Li Xintian (; January 1929 – 3 July 2019) was a Chinese novelist best known for his novels ''The Sparkling Red Star'' and ''Two Little Fighters''.

Biography

Li was born in Suining County,

Jiangsu Province Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its ca ...

, in January 1929. He started to publish works in 1953. His first stage play, ''Little Eagle'', was published in 1961. That same year, his novellas ''Two Little Fighters'' was published. This was made into a phenomenally successful film in 1978. After graduating from East China Military and Political University, he joined 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, ...

, becoming a civilian cadre in

Jinan Military Region The Jinan Military Region was a PLA Military Region located in the east of the People's Republic of China, covering the Shandong and Henan Provinces, which also formed military districts. It appears that Yang Dezhi was one of the first commander ...

. His most influential work ''The Sparkling Red Star'' was published in 1970, and was adapted into a successful film. In 1979 he joined the

China Writers Association China Writers Association or Chinese Writers Association (CWA, ) is a subordinate people's organization of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC). Founded in July 1949, the organization was initially named the China National Liter ...

. He died in

Jinan Jinan (), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanization of Chinese, romanized as Tsinan, is the Capital (political), capital of Shandong province in East China, Eastern China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is the second-largest city i ...

, capital of east China's

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

province, on July 3, 2019.

Works

Novel

* ''Dreaming for 3000 years'' * ''Thirty Years of Marriage'' * ''Bridge in Dream'' * ''A Pulsating Flame'' * ''Ten Self-portraits''

Novellas

* ''Two Little Fighters'' * ''The Sparkling Red Star'' * ''Blue Star on the Roof''

Screenplay

* ''

Sparkling Red Star ''Sparkling Red Star'' is a 1974 Chinese film and one of the very few films produced in China during the Cultural Revolution. Co-directed by Li Jun and Li Ang, the film is a mix between a war film, a children's film and a musical. Today, given t ...

'' (1974)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Li, Xintian 1929 births Writers from Xuzhou 2019 deaths 20th-century Chinese novelists Chinese children's writers