Wang Xiaobo () (May 13, 1952 – April 11, 1997) was a Chinese writer known for his sharp irony and critical spirit, through which he portrayed the absurdity and suffering of everyday life. Born in Beijing to an intellectual family, Wang was sent to rural areas in Yunnan in 1968 during the Cultural Revolution. He returned to Beijing in 1972 and worked as a factory worker before enrolling at Renmin University of China in 1978. In 1984 he went to the United States to study at the University of Pittsburgh under historian Cho-yun Hsu, and after returning to China in 1988 he briefly taught at Peking University and Renmin University before becoming a freelance writer in 1992. Wang rose to prominence with his novel The Golden Age, which later became part of his “Age” trilogy together with The Silver Age and The Bronze Age. In the 1990s, he gained particular popularity among Chinese college students and achieved posthumous status as a cultural icon associated with liberal and independent thought in China.

Life

On May 13, 1952, Wang was born in a family of intellectuals in Beijing. From 1968 to 1970, he was transferred to a collective farm in Yunnan as an "educated youth". In 1971, he jumped to the team in Muping District, Yantai, province of Shandong, and later became a private teacher. In 1972, he worked in Beijing Niujie Teaching Instrument Factory, and in 1974 he worked in Beijing Xicheng District Semiconductor Factory. This period of working life is the writing background for novels of his such as Love in Revolutionary Period.

In 1977, he met and fell in love with Li Yinhe, who was the editor of the Guangming Daily. In 1980, they married and he published his debut work, Earth Forever. In 1978, he entered the Department of Trade and Economics of Renmin University of China with a bachelor's degree, studying trade economics and commodity science. In 1982, he worked as a teacher at Renmin and began to write The Golden Age. In 1968, he began to try to write in Yunnan Corps. This is the writing background of The Golden Age and the inspiration for The Endlessness. In 1984, he studied at the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Pittsburgh and received a master's degree. He began to write novels based on the legend of the Tang dynasty, during which he received the guidance of historian Xu Zhuoyun. While studying in the United States, Wang traveled throughout the country and used his 1986 summer vacation to visit Western Europe.

Wang returned to China in 1988, and served as a lecturer in the Department of Sociology of Peking University.

Wang died in Beijing on April 11, 1997, after a heart attack.

List of works

Wang Xiaobo wrote several novels, short story collections and essays, some of which have been translated into English, French and Italian.

Novels

  • 《红拂夜奔》 Running Away At Night
  • 《万寿寺》 Wan Show Temple
  • 《黄金时代》 ' : a novel, translated by Yan Yan, New York : Astra House, 2022,
  • 《白银时代》 The Silver Age
  • 《青铜时代》 The Bronze Age
  • 《黑铁时代》 The Iron Age
  • 《夜里两点钟》 Half Past Two At Night
  • 《茫茫黑夜漫游》 The Vast Tour
  • 《樱桃红》 Red Like Cherries
  • 《寻找无双》 Looking for Wushuang or In Search of Wushuang
  • 《三十而立》
  • 《似水流年》
  • 《革命时期的爱情》 Love in the Time of Revolution
  • 《我的阴阳两界》

Plays

  • 《东宫·西宫》

Short story collections and Essays

  • 《沉默的大多数》 '
  • 《思维的乐趣》 '
  • 《我的精神家园》 My Spiritual Homeland
  • 《理想国与哲人王》 Utopia and the Philosopher King
  • 《爱你就像爱生命》 Loving You Is Like Loving Life
  • 《一只特立独行的猪》 A Maverick Pig
  • 《他们的世界: 中国男同性恋群落透视》Their World: A Look at the Chinese Male Homosexuality Community (Coauthored with Li Yinhe)

Filmography

  • 1997: East Palace, West Palace directed by Zhang Yuan, adapted from Wang's short story 《似水柔情》 (English: Sentiments Like Water).

Attitude

In response to the idea that Wang's work lacked positive themes and inspiring messages, Wang wrote:

"Though the author is a modest person, he cannot accept those opinions. Being positive is one of our norms, but it should not be always mentioned. I think my duty is writing interesting novels as possible as I can, and should not add some deliberate sermon. My writing attitude is to write some works for those people who read novels, not to teach undereducated youth..."

References

Further reading

  • WangXiaobo Net
  • works of wangxiaobo collection
  • Article by the magazine Rue89 (In French)
  • Italian publication of the short novel 2015 (in Italian)
  • Introduction to the English translation published by the State University of New York Press