Jiang Benhu (; born 1964), better known by his pen name Mai Jia, is a Chinese novelist. He also served as the president of Zhejiang Writers Association and vice president of the Zhejiang Literature and Art Association.

Biography

Jiang was born in Fuyang District,

Hangzhou Hangzhou ( or , ; , , Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), also Chinese postal romanization, romanized as Hangchow, is the capital and most populous city of Zhejiang, China. It is located in the northwestern part of the prov ...

Zhejiang Zhejiang ( or , ; , also romanized as Chekiang) is an eastern, coastal province of the People's Republic of China. Its capital and largest city is Hangzhou, and other notable cities include Ningbo and Wenzhou. Zhejiang is bordered by Ji ...

Province in 1964. He was drafted into the

People's Liberation Army The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the principal military force of the China, People's Republic of China and the armed wing of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The PLA consists of five Military branch, service branches: the People's ...

and served for 17 years. Jiang graduated from People's Liberation Army Foreign Language College in 1983, where he majored in wireless radio. He started to publish works in 1986. Jiang was accepted to

People's Liberation Army Arts College The Military and Cultural Institute of National Defense University, People's Liberation Army (), previously the People's Liberation Army Academy of Art (, colloquially known as Junyi 军艺), is an academic institute of the PLA National Defense U ...

in 1987 and graduated in 1991, majoring in literature. In 1997, Jiang worked in Chengdu Satellite TV as an editor. In 2008, Jiang was transferred from

Chengdu Chengdu (, ; simplified Chinese: 成都; pinyin: ''Chéngdū''; Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: ), alternatively romanized as Chengtu, is a sub-provincial city which serves as the capital of the Chinese provin ...

. In December 2010, Jiang was elected the vice president of the Zhejiang Literature and Art Association. On July 1, 2013, Jiang was elected the president of Zhejiang Writers Association.

Works

Novellas

* ''Letting the Masked Man Speak'' ()

Novels

* '' Decoded'' () 2002 * ''In the Dark'' () * ''Sound of the Wind'' ()

Translated works

* '' Decoded'', trans. Olivia Milburn and Christopher Payne (London: Allan Lane, 2014) * ''In the Dark'', trans. Olivia Milburn and Christopher Payne (London: Penguin, 2015) * ''The Message'', trans. Olivia Milburn (London: Head of Zeus, 2020)

Awards

* '' Decoded'' - 6th National Book Award * ''In the Dark'' - 7th

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 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mai Jia 1964 births Writers from Hangzhou People's Liberation Army Arts College alumni Living people Mao Dun Literature Prize laureates Chinese male novelists People's Republic of China novelists