Editing Mao Dun (section)

==Early life==
His father, Shen Yongxi ({{zh|t=沈永錫|links=no}}) taught and designed the curriculum for his son, but he died when Mao Dun was ten. Mao Dun's mother Chen Aizhu ({{zh|t=陳愛珠|links=no}}) then became his teacher. He mentions in his memoirs that "my first instructor is my mother". Through learning from his parents, Mao Dun developed great interest in writing as well as reading during his childhood.

Mao Dun had already started to develop his writing skills when he was still in primary school. In one examination the examiner commented on Mao Dun's script: '12 year old young child, can make this language, not says motherland nobody'. There were other similar comments which indicate that Mao Dun had been a brilliant writer since his youth.

While Mao Dun was studying in secondary school in [[Hangzhou]], extensive reading and strict writing skills training filled his life. He read the ''[[Wen Xuan]]'', ''[[Shishuo Xinyu]]'', and a large number of classical novels, which influenced his writing style.

Mao Dun entered the three-year foundation school offered by [[Peking University]] in 1913, in which he studied Chinese and Western literature.<ref name=":0" /> Due to financial difficulties, he had to quit in the summer of 1916, before his graduation. After quitting from university, he immediately got married with the daughter of Kong family, Kong Dezhi (孔德沚).<ref name=":1" />

The trainings in Chinese and English as well as knowledge of Chinese and Western literature provided by the fifteen years of education Mao Dun received had prepared him to show up in the limelight of the Chinese journalistic and literary arena.