Zhang Xinxin (writer)
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Zhang Xinxin | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 张辛欣 |
| Born | October 4, 1953 |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Language | Chinese |
| Alma mater | Central Academy of Drama |
| Period | 1978–present |
| Genre | Short stories, screenplays, non-fiction |
| Notable works | "On the Same Horizon", Chinese Lives |
Zhang Xinxin (simplified Chinese: 张辛欣; traditional Chinese: 張辛欣; pinyin: Zhāng Xīnxīn; born October 4, 1953[1]) is a Chinese writer and director. Outside of China, she is best known for her work Chinese Lives (1986), co-authored with the journalist and oral historian Sang Ye.[2][3][4] She has also written short stories, screenplays, and autobiographical works.[5][6]
Zhang was born in Nanjing, Jiangsu, on October 4, 1953.[1] She was raised in Beijing. As a result of her father's military position and the fact that he was a writer, Zhang had access to a wide variety of books in her childhood and spent much of her time reading.[7] During the Down to the Countryside Movement, she worked as a sent-down youth in Heilongjiang province in northeast China.[8] She enlisted in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) in Hunan province in central China.[8] After an illness and while still in the PLA, she was sent as a nurse to Xishuangbanna.[1][5] In 1971, she left the PLA and continued to work as a nurse in Beijing until 1976.[5][8]
She was admitted to Central Academy of Drama in 1979 to study theatre directing.[5] She finished her studies in 1984, but was denied her diploma for a year.[5][9][10] She worked as a director at Beijing People's Art Theatre between 1985 and 1988.[8] From 1988 to 1990, she studied at Cornell University and the University of Georgia, and has remained in the United States since.[8][1]
Works
She began to publish her works in 1978.[8] Her first publication, in the literary journal Beijing Literature, was a short story titled "In the Quiet Ward."[9] During her studies at the Central Academy of Drama, she began writing novellas, the first of which was a 1981 semi-autobiographical work titled "On the Same Horizon" (在同一地平线上).[5][9] This novella was an initial success and garnered her literary acclaim, though it was later criticized in the context of the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign, which resulted in consequences for her academic and literary career.[5][9]
After the campaign, Zhang started creating a wider variety of works, including Orchid Mania (疯狂的君子兰), a 1983 detective fiction short story, and Chinese Lives, a 1986 collection of interviews with a variety of ordinary Chinese people.[5][7] The latter was co-authored with Sang Ye.[2][3][4] She has also written plays such as We, You (我们，你们) and an autobiography, Me (我Me), in two volumes.[1][5] She also wrote and illustrated a graphic novel, Pai Hua Zi and the Clever Girl (拍花子和俏女孩), which she self-published in 2012.[1][5] More recently, she has written about her experience during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11]
Style
Zhang's early works deal with themes such as the effects of gender roles and expectations, the duality of womanhood, and the search for an "authentic self."[9] However, after being the subject of political persecution in the 1980s, she shifted from her avant-garde style[7] to a less politically controversial one.[5][7] Having read a variety of literature throughout her life, Zhang also incorporates Western concepts into her writing.[7] Overall, her works have covered a wide range of genres, from short stories to journalistic non-fiction to screenplays, and a variety of topics reflecting her experiences.[7]
Fiction
Autobiographical fiction
- 《我 Me》 (Me, 2 volumes, 2011)
- English excerpt "After the Inferno", 2017.[12]
Novels
- 《IT84》(IT84, 2018)
- English: excerpts translated by Helen Wang, 2019.[13]
Novellas
- 《疯狂的君子兰》(Orchid Mania, 1983)
- English: Mad about Orchids, translated by Helen Wang, 2011.[14]
- 《我们这个年纪的梦》 (The Dreams of Our Generation, 1985)
- 《封．片．联》 (Postcard and Bandits, 1986)
- 《IT84》(IT84, 2015)
Short stories
- "In the Quiet Ward" (1978)
- 《我在哪兒錯過了你?》("Where Did I Miss You?," 1979)
- 《在同一个地平线上》("On the Same Horizon," 1981)
- 《张辛欣小说选》 (The Collected Stories of Zhang Xinxin, 1985)
- 《这次你演哪一半? 》 ("Which half will you play this time – husband or wife?," 1988)
- 《龙的食谱》 ("A Recipe for Dragons," 2011)
Graphic novel
- 《拍花子和俏女孩》(Pai Hua Zi and the Clever Girl, 2012)[17]
Non-fiction
- 《在路上》 (On the Road, 1986)
- 《北京人 (一百个中国人的自述)》(Peking Man: One Hundred Chinese Self Portraits, 1986) - co-authored with Sang Ye
- 《天狱：偷渡美国》(Hell in Heaven: Smuggling to America, 1994)
- 《我知道的美国之音》(Me and the VOA: A Collection of Commentaries, 2000)
- 《独步东西 : 一个旅美作家的网上创作》 (Lonely Drifter: The Wanderer Between the East and the West - My Journey on The Web, 2000)
- 《流浪世界的方式》 (Style of Wandering the World: Short Essay Collection, 2002)
- 《闲说外国人》 (Chatting About Foreigners, 2002)
- 《我的好莱坞大学》(Dark Paradise: My Observations of Hollywood, 2003)
- 《我在美国的自隔离日记》(My Self-Isolation Diaries) - Jintian toutiao, 24 April 2020.
- English Excerpt: A Virus Named Totalitarianism (Humans in Pandemic, 21 May 2020)[11]
Film, TV, radio
- "棋王" (The Chessmaster, screenplay of Ah Cheng's novel)
- "我们，你们" (We, You, screenplay and directing, Capital Sports Stadium)
- "运河人" (People of the Grand Canal, presenting on CCTV)
- "普通人" (Ordinary People, presenting on Central People's Broadcasting)
- "封。片。联" (Postcard and Bandits, novella and radio series)
- "珍邮谜案" (The Stamp Mystery, TV mini-series, screenplay and directing)
- "作家手记"(Diary of an Author, commentary on Voice of America)
