''English'' () is a 2004 Chinese

coming-of-age novel In literary criticism, a ''Bildungsroman'' (, plural ''Bildungsromane'', ) is a literary genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from childhood to adulthood ( coming of age), in which character change is imp ...

by Wang Gang, about a boy growing up during the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goa ...

in remote

Ürümqi Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...

, home to many political exiles including the boy's intellectual parents. ''English'' has been translated into English and many other languages. Wang Gang wrote a sequel in 2012, titled ''Kashgar'' (), which follows the protagonist in his late teens.

Characters

*Love Liu (刘爱, Liu Ai), the protagonist *Sunrise Huang (黄旭升, Huang Xusheng), Liu's classmate *Garbage Li (), real name Li Jianming (), Liu's classmate *Second Prize Wang (王亚军, Wang Yajun), Liu's English teacher from

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

*Ahjitai (), Liu's Uyghur teacher *Love Liu's father *Love Liu's mother *Sunrise Huang's father *Sunrise Huang's mother *Principal *Commander Shen *Director Fan

Adaptation

A film adaptation directed by

Joan Chen Joan Chen (born April 26, 1961) is a Chinese-American actress and film director. In China, she performed in the 1979 film and came to the attention of American audiences for her performance in the 1987 film '' The Last Emperor''. She is also ...

is currently in post-production.

References

2004 Chinese novels Bildungsromans Novels about the Cultural Revolution Chinese novels adapted into films Novels set in Xinjiang {{2000s-bildungsroman-stub