Liu Heng

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Liu Heng (simplified Chinese: 刘恒; pinyin: Liú Héng) (1954-) is generally seen as a realist writer. He became a professional writer in the 1970s after having worked as a peasant farmer, a factory worker and a soldier, classes which have served as fodder for his stories and not incidentally classes which Mao Zedong promoted as the audience for literature in his 1942 Talks At The Yenan Forum On Literature And Art. "Dogshit Food" won the 1985-86 best short story award. "Fuxi Fuxi" won him the national Prize for Best Novelettes in 1987, and was the basis for the movie Ju Dou. His novel "Hēi de xuě" (Black Snow; 黑的雪), about the problems faced by a young juvenile delinquent upon his release from prison, was also made into a feature film, and "Pínzuǐ Zhāng Dàmín dē xìngfú shēnghuó" (The Happy Life of Chatter-box Zhang Damin; 贫嘴张大民的幸福生活) has been made into a television series.

[edit] Works

Short Stories

"Dogshit Food" (狗日的粮食) Tr. Sabina Knight. In Joseph S. M. Lau and Howard Goldblatt, eds., Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature. NY: Columbia University Press, 1995, 416-428. ISBN 0-231-08002-6

"Grain." Tr. William Riggle. Chinese Literature (Summer 1990): 3-17.

"The Heated Earthen Bed." Trs. Ren Zhong and Yuzhi Yang. In Hometowns and Childhood. San Francisco: Long River Press, 2005, 97-104 ISBN 1-59265-058-9

The Obsessed. Tr. David Kwan. Beijing: Panda Books, 1991. (includes "Fuxi, Fuxi" 伏羲伏羲) ISBN 7-5071-0072-3; 083512083X

Novels

Black Snow: A Novel of the Beijing Demimonde (黑的雪). trs. H. Goldblatt. NY: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1993 ISBN 0-87113-530-2

Green River Daydreams: A Novel (Cang He bai ri meng 苍河白日梦). Tr. Howard Goldblatt. New York : Grove Press, 2001 ISBN 0-8021-1690-6