Geling Yan (; born 16 November 1958) is a Chinese-American author and screenwriter.

Early life

Yan was born in

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 ...

, China in 1958. She is the second child of Yan Dunxun and Jia Lin. She has an elder brother Yan Geping (严歌平). Her father is an alumnus of the College of Architecture and Urban Planning of

Tongji University Tongji University () is a comprehensive public research university located in Shanghai. Established in 1907 by the German government together with German physicians in Shanghai, Tongji is one of the longest-standing, most selective, and most pr ...

. Yan began performing as a dancer at age 12. She served in the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five service branches: the Ground Force, Navy, Air Force, ...

in Chengdu, 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 goal ...

in Tibet and later as a journalist in the

Sino-Vietnamese War The Sino-Vietnamese War (also known by #Names, other names) was a border war fought between China and Vietnam in early 1979. China launched an offensive in response to Vietnam's Cambodian–Vietnamese War, actions against the Khmer Rouge in 1 ...

, achieving a rank equivalent to lieutenant colonel. Yan holds a bachelor's degree in literature from

Wuhan University Wuhan University (WHU; ) is a public research university in Wuhan, Hubei. The university is sponsored by the Ministry of Education. Wuhan university was founded as one of the four elite universities in the early republican period of China and i ...

, and a Master's in Fine Arts in Fiction Writing from

Columbia College Chicago Columbia College Chicago is a Private college, private art college in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1890, it has 5,928https://about.colum.edu/effectiveness/pdf/spring-2021-student-profile.pdf students pursuing degrees in more than 60 undergra ...

Career

Works

Her first novel was published in 1985. She is the author of such novels as ''The Banquet Bug'' (published as ''The Uninvited'' in the UK) and ''The Lost Daughter of Happiness'', as well as a story collection entitled ''White Snake and Other Stories''. Several of Yan's works have been adapted for film, including '' Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl'', which was 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 ...

, and ''

Siao Yu ''Siao Yu'' () is a Taiwanese film directed by Sylvia Chang, written by Sylvia Chang and Ang Lee, starring Rene Liu in her debut film role, released in 1995. Rene Liu was nominated for the Golden Horse Award Best Actress in 1994, and won the As ...

'', directed by

Sylvia Chang Sylvia Chang (born 21 July 1953) is a Taiwanese actress, writer, singer, producer and director. In 1992, she was a member of the jury at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival. In 2018, she was one of the jury members of the main competition ...

and screenplay co-written by

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...

Zhang Yimou Zhang Yimou (; born 2 April 1950) is a Chinese film director, producer, writer, actor and former cinematographer.Tasker, Yvonne (2002). "Zhang Yimou" i''Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers'' Routledge Publishing, p. 412. . Google Book Search. Retriev ...

, the Chinese director of '' To Live'' and ''

Raise the Red Lantern ''Raise the Red Lantern'' is a 1991 film directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li. It is an adaptation by of the 1990 novella '' Raise the Red Lantern'' (originally ''Wives and Concubines'') by Su Tong. The film was later adapted into an ...

'' adapted her novella ''13 Flowers of Nanjing'' to the screen as ''

The Flowers of War ''The Flowers of War'' () is a 2011 Chinese-Hong Kong historical drama war film directed by Zhang Yimou, starring Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Zhang Xinyi, Tong Dawei, Atsuro Watabe, Shigeo Kobayashi and Cao Kefan. The film is based on a novella by Gel ...

'', and his movie ''Coming Home'' was based on Yan's novel ''The Criminal Lu Yanshi''. She has worked on other scripts including a biography of

Mei Lanfang Mei Lan (22 October 1894 – 8 August 1961), better known by his stage name Mei Lanfang, was a notable Peking opera artist in modern Chinese theater. Mei was known as "Queen of Peking Opera". Mei was exclusively known for his female lead ...

, the Peking opera star, for Chinese director

Chen Kaige Chen Kaige (; born 12 August 1952) is a Chinese film director and a leading figure of the fifth generation of Chinese cinema.Berry, Michael (2002). "Chen Kaige: Historical Revolution and Cinematic Rebellion" in Speaking in Images: Interviews wit ...

Novels in English

* ''The Banquet Bug'' (written in English, published as ''The Uninvited'' in the UK) * ''The Lost Daughter of Happiness'' (tr. Cathy Silber, Chinese title ''Fusang'' 《扶桑》) * ''The Flowers of War'' (tr.

Nicky Harman Nicky Harman is a UK-based prize-winning literary translator, working from Chinese to English and focussing on contemporary fiction, literary non-fiction, and occasionally poetry, by a wide variety of authors. When not translating, she spends tim ...

, Chinese title ''Jinling shisan chai'' 《金陵十三钗》) * ''Little Aunt Crane'' (tr.

Esther Tyldesley Esther Tyldesley is an academic based in the School of Literature, Languages and Cultures at the University of Edinburgh, where she is a professor in Asian Studies. She has also translated Chinese literature, as well language textbooks and transl ...

, Chinese title ''Xiaoyi Duohe'' 《小姨多鶴》) *''The Criminal Lu Yanshi'' (adapted into a movie, titled '' Coming Home'')《陆犯焉识》 * ''The Secret Talker''

Novels in Chinese

* ''芳华（Youth）''

Short stories in English

* ''The Landlady'' (tr. Lawrence A. Walker) * ''Disappointing Returns'' (tr. David Haysom) * ''White Snake and Other Stories'' (tr. Lawrence A. Walker)

Title

She is a member of the Hollywood Writers Guild of America, the Writer's Association of China, and the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

Censorship in China

As of 11 February 2022, Yan was censored on China's internet after commenting on the atrocity and government cover-ups in the Xuzhou chained woman incident and agreeing with

Zhou Xiaozheng Zhou may refer to: Chinese history * King Zhou of Shang () (1105 BC–1046 BC), the last king of the Shang dynasty * Predynastic Zhou (), 11th-century BC precursor to the Zhou dynasty * Zhou dynasty () (1046 BC–256 BC), a dynasty of China ** West ...

's assessment that

Chinese Communist Party The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victoriou ...

leader

Xi Jinping Xi Jinping ( ; ; ; born 15 June 1953) is a Chinese politician who has served as the general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and chairman of the Central Military Commission (CMC), and thus as the paramount leader of China, s ...

is a "human trafficker" who imposed a large sum of money for "donation" on foreign families who adopt Chinese orphans.

Baidu Baike Baidu Baike (; , also known as Baidu Wiki) is a semi-regulated Chinese-language collaborative online encyclopedia owned by the Chinese technology company Baidu. The beta version was launched on April 20, 2006, and the official version was lau ...

showed "Sorry, the page you're visiting no longer exists" for Yan's entry. The search results for Yan's name on

Sina Weibo Sina Weibo (新浪微博) is a Chinese microblogging ( weibo) website. Launched by Sina Corporation on 14 August 2009, it is one of the biggest social media platforms in China, with over 582 million monthly active users (252 million daily acti ...

became unavailable.

Personal life

Yan's ex-husband is Li Kewei; they divorced in the 1990s. In 1992, Yan married her second husband Lawrence Walker in

San Bruno, California San Bruno (Spanish for " St. Bruno") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to S ...

. Walker is a diplomat. They have no biological children together, but have adopted a Chinese girl, Yanyan.严歌苓：做一个在美国畅销的中国作家
Retrieved 2017-01-14

References

External links

Geling Yan's website

Geling Yan at Peony Literary Agency

Geling Yan profile
a
Paper Republic
*
Book Browse
Biography * * https://web.archive.org/web/20080121031733/http://www.redroom.com/author/geling-yan
Yan Geling
Video produced by '' Makers: Women Who Make America''
Geling Yan on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour, 19 November 2015 (07:18 to 15:55)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Geling Chinese women short story writers Chinese short story writers Chinese dramatists and playwrights 1958 births Living people Chinese women novelists Chinese novelists Short story writers from Shanghai American writers of Chinese descent People's Liberation Army officers Chinese journalists Sino-Vietnamese War People's Republic of China short story writers Wuhan University alumni Columbia College Chicago alumni