Shen Dehong 1896 was born in Wuzhen, Tongxiang County, Zhejiang Province on July 4th. My father used to be a handsome scholar, and later he studied Chinese medicine with my grandfather. My grandfather, Chen Woru, was a famous old Chinese medicine practitioner in Hangzhou, Jiaxing, Huzhou and Suzhou during Tongzhi and Guangxu periods in Qing Dynasty. My mother is my grandfather's only daughter, and she received a good old literature education at home before she got married.
Mao Dun is the pseudonym used by Shen Dehong when he started writing novels.