Chen Danyan (; born 18 December 1958) is a writer based in

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, China. Born in Beijing, she moved to Shanghai as a child and her writing revolves around Shanghai and Shanghainese women. She is best known for her trilogy of biographical narratives: ''Shanghai Memorabilia'', ''Shanghai Princess'', and ''Shanghai Beauty''.

Life and work

Chen first published articles in Chinese journals in the 1970s. After studying Chinese literature at

East China Normal University East China Normal University (ECNU) is a public university in Shanghai, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education (China), Ministry of Education and co-funded with the Shanghai Municipal People's Government. The university is part of ...

(1978–1982) she worked as an editor for the ''Children's Epoch'' magazine. She dealt mainly with Chinese literature until the mid-eighties when she started writing on the life and the emotional world of adolescent girls. The autobiographical novel ''Nine Lives'' (1992) dealt with childhood experiences of the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

. She received the UNESCO-Prize for Peace and Tolerance for ''Nine Lives'' and was nominated in 1996 for German Youth Literature Prize. Central to her recent work is an exploration of the world of the young generation in China which has grown up as a result of the

one-child policy The one-child policy ( zh, c=一孩政策, p=yī hái zhèngcè) was a population planning initiative in China implemented between 1979 and 2015 to curb the country's population growth by restricting many families to a single child. The progr ...

of the past two decades. Another focus of her literary career is articles about her hometown of

Selected works

*1995 - ''Nine Lives'' - a childhood in Shanghai. Zurich. *1996 - ''Niuyue jiari (New York Holidays)''. Shanghai. *1998 - ''Shanghai Memorabilia'' (上海的风花雪月) *1999 - ''Shanghai Princess'' (上海的金枝玉叶). Beijing. . English edition 2010 *2000 - ''Shanghai Beauty'' (上海的红颜遗事) - Yao Yao and her mother

Shangguan Yunzhu Shangguan Yunzhu (; 2 March 1920 – 23 November 1968) was a Chinese actress active from the 1940s to the 1960s. She was considered one of the most talented and versatile actresses in China, and was named one of the 100 best actors of the 100 ...

. Beijing. *2002 - ''Yu he ta de zi xing che.'' Beijing. *2003 - ''Slow Boat To China.'' (慢船去中国) Shanghai. 【Version 1】
《Slow Boat To China》
, 【Version 2】
《Slow Boat To China-Fanny》Part 1

《Slow Boat To China-Jenny》Part 2
*2006 - ''Shanghai: China's Bridge to the Future (Cultural China, Man and the Land)''. Rhinebeck, NY.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chen, Danyan 1958 births Living people Writers from Shanghai East China Normal University alumni Chinese women novelists International Writing Program alumni 20th-century Chinese novelists Chinese children's writers Chinese women children's writers