AS home to a galaxy of intellectuals, Shanghai has always attracted writers with its special charms.Shanghai before liberation in 1949 was not only involved in the mainstream of revolution and nationalism but also took the lead in the pursuit of conspicuous consumption, dandyism and the right of an individual to enjoy life to the full.

Writers who lived in Shanghai before 1949 were rather varied in outlook: some were concerned about the nation's fate and that was the theme of their works. However, in others, a zeal for revolution and politics was often replaced by "decadent" interests. Among those who "deviated" from the revolutionary cause was the now almost forgotten writer, Shao Xunmei (1906-68).

Shao inherited a considerable amount of property from his grandfather while still a child. Unlike his grandfather, he was not a talented businessman but had talent as a writer. In 1924, he went to Cambridge University and chose English Literature as his major. The years of living abroad helped him get to know other Chinese writers and artists, such as Xu Zhimo and Xu Beihong.

In 1927, he returned to China and began his career as a publisher with the first issue of the "Golden House Monthly". This was a literary journal created as an imitation of Aubrey Beardsley's notorious "The Yellow Book" in Britain. He also published a series of journals which brought out many writers in print for the first time including Shao-Hu Shi, Lin Yutang, Liang Shiqiu and others. He even created two political journals - "Candid Comment" in English and "Liberal Comment" in Chinese during the years of the War of Resistance against Japan.

The English version of one of Mao Zedong's most important works, "On War of Persistence", was translated by Shao and first published in "Candid Comment".

Shao's reputation, however, was not based on his career as a publisher but as a writer. As a representative of "alternative literature", he was much influenced by British aestheticism. But more than this, the lifestyle he was able to enjoy in Shanghai in those days also inspired him greatly.

Stories about women and lust added a decadent mood to his works. Although in the 1930s, traditional conservative attitudes towards women and sex had changed to become more tolerant, his writings still offended most people.

This was the key reason for his obscurity after 1949: what he liked was not appreciated by post-1949 intellectuals. But in literary and cultural studies, he deserved better. The "decadent" school he represented influenced many famous writers and poets, such as Mu Shiying, Xu Zhimo and others. In one of his works, "Moving House", Shanghai shows its other side: a city of love and lust.

Shao's later years were miserable and tragic: he was put in jail and died poor in 1968. His name is seldom mentioned in accounts of modern Chinese literature because his works were thought to have "corrupted" people. (Star News)