Chen Zhongshi (simplified Chinese: 陈忠实; traditional Chinese: 陳忠實; pinyin: Chén Zhōngshí; 3 August 1942 – 29 April 2016) was a Chinese author. He started writing prose in 1965 and finished his magnum opus White Deer Field in 1993 (for which he won the Mao Dun Literature Prize in 1997).[2] In 1979, he became a member of the Chinese Writers Association (which he at one point served as the association's vice chairman).
Biography
Chen was born in Xi'an, Shaanxi on 3 August 1942.[3] After graduating from No. 34 High School of Xi'an in 1962, he got a teaching job in primary school and, after two years, became a senior high school teacher. In 1966, Chen joined the Chinese Communist Party. He was interested in literature and soon began devoting himself to a writing career.
Chen became the vice director of Culture Bureau of Baqiao District of Xi'an in 1980. He served as a member of the Writers Association of Shaanxi, becoming vice president in 1985 and chairman in 1993. Between 2001 and 2006, he was the vice president of the Chinese Writers Association.[4]
Chen died on 29 April 2016 at the age of 73 in Xi'an.[5]
Works
Short stories
Trust (信任)
Country (乡村)
Early Summer (初夏)
The courtyard of the Kangs (康家小院)
Novels
White Deer Field(白鹿原)
White Deer Field, which has a large following in China, as of 2016, had not been translated into English.[6]
