Awarded the 8th China Book Award - What is Prose Anthology

Author: Xu Baorong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-09-01
Features: He uses his pen with ease, allowing him to unleash his strengths in moments of inspiration and leave behind profound words. His works possess a unique style characterized by "thoughtful composition and distinctive writing" (Junzi, "Praise for a Thousand or Two Thousand Words of Prose"). The renowned prose theorist Lin Fei believes that He Wei's prose is "narrative concise and clear, emotions fresh and enduring," "shining with the fire of thought," and his recent prose is "mature, profound, and vast, revealing a new realm of artistic achievement." He Wei is not a highly productive writer, but he is a fruitful one. He has a wide readership, and his works are frequently reprinted. Many of his excellent pieces have been selected for various literary anthologies and textbooks, while some have even been adapted into films, radio dramas, and radio novels. Countless readers have gained rich artistic enjoyment from his prose, and many young people have benefited from the literary nourishment it provides. He Wei's prose has been translated into English, French, Japanese, and Esperanto, and his works are equally well-received by foreign readers, particularly Japanese readers. He Wei's achievements in the pursuit of art have won him readers and established his place in the history of contemporary Chinese prose.
He Wei, originally named He Zhenye, was born on April 19, 1922, in Dinghai County, Zhejiang Province. "He Wei" is the pen name he began using in 1938. He has also used other pen names, including Xiao Mang, Xiahou Chong, Xianai Te, Lin Yan, Lin Shu, Chengli, Wang Yi, Canshang, and Mohé. He Wei was born into a feudal old family, and his childhood and youth coincided with a period of social turmoil and national catastrophe in China. The instability of society led to the frequent relocation of his family, and at the age of four, he moved with his family from Zhejiang to Shanghai. Shortly after, he accompanied his father to Sichuan, spending a period in Yichang. He Wei suffered from poor health from a young age and had to take a six-month leave from school at the age of thirteen. While lying in bed, he read classic Chinese works such as Water Margin, Journey to the West, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as well as a large volume of new literature since the May Fourth Movement. In the early winter of that year, due to a change in his father's job, he moved with his family to Wuhan. In Wuhan, He Wei completed his primary education in less than a year and a half. During this short time, he was fortunate enough to meet a literary mentor, Li Zhiyuan. This teacher inspired him to move from passively enjoying literature to actively practicing literary creation. To express his gratitude to his "literary mentor," He Wei's first published work, Road, was dedicated to Li Zhiyuan.