Leslie T. Chang () is a Chinese-American journalist and the author of ''Factory Girls: From Village to City in a Changing China'' (2008). A former

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

correspondent for the ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', she has been described as "an insightful interpreter of a society in flux."

Early life

Chang was born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. Chang's father was Leroy L. Chang, a physicist, researcher, professor, and Dean of Science at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Chang was raised outside of New York City, New York.

Education

In 1991, Chang earned a degree in American history and literature from

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 ...

Career

In 2004, as a reporter for ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', Chang visited Dongguan, Guangdong province, China.

''Factory Girls''

In response to the negative press surrounding

working conditions {{Short description, 1=Overview of and topical guide to working time and conditions This is a list of topics on working time and conditions. Legislation * See :Employment law Working time * See :Working time * Flextime Working conditions * Bios ...

in Chinese factories, Chang decided to explore the subject from the perspective of the workers. In 2004 she traveled to the

South Central China South Central China, South-Central China or Central-South China ( zh, c = 中南, p = Zhōngnán, l = Central-South), is a region of the People's Republic of China defined by State Council that includes the provinces of Guangdong, Hainan, Hen ...

factory city of

Dongguan Dongguan (; ) is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong Province, China. An important industrial city in the Pearl River Delta, Dongguan borders the provincial capital of Guangzhou to the north, Huizhou to the northeast, Shenzhen to the s ...

to document the lives of Wu Chunming and Lu Qingmin, two migrant workers who were born to poor farming families. The book follows their lives over three years and also includes the author's own family history of migration within China and to the West. ''Factory Girls'' was named one of the ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' 100 Notable Books of 2008 and also received the 2009 PEN USA Literary Award for Research Nonfiction and the Asian American Literary Award for nonfiction. According to Chang's website, translations are forthcoming in French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch, Finnish, Portuguese, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, and Arabic.Leslie T. Chang, Book Reviews
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Personal life

Chang's husband is Peter Hessler, an author.Author Spotlight
Random House

Awards and honors

*2009 PEN USA Literary Award for Research Nonfiction (''Factory Girls'') *2008

New York Times Notable Book ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

(''Factory Girls'')

References

External links

*
Holding Up the Sky
Sunday Book Review, ''The New York Times''

''Factory Girls'' reviews

* *
''Booknotes'' interview with Chang on ''Beyond the Narrow Gate'', September 12, 1999.
*
National Geographic May 2008 Issue Wholly Devoted to China
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chang, Leslie T. Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Harvard University alumni American writers of Chinese descent American journalists of Chinese descent The Wall Street Journal people American women journalists of Asian descent 21st-century American women