a 53-yard pass from Carson Palmer during overtime to set up Sebastian Janikowski's winning field goal. Heyward-Bey made a total of 4 receptions for 70 yards in that game.^[14] On January 1, during a loss to the San Diego Chargers,Heyward-Bey caught 9 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown.^[15]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Oakland Raiders bio
• Maryland Terrapins bio
• Darrius Heyward-Bey on Twitter
• Baltimore Sun article

Yu Dafu
Born	(1896-12-07)December 7, 1896 Fuyang, Zhejiang, China
Died	September 17, 1945(1945-09-17) (aged 48)
Occupation	Short Story writer and Poet

Yu Dafu (simplified Chinese: 郁达夫; traditional Chinese: 郁達夫; pinyin: Yù Dáfū; Wade–Giles: Yu Ta-fu) (December 7, 1896—September 17, 1945). Born in Fuyang, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, was a modern Chinese short story writer and poet.

Early years[link]

Yu Dafu's father died when he was three, leaving the family poverty-stricken and destitute. He received a number of scholarships through the Chinese government and went on to receive a traditional Chinese education in Hangzhou. Chronologically he studied in Jiangxing-Fu Middle School (before he came to Hangzhou), Hangzhou-Fu Middle School, Yuying Academy^[1] (育英学堂, formerly of Zhejiang University).

In 1912, he entered Hangchow University (later its major part merged into Zhejiang University) preparatory through examination. He was there only for a short period before he was expelled for participation in a student strike.^[2]

He then moved to Japan, where he studied economics at the Tokyo Imperial University between 1913 and 1922, where he met other Chinese intellectuals (namely, Guo Moruo, Zhang Ziping and Tian Han). Together, in 1921 they founded the Chuangzao she 創造社 ("Creation Society"), which promoted vernacular and modern literature. One of his earlier works Chenlun 沉淪, also his most famous, published in Japan in 1921. The work had gained immense popularity in China, shocking the world of Chinese literature with its frank dealing with sex, as well as grievances directed at the incompetence of Chinese government at the time.

In 1922, he returned to China as a literary celebrity and worked as the editor of Creation Quarterly, editing journals and writing short stories. In 1923, after an attack of tuberculosis, Yu Dafu directed his attention to the welfare of the masses.

In 1927, he worked as an editor of the Hongshui literary magazine. He later came in conflict with the Communist Party of China and fled back to Japan.

Second Sino-Japanese war[link]

After the start of the Second Sino-Japanese war, he returned to China and worked as a writer of anti-Japanese propaganda in Hangzhou, and later in Zhejiang. From 1938 to 1942, he worked as a literary editor for the newspaper Sin Chew Jit Poh in Singapore.

In 1942 when the Imperial Japanese Army invaded Singapore, he was forced to flee to Sumatra. Known under a different identity, he settled there among other overseas Chinese and began a brewery business with the help of the locals. Later he was forced to help the Japanese military police as an interpreter when it was discovered that he was one of the few "locals" in the area who could speak Japanese.

In 1945, he was arrested by the Kempeitai when his true identity was finally discovered. It is believed that he was executed by the Japanese shortly after the surrender of Japan.

Works[link]

• Chenlun 沉淪 "Sinking" (1921)
• Riji jiuzhong 日記九種 “Nine Diaries” (1927)
• Guoqu 過去 “The Past" (1927)
• his first novel?? (1928) (moderately successful)
• his second novel?? (1932)
• Chuben 出奔 "Flight" (1935)

His most popular work, breaking all Chinese sales records, was Jih-chi chiu-chung "Nine Diaries", which detailed his affair with the writer Wang Ying-hsin. The most critically acclaimed work is Kuo-ch'u or "The Past", written in 1927.^{[citation needed]}

References[link]

• Encyclopædia Britannica 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article- "Yü Ta-fu"

External links[link]

• Works by Yu Dafu at Project Gutenberg