Geling Yan

In this Chinese name, the family name is Yan.
Yan Geling
Yan in 2023
Yan in 2023
Born严歌苓
(1958-11-16) 16 November 1958 (age 66)
Shanghai, China
OccupationNovelist, screenwriter
NationalityAmerican
Alma materWuhan University
Columbia College Chicago
Notable worksA Woman's Epic
SpouseLi Kewei
(?-1990s)
Lawrence Walker
(1992-)
Children1

Geling Yan (simplified Chinese: 严歌苓; traditional Chinese: 嚴歌苓; pinyin: Yán Gēlíng; born 16 November 1958[1]) is a Chinese-American author and screenwriter.[2]

Early life

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Yan was born in Shanghai, China in 1958. She is the second child of Yan Dunxun and Jia Lin. She has an elder brother Yan Geping (严歌平).[3] Her father is an alumnus of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of Tongji University.[4]

Yan began performing as a dancer at age 12. She served in the People's Liberation Army in Chengdu, during the Cultural Revolution in Tibet and later as a journalist in the Sino-Vietnamese War, achieving a rank equivalent to lieutenant colonel.[5]

Yan holds a bachelor's degree in literature from Wuhan University, and a Master's in Fine Arts in Fiction Writing from Columbia College Chicago.

Career

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Works

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Her first novel was published in 1985. She is the author of such novels as The Banquet Bug (published as The Uninvited in the UK) and The Lost Daughter of Happiness, as well as a story collection entitled White Snake and Other Stories. Several of Yan's works have been adapted for film, including Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl, which was directed by Joan Chen, and Siao Yu, directed by Sylvia Chang and screenplay co-written by Ang Lee. Zhang Yimou, the Chinese director of To Live and Raise the Red Lantern adapted her novella 13 Flowers of Nanjing to the screen as The Flowers of War, and his movie Coming Home was based on Yan's novel The Criminal Lu Yanshi.[6] She has worked on other scripts including a biography of Mei Lanfang, the Peking opera star, for Chinese director Chen Kaige.

Novels in English

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  • The Banquet Bug (written in English, published as The Uninvited in the UK 简体版《赴宴者》)[7]
  • The Lost Daughter of Happiness (tr. Cathy Silber, Chinese title Fusang 《扶桑》)
  • The Flowers of War (tr. Nicky Harman, Chinese title Jinling shisan chai 《金陵十三钗》)[8]
  • Little Aunt Crane (tr. Esther Tyldesley, Chinese title Xiaoyi Duohe 《小姨多鶴》)[9]
  • The Criminal Lu Yanshi (adapted into a movie, titled Coming Home)《陆犯焉识》[10]
  • The Secret Talker [11]

Novels in Chinese （Chronological order of publication）

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  • 绿血
  • 一个女兵的悄悄话 (Yi ge nü bing di qiao qiao hua)[12]
  • 雌性的草地[13]
  • 草鞋权贵 (In 2009, the name was changed to Shuangjiang《霜降》)[14]
  • 扶桑 (The Lost Daughter of Happiness )[15]
  • 人寰 (In 2009, the name was changed to Xinli Yisheng Zaima 《心理医生在吗》）
  • 无出路咖啡馆[16]
  • 花儿与少年[17]
  • 第九个寡妇（The Ninth Widow）[18]
  • 一个女人的史诗
  • 小姨多鹤（Auntie Duohe）[19]
  • 寄居者[20]
  • 铁梨花[21]
  • 陆犯焉识[22]
  • 金陵十三钗（The Flowers of War）[23]
  • 补玉山居
  • 妈阁是座城（A City Called Macau）[24]
  • 老师好美[25]
  • 床畔[26]
  • 舞男[27]
  • 芳华（Youth） [28]
  • 666号
  • 小站
  • 蜃楼

Short stories in English

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  • The Landlady (tr. Lawrence A. Walker)[29]
  • Disappointing Returns (tr. David Haysom)[30]
  • White Snake and Other Stories (tr. Lawrence A. Walker)[31]

Title

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She is a member of the Hollywood Writers Guild of America, the Writer's Association of China, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Censorship in China

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See also: Xuzhou chained woman incident and Internet censorship in China

As of 11 February 2022, Yan was censored on China's internet after commenting on the atrocity and government cover-ups in the Xuzhou chained woman incident and agreeing with Zhou Xiaozheng's assessment that Chinese Communist Party leader Xi Jinping is a "human trafficker" who imposed a large sum of money for "donation" on foreign families who adopt Chinese orphans.[32][33] Baidu Baike showed "Sorry, the page you're visiting no longer exists" for Yan's entry. The search results for Yan's name on Sina Weibo became unavailable.[34]

Personal life

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Yan's ex-husband is Li Kewei; they divorced in the 1990s. In 1992, Yan married her second husband Lawrence Walker in San Bruno, California. Walker is a diplomat. They have no biological children together, but have adopted a Chinese girl, Yanyan.[35]

References

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  1. ^ Date information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF).
  2. ^ Hille, Kathrin (January 19, 2012). "Novelist threatens Apple with US lawsuit". Retrieved February 20, 2018.
  3. ^ 严歌苓： 翻手苍凉 覆手繁华 Retrieved 2017-01-14
  4. ^ "家"系列之严歌苓 Retrieved 2017-01-14
  5. ^ Ng, I-ching (October 31, 2004). "Yan Geling". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 17 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Writing China: Yan Geling, 'The Criminal Lu Yanshi'". Wall Street Journal. 7 July 2014.
  7. ^ "Review: The Uninvited by Geling Yan". TheGuardian.com. 9 December 2006.
  8. ^ "Nanjing Requiem, by Ha JinThe Flowers of War, by Geling Yan". Independent.co.uk. 19 January 2012.
  9. ^ Yan, Geling (2008). Xiao yi Duohe. Taibei Shi: San min shu ju gu fen you xian gong s. ISBN 9571450707.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  10. ^ Yan, Ge ling (2011). Lu fan Yan shi (Di 1 ban ed.). Beijing: Zuo jia chu ban she. ISBN 9787506360876.
  11. ^ "The Secret Talker".
  12. ^ Yan, Geling (1987). Yi ge nü bing di qiao qiao hua. Jun shi wen xue chang pian xin chao cong shu (Di 1 ban ed.). Beijing: Jie fang jun wen yi chu ban she : Xin hua shu dian Beijing fa xing suo fa xing. ISBN 978-7-5033-0034-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  13. ^ 严歌苓 (1989). 雌性的草地: 长篇新潮丛书. 长篇新潮丛书. 北京: 解放军文艺出版社. ISBN 978-7-5033-0079-0.
  14. ^ Yan, Geling; Yan, Geling; Yan, Geling (1998). Ren huan: Cao xie quan gui. Bu lao hu cong shu (Di 1 ban ed.). Shenyang Shi: Chun feng wen yi chu ban she : Liaoning sheng xin hua shu dian fa xing. ISBN 978-7-5313-1952-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  15. ^ 严歌苓 (1996). 扶桑: 文瀚阁创作丛书. 文瀚阁创作丛书 第一辑. 北京: 中国华侨出版社. ISBN 978-7-80120-089-1.
  16. ^ Yan, Geling (2001). Wu chu lu ka fei guan: Wuchulukafeiguan (Di 1 ban ed.). Tianjin: Bai hua wen yi chu ban she. ISBN 978-7-5306-3127-0.
  17. ^ Yan, Ge ling (2012). Hua er yu shao nian (2ban ed.). Xi an: Shan xi shi fan ta xue chu ban zong she you xian gong si. ISBN 978-7-5613-5516-9.
  18. ^ Yan, Geling (2008). Di Jiu Ge Gua Fu. Shaanxi Normal University General Publishing House. ISBN 9787561344231.
  19. ^ Yan, Geling (2008). Xiao yi Duohe. Taibei Shi: San min shu ju gu fen you xian gong si. ISBN 9789571450704.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  20. ^ Yan, Geling (2009). Ji ju zhe (Di 1 ban ed.). Beijing Shi: Xin xing chu ban she. ISBN 978-7-80225-614-9.
  21. ^ Xiao, Ma; Yan, Geling (2010). Tie li hua =: Tielihua (Di 1 ban ed.). Xi an: Shanxi shi fan da xue chu ban she. ISBN 978-7-5613-4770-6.
  22. ^ Yan, Ge ling (2011). Lu fan Yan shi (Di 1 ban ed.). Beijing: Zuo jia chu ban she. ISBN 978-7-5063-6087-6.
  23. ^ Yan, Geling (2012). Jinling shi san chai: Yan Geling zuo pin (Di 1 ban ed.). Beijing Shi: Shanxi shi fan da xue chu ban she. ISBN 9787550203570.
  24. ^ Yan, Ge ling (2014). Ma ge shi zuo cheng (Di 1 ban ed.). Bei jing: Ren min wen xue chu ban she. ISBN 9787020101825.
  25. ^ Yan, Ge ling (2014). Lao shi hao mei (Di yi ban ed.). Tian jin: Tian jin ren min chu ban she. ISBN 978-7-201-08724-5.
  26. ^ yan ge ling (2015). chuang pan. wu han. ISBN 978-7-5354-7941-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  27. ^ Yan, Ge ling (2016). Wu nan. Shang hai: shang hai wen yi chu ban she. ISBN 978-7-5321-6017-4.
  28. ^ Kenny, Glenn (14 December 2017). "Review: In 'Youth,' the People's Dance Troupe, in Love and War". The New York Times.
  29. ^ "The Landlady". 21 September 2015.
  30. ^ "Read Paper Republic: Disappointing Returns".
  31. ^ "White Snake". Archived from the original on 2015-09-03. Retrieved 2015-11-20.
  32. ^ "Weibo censored a famous novelist who voiced her anger over China's inhumanity to women". QUARTZ. 14 February 2022. Retrieved 15 February 2022.
  33. ^ "China claims arrests of human traffickers in chained woman case". BBC News. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
  34. ^ "Weibo censored a famous novelist who voiced her anger over China's inhumanity to women". Quartz. 2022-02-14.
  35. ^ 严歌苓：做一个在美国畅销的中国作家 Retrieved 2017-01-14
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