Wong Meng Voon, who also writes under his pen name Meng Yi, is a renowned scholar, translator, editor, and one of Singapore’s most well-known and prolific Chinese-language authors who has written books on the history of Singapore Chinese-language literature. Best known for his micro-novels, Wong has promoted the form through his writings and critical studies, helping to place Singapore on the world Chinese literary map. In 1981, he became Singapore’s first Chinese-language literature recipient of the Cultural Medallion.

Born on 27 July 1937 in Perak, Malaysia, Wong Meng Voon lived through the Japanese Occupation years with his family who relocated to Pahang to avoid the Japanese invasion. In 1946, he started his primary school education and began reading classical Chinese novels the next year at the age of 10. This would be Wong’s first encounter with Chinese literature that would set him on the path to becoming one of Singapore’s significant Chinese-language writers.

Besides novels, Wong also read Chinese-language short stories and folk story books in primary school. His budding interest in Chinese literature meant that he excelled in Chinese in school. Gaining confidence in his Chinese-language ability and influenced by his passion for reading, Wong felt the impulse to start writing too.

Wong then moved to Penang, Malaysia, and attended Han Jiang High School. Wong began submitting his literary works to Chinese-language literary publications in Malaysia and Singapore, and regularly saw them published. As he made his way up to the upper secondary levels of his studies, he received prizes for his submissions, and other writers and critics would in turn publish analyses of his work. This affirmation of Wong’s abilities as a writer encouraged him to pursue his passion.

In 1958, after a short stint teaching in Pahang, Wong moved to Singapore to study at the Nanyang University where he would obtain his Bachelor of Arts degree in Chinese literature. He then obtained his honours degree at the University of Singapore in 1966 after spending some time as an editor with the Chinese-language newspaper Ming Pao and as a secondary school teacher. Two years later, he obtained his Masters degree at the University of Singapore.

In 1975, Wong received his Ph.D in Asian Studies at the University of Washington, USA. There, Wong had access to many Chinese literary publications that were not easily attainable back in Singapore and Malaysia. Though he had already published two short story collections, his time spent in the US proved to be a particularly enriching and formative period of his writing career that would have a significant impact on his later works.

Wong’s early influences included Guy de Maupassant and Anton Chekhov, both renowned masters of the short story. His early writings were full of compassion for the underprivileged, exemplified in his well-received short story collections 《再见惠兰的时候》 (When I Meet Huilan Again) and 《我要活下去》 (I Want to Live). Later, he was more inspired by the magical realism of South American literature, and his writing style took on shades of satire as he cultivated a style of writing that he could call his own. Several of Wong’s works also came to be translated to other languages such as English, Malay, Tagalog and Japanese.

Besides his own fictional work, Wong has also edited and compiled several anthologies that showcase the works of other Singapore authors, published numerous essays, and edited literary magazines. His 2002 edited volume A Preliminary Study of the History of Singapore Chinese Literature is a significant and pioneering contribution that systematically documents the development of Singapore Chinese literature.

Wong has also been extremely active in promoting literary activities of all kinds in Singapore. A co-founder of the Singapore Association of Writers in 1970, he went on to serve as its president and then honorary president for over 20 years. He also served as the president of the World Chinese Writers Association (Singapore), the vice-president of the Asian Chinese Writers Association, and the charter president of the World Chinese Micro-Fiction Research Association. Despite officially retiring in 2000, he continued to lecture at universities in Singapore, and often represented Singapore at literary conferences worldwide. Since 2002, Wong has also been a member of the Arts Advisory Panel at the National Arts Council, Singapore.

For his accomplishments in Chinese literature, Wong has received many honours including the S. E. A. Write Award in 1981 and the Nanyang Chinese Literature Award in 2011. In 1981, Wong also received the Cultural Medallion for his contributions to literary arts in Singapore.

Wong continues to write and devote himself fully to the development of Chinese literature.

Singapore Association of Writers