Jin Xuefei (; born February 21, 1956) is a

Chinese-American Chinese Americans are Americans of Han Chinese ancestry. Chinese Americans constitute a subgroup of East Asian Americans which also constitute a subgroup of Asian Americans. Many Chinese Americans along with their ancestors trace lineage from m ...

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems ( oral or wri ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others asp ...

using the pen name Ha Jin (). ''Ha'' comes from his favorite city, Harbin. His poetry is associated with the Misty Poetry movement.

Early life

Ha Jin was born in Liaoning, China. His father was a military officer; at thirteen, Jin joined the People's Liberation Army during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

. Jin began to educate himself in Chinese literature and high school curriculum at sixteen. He left the army when he was nineteen, as he entered

Heilongjiang University University of Heilongjiang () is a national university in the city of Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, People's Republic of China. The university was established in March 1941, in the revolutionary base area of the Chinese Communist Revolution, ...

and earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in English studies. This was followed by a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in Anglo-American

literature Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially prose fiction, drama, and poetry. In recent centuries, the definition has expanded to include ...

Shandong University Shandong University (, abbreviated as Shanda, , English abbreviation SDU) is a public research comprehensive university in Jinan, Shandong with one campus in Weihai, Shandong and one campus in Qingdao, Shandong and is supported directly by ...

. Jin grew up in the chaos of early communist China. He was on a scholarship at

Brandeis University , mottoeng = "Truth even unto its innermost parts" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = NECHE , president = Ronald D. Liebowitz , ...

when the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and massacre occurred. The Chinese government's forcible crackdown hastened his decision to

emigrate Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

to the United States, and was the cause of his choice to write in English "to preserve the integrity of his work." He eventually obtained a

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

One of his mentors was literary critic

Eugene Goodheart Eugene Goodheart (June 26, 1931 – April 9, 2020) was an American literary scholar. He was Edytha Macy Gross Professor of Humanities at Brandeis University from 1983 to 2001. Biography Goodheart was born on June 26, 1931, in Brooklyn. He recei ...

Career

Jin sets many of his stories and novels in China, in the fictional Muji City. He has won the

National Book Award for Fiction The National Book Award for Fiction is one of five annual National Book Awards, which recognize outstanding literary work by United States citizens. Since 1987 the awards have been administered and presented by the National Book Foundation, but ...

and the

PEN/Faulkner Award The PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction is awarded annually by the PEN/Faulkner Foundation to the authors of the year's best works of fiction by living American citizens. The winner receives US$15,000 and each of four runners-up receives US$5000. Fi ...

for his novel, ''

Waiting Waiting, Waitin, Waitin', or The Waiting may refer to: Film * ''Waiting'' (1991 film), a film by Jackie McKimmie * ''Waiting...'' (film), a 2005 film starring Ryan Reynolds * ''Waiting'' (2007 film), a film by Zarina Bhimji * ''Waiting'' (20 ...

'' (1999). He has received three Pushcart Prizes for fiction and a

Kenyon Review ''The Kenyon Review'' is a literary magazine based in Gambier, Ohio, US, home of Kenyon College. ''The Review'' was founded in 1939 by John Crowe Ransom, critic and professor of English at Kenyon College, who served as its editor until 1959. ' ...

Prize. Many of his short stories have appeared in ''

The Best American Short Stories The Best American Short Stories yearly anthology is a part of ''The Best American Series'' published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Since 1915, the BASS anthology has striven to contain the best short stories by some of the best-known writers in con ...

'' anthologies. His collection ''Under The Red Flag'' (1997) won the

Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction The Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction is an annual prize awarded by the University of Georgia Press named in honor of the American short story writer and novelist Flannery O'Connor. Established in 1983 to encourage young writers by bringi ...

, while ''Ocean of Words'' (1996) has been awarded the

PEN/Hemingway Award The PEN/Hemingway Award is awarded annually to a full-length novel or book of short stories by an American author who has not previously published a full-length book of fiction. The award is named after Ernest Hemingway and funded by the Hemingwa ...

. The novel ''

War Trash ''War Trash'' is a novel by the Chinese author Ha Jin, who has long lived in the United States and who writes in English. It takes the form of a memoir written by the fictional character Yu Yuan, a man who eventually becomes a soldier in the C ...

'' (2004), set during the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, won a second

for Jin, thus ranking him with

Philip Roth Philip Milton Roth (March 19, 1933 – May 22, 2018) was an American novelist and short story writer. Roth's fiction—often set in his birthplace of Newark, New Jersey—is known for its intensely autobiographical character, for philosophicall ...

John Edgar Wideman John Edgar Wideman (born June 14, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, memoirist, and essayist. He was the first person to win the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction twice. His writing is known for experimental techniques and a focus o ...

and

E. L. Doctorow Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an American novelist, editor, and professor, best known for his works of historical fiction. He wrote twelve novels, three volumes of short fiction and a stage drama. They included ...

who are the only other authors to have won the prize more than once. ''

'' was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Jin currently teaches at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

. He formerly taught at

Emory University Emory University is a private research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1836 as "Emory College" by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory, Emory is the second-oldest private institution of ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. Jin was a Mary Ellen von der Heyden Fellow for Fiction at the

American Academy in Berlin The American Academy in Berlin is a private, independent, nonpartisan research and cultural institution in Berlin dedicated to sustaining and enhancing the long-term intellectual, cultural, and political ties between the United States and Germany ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, in the fall of 2008. He was inducted to the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2014. On July 28, 2021, an asteroid was named after him: (58495) Hajin.

Awards and honors

(1996) *

Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award The PEN/Hemingway Award is awarded annually to a full-length novel or book of short stories by an American author who has not previously published a full-length book of fiction. The award is named after Ernest Hemingway and funded by the Hemingwa ...

(1997) * Guggenheim Fellowship (1999) *

National Book Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

(1999)"National Book Awards – 1999"
.

National Book Foundation The National Book Foundation (NBF) is an American nonprofit organization established, "to raise the cultural appreciation of great writing in America". Established in 1989 by National Book Awards, Inc.,Edwin McDowell. "Book Notes: 'The Joy Luc ...

. Retrieved 2012-03-27.
(With acceptance speech by Jin and essay by Ru Freeman from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.) *

(2000) *Asian Fellowship (2000–2002) *Townsend Prize for Fiction (2002) *

(2005) * Fellow of American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2006) * Dayton Literary Peace Prize, runner-up, ''Nanjing Requiem'' (2012) * PEN Oakland Josephine Miles Literary Award for ''A Distant Center'' (2019)

Books

Poetry

* ''Between Silences'' (1990) * ''Facing Shadows'' (1996) * ''Ways of Talking'' (1996) * ''Wreckage'' (2001) * ''Missed Time'' * ''The Past'' * ''A Distant Center'' (2018,

Copper Canyon Press Copper Canyon Press is an independent, non-profit small press, founded in 1972 specializing exclusively in the publication of poetry. It is located in Port Townsend, Washington. Copper Canyon Press publishes new collections of poetry by both pop ...

)

Short story collections

* '' Ocean of Words'' (1996) * ''Under the Red Flag'' (1997) * '' The Bridegroom'' (2000) * ''A Good Fall'' (2009)

Novels

* '' In the Pond'' (1998) * ''

'' (1999) * ''The Crazed'' (2002) * ''

'' (2004) * '' A Free Life'' (2007) * ''

Nanjing Requiem ''Nanjing Requiem'' is a 2011 novel by Ha Jin, about the Nanjing Massacre. Background Ha Jin wrote this novel in English, his second language. The author consulted the journals of Minnie Vautrin and other works for research. Contents The bo ...

'' (2011) *
A Map of Betrayal
' (2014) * ''The Boat Rocker'' (2016) * ''A Song Everlasting'' (2021)

Biographies

* '' The Banished Immortal'' (2019)

Essays

* ''The Writer as Migrant'' (2008)

References

# John Noell Moore, "The Landscape Of Divorce When Worlds Collide," The English Journal 92 (Nov. 2002), pp. 124–127. # Ha Jin, ''Waiting'' (New York: Pantheon Books, 1999). # Neil J Diamant, ''Revolutionizing the Family: Politics, Love and Divorce in Urban and Rural China, 1949-1968''(Berkeley and Los Angeles: University of California Press, 2000), p. 59. # Ha Jin, ''The Bridegroom'' (New York: Pantheon Books, 2000). # Yuejin Wang, Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 13 (Dec. 1991). # Ha Jin, "Exiled to English" (New York Times, May 30, 2009).

External links

* *
Listen to Ha Jin on The Forum from the BBC World ServiceBoston University staff pageAuthor interview in Guernica Magazine (guernicamag.com)Audio: Ha Jin in conversation on the BBC World Service discussion programme
''The Forum''
"Ha Jin's Cultural Revolution" - New York Times Magazine profile (2000).

Ha Jin
at

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

Authorities — with 20 catalog records {{DEFAULTSORT:Jin, Ha 1956 births Living people 20th-century American novelists 20th-century American poets 21st-century American novelists 21st-century American poets American male novelists American male poets American male short story writers American novelists of Chinese descent American short story writers of Chinese descent Boston University faculty Brandeis University alumni Chinese emigrants to the United States Chinese male novelists Emory University faculty Exophonic writers Flannery O'Connor Award for Short Fiction winners National Book Award winners PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction winners Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award winners Postmodern writers Misty poets Shandong University alumni Heilongjiang University alumni Educators from Liaoning Poets from Liaoning Writers from Liaoning Novelists from Massachusetts Novelists from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters