Jiang Benhu (; born 1964), better known by his pen name Mai Jia (麦家), is a Chinese novelist. He also served as the president of Zhejiang Writers Association and vice president of the Zhejiang Literature and Art Association.

Biography

Jiang was born in Fuyang District,

Hangzhou Hangzhou, , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ; formerly romanized as Hangchow is a sub-provincial city in East China and the capital of Zhejiang province. With a population of 13 million, the municipality comprises ten districts, two counti ...

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

Province in 1964. He was drafted into the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...

and served for 17 years. Jiang graduated from People's Liberation Army Foreign Language College in 1983, where he majored in wireless radio. He started to publish works in 1986. Jiang was accepted to People's Liberation Army Arts College in 1987 and graduated in 1991, majoring in literature. In 1997, Jiang worked in Chengdu Satellite TV as an editor. In 2008, Jiang was transferred from

Chengdu Chengdu; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ; Chinese postal romanization, previously Romanization of Chinese, romanized as Chengtu. is the capital city of the Chinese province of Sichuan. With a ...

. In December 2010, Jiang was elected the vice president of the Zhejiang Literature and Art Association. On July 1, 2013, Jiang was elected the president of Zhejiang Writers Association.

Works

Novellas

* ''Letting the Masked Man Speak'' ()

Novels

* '' Decoded'' () (2002) * ''In the Dark'' () (2003) * ''The Message'' () (2007) * ''The Colonel and the Eunuch'' () (2019)

Translated works

* '' Decoded'', trans.

Olivia Milburn Olivia Milburn (born 1976) is a sinologist, author and literary translator who specialises in Chinese cultural history and in Chinese minority groups. Life and career Milburn is a professor at the School of Chinese, Hong Kong University. Milbur ...

and Christopher Payne (London: Allen Lane, 2014) * ''In the Dark'', trans. Olivia Milburn and Christopher Payne (London: Penguin, 2015) * ''The Message'', trans. Olivia Milburn (London: Head of Zeus, 2020) * ''The Colonel and the Eunuch'', trans. Dylan Levi King (London: Apollo, 2023)

Awards

* '' Decoded'' - 6th National Book Award * ''In the Dark'' - 7th Mao Dun Literature Prize

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jia, Mai 1964 births Writers from Hangzhou People's Liberation Army Arts College alumni Living people Mao Dun Literature Prize laureates Chinese male novelists 21st-century Chinese novelists