Author Nominee: China

Qin Wenjun
China, Author

Man is the best textbook. Even a child harbours a rich mental world that defies any talented mind reader.

- Qin Wenjun

Born in 1953, Qin Wenjun grew up in Shanghai with her parents and two brothers in a huge apartment building where she had the company of more than a hundred other children.

In 1971, during the Cultural Revolution in China, she was sent to a remote forest region to be 'reeducated'. There she became a teacher in a school. The eight years spent there was a formative experience for her, leading her to study child psychology, and to become a writer for children.

In 1982 she became a literary editor with Juvenile and Children's Publishing House and wrote her first book, 'Sparkling fireflies'. During the next 25 years she served as editorin chief of the influential magazines 'Selected Writings of Children's Literature' and 'Chinese Children's Literature'. It was a productive period for her own writing too, and in 1988 'A 16-year old girl', the book that established her as one of China's foremost authors, was published. In 1989 the short story collection 'The green manor of the fourth brother' increased her reputation throughout China.

Her series of novels about schoolboy Jia Li and schoolgirl Jia Mei, the first of which was published in 1991 in serial form in Ju Ren [The giant] magazine, were regarded as innovative and enlightened. Their humorous approach and relaxed writing style ensured that they were widely read and enjoyed by young people in China. Academic and author Zhang Jiahua (writing in Bookbird 44(3) 2006) ascribes the popularity of the series to three factors: '[f]irst, it is very realistic, closely reflecting the experiences of growing up of contemporary Chinese boys and girls, treating such themes as self-identity, the generation gap, family ethics and peer-group relationships. Second, the series is humorous and uses a colloquial style and the characters are lively and individualised and conscious of their gender roles, which attracts young readers. Third, each story has a specific theme. For example should boys do housework?' These books have been translated into Japanese, English and Dutch, and have been adapted for television; a cartoon version will appear shortly.

Qin Wenjun has received numerous awards for her work as an author, and is greatly admired too for her advocacy of children's books and reading activities.