Abstract: Qian Zhongshu’s change from a writer to a scholar is the general direction of intellectuals’ transition in 1950s. This paper intends to explore some issues involved in Qian’s transition in relation to lives of Shen Congwen and Chen Yinke, so as to delineate intellectuals’ transition in the special period.

Key words: Qian Zhongshu; Heart of the Artichoke; Guan Zhui Bian; criticism; intellectuals; transition

Zhao Lingling is a graduate student of Comparative Literature and World Literature at Nanjing University.