Xiao Qian (27 January 1910 – 11 February 1999), alias Ruoping (若萍), was a famous essayist, editor, journalist and translator from China.

He took up part-time jobs to pay the tuition fees (e.g. weaving Turkish rugs, delivering milk and mimeographing lecture notes in the school administration office).

In summer 1924, about half a year before completing junior middle school, he worked as a trainee in Beixin Press bookstore.

Together with an American youth William Allen he published a magazine in English China in Brief (中國簡報, Zhōngguó Jiǎnbào).

It presented works of famous authors such as Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Guo Moruo, Wen Yiduo and Yu Dafu.

In 1939, at the age of 28, Xiao Qian returned to England to work as an instructor in modern Chinese language for the School of Oriential and African Studies (SOAS) in London.

In 1936 he met his first wife Wang Shucang (王树藏) while working on the Shanghai edition of the Ta Kung Pao.

During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) Xiao Qian was regarded by the Chinese Communist Party as right wing and was banished to the countryside.

[citation needed] In 1999 Xiao Qian died at the age of 89 of myocardial infarction and renal failure in Beijing.

The early reports are considered of great historical value by the academic community in China[citation needed] and are currently in the care of the Chinese Literature Society.

Not only did his reports offer insights into the harsh realities of the time, they also reflected his deep sentiments toward his country and its people.

The following books were written between 1939 and 1946 and reflected Xiao Qian's experience during the Second World War while he was living in the United Kingdom and Western Europe: These works were mostly concerned with the day-to-day life of ordinary English citizens.

The sole purpose of all his essays was to end the political dictatorship of the Kuomintang in China, and thus promote a peaceful, democratic Utopia.

In the polarised political climate of that time in China, his two essays — "Ease, tolerance & personnel work" (放心, 容忍, 人事工作) and "Why do people's presses become the government offices?"

In 1990, as invited by Nanjing YiLin Publication (南京译林出版社), he translated Ulysses by James Joyce into Mandarin, assisted by his wife Wen Jieruo, who was fluent in both English and Japanese.

His writings Lu Xi Liu Ming Tu (鲁西流民图) and Lin Yan Fa Ru Yu (林炎发入狱) best illustrate his beliefs.

He first worked for Tianjin's Ta Kung Pao, where he published his early writings including his first novel, as an editor for "Literary Arts" (《文藝》版).

Then in 1938, when full-scale war against the Japanese broke out in China, Xiao was offered a job by the Ta Kung Pao in Hong Kong to work as an editor and journalist.

[citation needed] As World War II came to an end, he produced a number of reportages such as "Symphony of Contradictions," "Bloody September" and "London under Silver Kites", which all reflected the (often harsh) reality during wartime.

In May 1945, Xiao gained fame after writing a piece of exclusive news about Vyacheslav Molotov inviting T. V. Soong to sign the Sino-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Alliance during his trip to San Francisco while reporting on the United Nations Conference.