He has made extraordinary achievements in the three fields of poetry, academic research and translation. Together with Chen Yinke and Qian Zhongshu, he is known as the representative of the most educated intellectuals in China in the 20th century.
Wu Xinghua's first poetry work was published in the second issue of "Xiaoya" poetry magazine edited by Wu Benxing in Peking in 1936, titled "Song". His poems emerged from the occupied areas during the Anti-Japanese War. They found a new path beyond realism and modernism, integrating traditional Chinese artistic conception, the characteristics of Chinese characters and the form of Western poetry, striving to realize the modern transformation of Chinese classical poetry.
He has learned both Chinese and Western knowledge, and is knowledgeable about literature and history. He wrote "The Merchant of Venice - Conflict and Resolution" with one hand, "Reading Tongjian Notes" and "Reading "Guochao Changzhou Parallel Style Wenlu" with the other hand. Overseas scholars praise him as one of the few scholars in modern China who truly understands both China and the West.
He was the first person to introduce Joyce's "Ulysses" to China. His now-lost translation of "The Divine Comedy" is known as the masterpiece of translation. Shakespeare's play "Henry IV" is widely praised. In addition, he also did a lot of proofreading work for the now popular translation of Zhu Shenghao's "The Complete Works of Shakespeare".
Wu Xinghua was a genius, but it was sad to die young. Scholars like Wu Xinghua and Qian Zhongshu, who have learned both Chinese and Western knowledge and are knowledgeable about the modern world, have only been produced in several hundred years in Chinese history. They are unparalleled in today's world.