Yan Duhe, a predecessor of Chinese journalism, named Zhen. His courtesy name was Zicai, nickname Zhiwo, Bingfangguanzhu, Laozu, and Wanqing, the grandnephew of Yanchen, a member of the Imperial Academy in the Xianfeng period of the Qing Dynasty. He was born on October 3, 1889, in the old house of Yanchen, North Gate, Wuzhen. "Duhe" was originated from his wife Mrs. Lu who suffered from postpartum illness and then died in his early years. Because of grief, Duhe considered himself as a single crane, hence the pen name Duhe (single crane). After the pen name spread all over the world, few people knew his original name. He was one of the influential editors in the history of modern journalism. He had been the editor-in-chief of the famous supplement of Newspaper for 30 years.

In long history of Wuzhen, there were two buildings for the members of the Imperial Academy, one for Xia Tongshan, and the other Yanchen. Yan Duhe was Yan Chen's grandnephew, and later earned his life on literature. It seemed that he inherited the tradition of the family of poetry and etiquette.

Yan Duhe studied in the Military Engineering School of Shanghai Manufacturing Bureau and Guangzhou Dialect School when he was a child. After graduation, he had been a teacher for several years and then entered Shanghai Zhonghua Bookstore to serve as an editor. Soon after joining the World Book Company to edit English books and periodicals. Later he was also applied for Newspaper office, and responsible for editing supplements. He renamed the original supplement Zhuangxielu as Kuaihuolin, and then as Xinyuanlin. He often invited some well-known figures to write for the supplement, and he wrote a passage named "conversation" (signed Duhe) every day. Although it was short with only four or five hundred words, it was concise, and often pointed out errors for correction and criticized the darkness of the society, being welcomed by readers. At that time, the editor-in-chief of Shen Newspaper’s supplement Free Talk was Zhou Shoujuan. Both supplements were really special and had their own characteristics. They were both great and people called them "a cuckoo and a crane".

In the memory of Zhu Xiaofeng, Yan Duhe's grandson, Yan Duhe had been the teacher of many famous people. His students included Zhang Xueliang, Zhang Henshui and Qin Shou’ou, and Chiang Kai-shek had asked Chiang Ching-kuo to learn from him. Yan's happiest thing in Newspaper was to publish Zhang Henshui's "Bring Your Smile Along" in Kuaihuolin since 1929. This novel made Zhang Henshui famous nationwide and became a well-known writer for both women and children in the whole China, which was also an anomaly in the history of modern literature. Swordswoman of Huangjiang by Gu Mingdao was also a best-selling novel in the 1920s and 1930s. It was originally published in Xinyuanlin, a supplement edited by Yan Duhe. Mr. Yan Duhe and his family were all opera fans. Xun Huisheng, one of the then four famous figures in Peking Opera, once said that without Yan Duhe, he would not be him today.

Before the Anti-Japanese War, Night News was also published in Newspaper. The supplement Night Voice was also edited by Yan Duhe, who had been promoted to deputy editor-in-chief. He had frequent contacts with progressive figures in the literary and artistic circles, such as Guo Moruo, Tian Han, Hong Shen, Xu Guangping, Yuan Xuefen and An'e, and many articles were provided by them. He had also held a film workshop with Hong Shen and others, and famous star Hu Die had also been inspired by him.

In the 30 years since he edited the supplement, there has been tragic epics on the historical stage: the Northern Expedition, the Anti-Japanese War , and the War of Liberation. Although he did not stand in the middle of the stage, he always supported the progressive side with justice words. He used the power of public opinions to expose the enemy's evil deeds, appealed to people to wake up and fight against the evil forces.

The 30 years of his edit for the supplement, was also an important period for the development of journalism in China. Therefore, his hard working and successful experience was undoubtedly a valuable treasure. He left nearly 10,000 articles in the supplement and the Novels of Yan Duhe. Kuaihuolin (Xinyuanlin), the supplement edited by him, is one of the influential supplements in the history of journalism in China. Their basic patterns are still of significance.

In the spring of 1948, Yan Duhe and his wife Lu Yunyu, returned hometown to visit their relatives and the graves. He re-entered the old building for the member of the Imperial Academy, in Wuzhen, where he met relatives and friends he hadn't seen for many years. In Wuzhen, he saw the destruction of the Zhicai Primary School in the war, generously making donations to help it recover. In the town, he also introduced the development of Shanghai women's circle to some local progressive people. It was known that Mr. Yan's thoughts were always at the forefront at that time.

After the founding of new China, Yan Duhe served as the editor consultant of Liberation Daily, Deputy President of Shanghai Press Union Library and Shanghai Library, and attended the Second National Cultural Congress. With the qualification of cultural celebrity, he had successively served as a representative to the first to fifth sessions of the Shanghai People's Congress and a member of the third and fourth CPPCC. In the ten years of Culture Revolution, he could not escape. He died in 1968 with grievances and was so poor that he could hardly be buried.

However, he had never been forgotten by his hometown. On May 5, 1990, Yan Duhe Library was established in his hometown and opened to public. Su Buqing, a famous scientist, inscribed the name of the library. Gu Yanlong, the old president and scholar of Shanghai Library, inscribed the plaque of the reading room in the library.

Mr. Yan is the author of the novel A Dream of Man, Novels of Yan Duhe and several movie scripts.