{{Short description|Chinese writer and literary scholar (1915–2019)}}
{{family name hatnote|[[Xu (surname 徐)|Xu]]|lang=Chinese}}
'''Xu Zhongyu''' ({{zh|c=徐中玉}}; 15 February 5, 1915 – 25 June 25, 2019) was a Chinese writer and literary scholar who served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Chinese of [[East China Normal University]]. His book ''University Chinese'' ({{lang|zh-Hans|大学语文}}) has been the standard textbook in Chinese universities for almost forty years, with 30 million copies printed as of 2019.
== Biography ==
Xu Zhongyu was born on 15 February 5, 1915<ref name=":3">{{Cite web|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/book/2019-06/26/c_1210170132.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626043909/http://www.xinhuanet.com/book/2019-06/26/c_1210170132.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=26 June 2019|title=他编写的《大学语文》影响几代人|last=Shi Chenlu 施晨露|date=26 June 2019|website=Xinhua|access-date=27 June 2019|language=zh}}</ref> in [[Jiangyin]], [[Jiangsu]], Republic of China.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://news.gmw.cn/2019-06/26/content_32947898.htm|title=徐中玉教授在上海逝世 享年105岁|date=26 June 2019|website=Guangming Daily|access-date=26 June 2019|language=zh}}</ref> He graduated from the Department of Chinese of [[National Central University]] in 1939, and the graduate school of [[Sun Yat-sen University]] in 1941.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.singtao.ca/3562630/2019-06-26/post-%e3%80%8c%e5%a4%a7%e5%ad%b8%e8%aa%9e%e6%96%87%e4%b9%8b%e7%88%b6%e3%80%8d-%e7%99%be%e6%ad%b2%e5%be%90%e4%b8%ad%e7%8e%89%e9%80%9d%e4%b8%96/?variant=zh-hk|title=「大學語文之父」 百歲徐中玉逝世|date=26 June 2019|website=Sing Tao Daily|language=zh-TW|access-date=26 June 2019|archive-date=26 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190626201909/https://www.singtao.ca/3562630/2019-06-26/post-%e3%80%8c%e5%a4%a7%e5%ad%b8%e8%aa%9e%e6%96%87%e4%b9%8b%e7%88%b6%e3%80%8d-%e7%99%be%e6%ad%b2%e5%be%90%e4%b8%ad%e7%8e%89%e9%80%9d%e4%b8%96/?variant=zh-hk|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 1952, Xu became a professor in the Department of Chinese of [[East China Normal University]] in Shanghai. After the [[Cultural Revolution]], Xu was appointed Chair of the Department of Chinese. Together with {{ill|Kuang Yaming|zh|匡亚明}}, then president of [[Nanjing University]], he advocated the restoration of the university Chinese course requirement, which had been abolished in 1952. He oversaw the compilation of the textbook ''University Chinese'' ({{lang|zh-Hans|大学语文}}), published in 1981.<ref name=":2" /> It has become the standard textbook in Chinese universities, and by the time of his death in 2019, 30 million copies of the book had been printed.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bjnews.com.cn/news/2019/06/25/595566.html|title=学生悼念徐中玉：学术讨论，从不干涉学生想法|author=Zhou Shiling 周世玲|date=25 June 2019|access-date=26 June 2019|website=The Beijing News|language=zh}}</ref>
