Liu Zhenyun (born May 1958) is a Chinese novelist and screenwriter. He is best known for his novel ''
Someone to Talk To'' (awarded the 2011
Mao Dun Literature Prize
Mao Dun Literature Prize () is a prize for novels, established in the will of prominent Chinese writer Mao Dun (for which he personally donated 250,000 RMB) and sponsored by the China Writers Association. Awarded every four years, it is one o ...
) as well as his involvement with the many film adaptions of his books. Among these is ''
I Am Not Madame Bovary'', produced in collaboration with director
Feng Xiaogang
Feng Xiaogang (; born 18 March 1958 in Beijing) is a Chinese film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and politician. He is well known in China as a highly successful commercial filmmaker whose comedy films do consistently well at the box o ...
, a frequent collaborator of Liu. He is married to noted human rights activist
Guo Jianmei.
Life and Work
Liu grew up in the village of Laozhuang in
Yanjin County,
Henan
Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...
, China. At age 14, he left his village and joined the army. At age 20, he took the
national college entrance exam, achieved the highest score in Henan province, and was accepted at
Peking University
Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education.
Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...
. After graduation, he became a journalist. In the 1980s Liu began to concentrate seriously on his literary career, publishing his debut novella ''Tapu,'' in 1987.
He went on to publish novels such as ''Hometown, Regime and Blood'' (故乡天下黄花), ''Anecdotes in the Hometown'' (故乡相处流传), ''Material and Spirit in the Hometown'' (故乡面和花朵), ''Nonsense Talk'' (一腔废话), ''Cell Phone'' (手机), ''The Cook, the Crook, and the Real Estate Tycoon'' (我叫刘跃进).
His novels
''Someone to Talk To'' (一句顶一万句) and
''I Did Not Kill My Husband'' (我不是潘金莲) have sold over a million copies each. ''Someone to Talk To'' was awarded with
Mao Dun Literature Prize
Mao Dun Literature Prize () is a prize for novels, established in the will of prominent Chinese writer Mao Dun (for which he personally donated 250,000 RMB) and sponsored by the China Writers Association. Awarded every four years, it is one o ...
in 2011 and has sold more than 1.6 million copies.
He has also authored novellas such as ''A Small Town: Tapu'' (塔铺), ''Recruits'' (新兵连), ''The Office'' (单位), ''Ground Covered with Chicken Feathers'' (一地鸡毛), ''Remembering 1942'' (温故一九四二). Throughout the years, Liu's works have been translated into over 28 languages.
Many of Liu's books have been adapted into TV series and movies. He has written the screenplays for some of them including: ''A Small Town: Tapu'', ''Ground Covered with Chicken Feathers'', ''The Cook, the Crook, and the Real Estate Tycoon'', ''
Remembering 1942'', ''
Someone to Talk To'', ''I Did Not Kill My Husband''. Several of these adapted films have been awarded in the film festivals around the world, including the
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...
, the
Rome Film Festival
International Rome Film Fest is a film festival that takes place in Rome during the month of October. The name in Italian is Festa del Cinema di Roma.
Sections
The Rome Film Festival official program is divided into several sections:
Cinema d'O ...
, the
Busan International Film Festival
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF, previously Pusan International Film Festival, PIFF), held annually in Haeundae-gu, Busan (''also'' Pusan), South Korea, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. The first festiv ...
, and the
Hong Kong International Film Festival
The Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF), is one of Asia’s oldest international film festivals. Founded in 1976, the festival features different movies, filmmakers from different countries in Hong Kong.
HKIFF screens around 230 films ...
, among others.
Themes and influences
Liu often credits his upbringing in Yanjin county as influencing his work, especially growing up in the shadow of the
1942 famine. He also is noted for including political criticism as well as advocating for social justice in his works.
Works
Awards
* 2011:
Mao Dun Literature Prize
Mao Dun Literature Prize () is a prize for novels, established in the will of prominent Chinese writer Mao Dun (for which he personally donated 250,000 RMB) and sponsored by the China Writers Association. Awarded every four years, it is one o ...
, winner, ''One Sentence Is Ten Thousand Sentences''
External links
* Interviews with Liu Zhenyu
* List of works (in Chinese
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Liu, Zhenyun
1958 births
Living people
Chinese male novelists
Mao Dun Literature Prize laureates
Peking University alumni
Writers from Xinxiang
People's Liberation Army personnel
People's Republic of China journalists