About this Event
Join the Sigur Center for Asian Studies for a conversation with accomplished novelist and screenwriter Geling Yan 嚴歌苓. Born in Shanghai, she served with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) during the Cultural Revolution, starting at age twelve as a dancer in an entertainment troupe.
After more than a decade with the PLA, she published her first novel in 1986 and has been writing constantly ever since. Her best-known novels in English are , , , , and . Many of her novels have been adapted for films and television series, including Youth (Feng Xiaogang), three films by Zhang Yimou (The Flowers of War, Coming Home, and One Second), Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl (directed by Joan Chen), A City Called Macau (directed by Li Shaohong) and Siao Yu (directed by Sylvia Chang and produced by Ang Lee). Her novel The Lost Daughter of Happiness is being adapted into a musical, FUSONG, which was presented to the New York Citytheater community earlier this month and addresses anti-Asian racism, violence, and the transcendence of love.
In this talk, Ms. Yan will discuss her life, her works, censorship, and her latest book , which was published in 2023. The story is about a young woman named Milati, a dancer tuned novelist, her cohort, and that of her artist father during the 1980s in China, when the country opened up, everything seemed possible, and they thought would go on forever. Selected copies of Ms. Yan’s works will be sold at the event.
About the Speaker
Geling Yan 嚴歌苓 is one of the most acclaimed novelists and screenwriters in the Chinese language and a well-established writer in English. Born in Shanghai, she served with the People's Liberation Army (PLA) during the Cultural Revolution, starting at age twelve as a dancer in an entertainment troupe.
After more than a decade with the PLA, she published her first novel in 1986 and has been writing constantly ever since. Her best-known novels in English are The Secret Talker, Little Aunt Crane, The Flowers of War, The Banquet Bug , The Lost Daughter of Happiness, and White Snake and Other Stories.
Many of Ms. Yan's works have been adapted for film and television, directed or produced by famous directors such as Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, Ang Lee, Li Shaohong and Joan Chen. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Ms. Yan holds an MFA in Fiction Writing from Columbia College, Chicago. She has published over 40 books and has won over 30 literary and film awards. Her works have been translated into twenty-one languages. She has been subject to an unwritten ban in China since March 2020, when she wrote an essay criticizing the Chinese government’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis. She resides in Berlin, Germany and has recently co-founded a company, New Song Media GmbH, to produce films and to publish her works outside China.
Event Venue & Nearby Stays
Elliott School of International Affairs Lindner Family Commons, 1957 E Street NW, Washington, United States
USD 0.00