Lijia Zhang (; born May 12, 1964, in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

) is a Chinese writer, journalist and public speaker. She describes herself as a communicator between China and the world and has given talks at conferences about contemporary China. She has given lectures at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

Early life and education

As a child, Zhang wanted to become a writer. At the age of 16, she left school and began working in a factory. During the decade at the factory she taught herself

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. In 2003, she was able to attend

Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

, where she earned a master's degree in creative writing.

Career

Her articles have been published in many newspapers and magazines. She co-authored ''China Remembers'' (

OUP Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1999) and her memoir ''"Socialism Is Great!": A Worker's Memoir of the New China'', was published by Atlas & Co. and

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

and has been translated into seven languages. During the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, she served as a producer for the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

crew reporting the games. She was the subject of a BBC TV documentary ''

Peschardt's People ''Peschardt's People'' is a documentary television series, hosted by Michael Peschardt, that premiered on BBC World on 1 April 2006. In the series, Peschardt interviews famous and not so famous personalities from the Asia-Pacific region. In orde ...

''. Sponsored by the

United States Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...

, she was a fellow on the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...

's International Writing Program in 2009. Her first novel, ''Lotus,'' about

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

set in modern day

Shenzhen Shenzhen (; ; ; ), also historically known as Sham Chun, is a major sub-provincial city and one of the special economic zones of China. The city is located on the east bank of the Pearl River estuary on the central coast of southern province ...

, was published in 2017. She is a regular guest on

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

, BBC and

CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...

Personal life

Zhang was married to Calum MacLeod, a British reporter for ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (stylized in all uppercase) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth on September 15, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headquarters in Tysons, Virgini ...

''. In 2018, she moved from

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with her two daughters.

References

External links

Interview with Lijia Zhang
''

The Beijinger ''The Beijinger'' (, stylized as "the Beijinger" or "thebeijinger") is a free monthly English language listings and entertainment website and magazine produced by True Run Media in Beijing, China. It was founded in October 2001 as ''that's Beiji ...

'', March 10, 2008
Writer and journalist Lijia Zhang

, 5 September 2008
Profile at China Speakers Agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhang, Lijia 1964 births Living people 20th-century Chinese women writers 20th-century Chinese writers 20th-century journalists 21st-century Chinese novelists 21st-century Chinese women writers 21st-century journalists 21st-century women journalists Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Chinese women journalists Chinese women novelists International Writing Program alumni Women memoirists Writers from Nanjing