Wang Weiguo (; 1949–1992), better known by his

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Lu Yao (), was a Chinese novelist.

Biography

He was born on 3 December 1949 in

Qingjian County Qingjian County () is a county in the north of Shaanxi province, China, bordering Shanxi province across the Yellow River to the east. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Yulin. Administrative divisions As 2019, Qingj ...

Shaanxi Province Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), Ningx ...

. He had six siblings and grew up in a very poor family.

Career

He began writing novels when he was a college student, and graduated from Chinese Department of Yan'an University in 1973. After graduation, he became an editor of Yanhe magazine. In 1982, Lu Yao published his novella "Life", which was made into a film in 1984. It was at this time that he started to become well known across China. In 1991, Lu Yao finished his most famous work, ''Ordinary World'', which won the

Mao Dun Literature Prize Mao Dun Literature Prize () is a prize for novels, established in the will of prominent Chinese writer Mao Dun (for which he personally donated 250,000 RMB) and sponsored by the China Writers Association. Awarded every four years, it is one of t ...

. His writing was closely related to his own life and experiences, and focused mostly on young people from his native

Shaanbei Shaanbei () or Northern Shaanxi is the portion of China's Shaanxi province north of the Huanglong Mountain and the Meridian Ridge (the so-called "Guanzhong north mountains"), and is both a geographic as well as a cultural area. It makes up the so ...

striving to change their lives.

Death

He died on 17 November 1992

References

1949 births 1992 deaths Chinese male short story writers People's Republic of China essayists Writers from Yulin, Shaanxi Short story writers from Shaanxi 20th-century novelists Mao Dun Literature Prize laureates Chinese male novelists 20th-century Chinese short story writers 20th-century essayists 20th-century Chinese male writers People's Republic of China short story writers People from Qingjian County {{China-writer-stub