Novelist and critic whose 子夜 (Midnight, 1933) portrays Shanghai's industrialists and speculators. He was minister of culture from 1949 to 1965, and China's top novel prize, the 茅盾文学奖, is named after him.
His pen name was first 矛盾 'contradiction', literally 'spear and shield', for the clashing ideas of 1920s China. His friend 叶圣陶 changed 矛 'spear' to 茅 'thatch', which is also a real surname.
