Xu Pei (born 1966) is a Chinese-born German poet, writer, and human rights activist. Born in

Sichuan Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of the ...

, she left China in 1988 and studied in Germany. Xu became a German citizen in 2004, and lives in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, Germany.

Life

Xu Pei was born on 22 March 1966 in

Kangding Kangding (), also called Tachienlu and Dartsedo (; ), is a county-level city and the seat of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province of Southwest China. Kangding is on the bank of the Dadu River and has been considered the histor ...

City, the seat of the Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in the

of Southwest China. Xu has three older brothers and one younger brother. In her childhood, Xu was sent to foster care in

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; Simplified Chinese characters, simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively Romanization of Chi ...

. When she was 8 years old, her parents were transferred to work in Ya'an and Xu was taken back to her parents. In 1983, Xu was admitted to the German Department at ''

Sichuan International Studies University Sichuan International Studies University (SISU; ) is a public research university in Chongqing, China. It is one of the top eight foreign studies universities in China. It is colloquially known in Chinese as (). It is the flagship university ...

'' and graduated in 1987. Xu later worked in

Leshan Leshan, formerly known as Jiading or Jiazhou, is a prefecture-level city located at the confluence of the Dadu and Min rivers in Sichuan Province, China. Leshan is located on the southwestern fringe of the Sichuan Basin in southern Sichuan, abou ...

as a tour guide for German visitor groups. Xu came to Germany at the end of 1988 and studied

German philology German studies is the field of humanities that researches, documents and disseminates German language and literature in both its historic and present forms. Academic departments of German studies often include classes on German culture, German hi ...

and philosophy at the Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf, obtaining a PhD in 1996. Xu obtained German citizenship in 2004 and currently lives in

. She is a poet, writer, and human rights activist. Xu specializes in

German poetry German literature () comprises those literary texts written in the German language. This includes literature written in Germany, Austria, the German parts of Switzerland and Belgium, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, South Tyrol in Italy and to a less ...

and published essays, commentaries and papers. She is active in radio and TV programs and on the Internet. She has worked with

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and sup ...

and the

Society for Threatened Peoples The Society for Threatened Peoples International STPI (german: Gesellschaft für bedrohte Völker-International, GfbV-International) is an international NGO and human rights organization with its headquarters in Göttingen, Germany. Its aim is ...

Works

Xu Pei's books have been illustrated by German artist Jörg Immendorf,

Georg Baselitz Georg Baselitz (born 23 January 1938) is a German painter, sculptor and graphic artist. In the 1960s he became well known for his figurative, expressive paintings. In 1969 he began painting his subjects upside down in an effort to overcome the ...

and

Markus Lüpertz Markus Lüpertz (born 25 April 1941) is a German painter, sculptor, graphic artist, and writer. He also publishes a magazine, and plays jazz piano. He is one of the best-known German contemporary artists. His subjects are characterized by suggest ...

, among others. Xu's other German-language publications include: the essay ''The outlooks of Women in Romanticism Poems'' (ISBN ) published in 1997, as well as the novel ''The Long Way of the Red Chamber'' () published in 2013.

Awards and reception

Xu Pei won

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

's Literary Creation Award in 1991, the Literary Creation Award of the Ministry of Culture of

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

in 1993, the Doctoral Scholarship of the

Friedrich Ebert Foundation The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (''German: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung e.V.; Abbreviation: FES'') is a German political party foundation associated with, but independent from, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). Established in 1925 as the ...

in 1994–1996, and the

Heine Heine is both a surname and a given name of German origin. People with that name include: People with the surname * Albert Heine (1867–1949), German actor * Alice Heine (1858–1925), American-born princess of Monaco * Armand Heine (1818–1883) ...

Literature Creation Award in Lümborg in 1999–2000.Vgl. Angaben über Xu Pei im Bremer Weser-Kurier vom 4. Juni 2009, S. 12. In an interview in 2011, the German

sinologist Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to the ex ...

Wolfgang Kubin Wolfgang Kubin (; born December 17, 1945 in Celle) is a German poet, essayist, sinologist and translator of literary works. He is the former director of the Institute for Oriental and Asian Studies at the University of Bonn, Germany. Kubin has fr ...

commented that Xu Pei's poems were well written and her works of art deserved attention. Kubin said, unlike other overseas Chinese writers who focused on Chinese topics, Xu did not limit herself to Chinese topics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Xu, Pei 1966 births Living people Chinese human rights activists 20th-century Chinese poets 20th-century German poets 21st-century Chinese poets 21st-century German poets Chinese women poets German women poets 20th-century German women 21st-century German women Sichuan International Studies University alumni