Shan Sa is the pseudonym of Yan Ni (born October 26, 1972, in Beijing, China), a French author and painter. ''The Girl Who Played Go'' was the first of her novels to be published outside France, and won the

Prix Goncourt des Lycéens The Prix Goncourt des Lycéens is a French literary award created in 1987 as a sort of younger sibling of Prix Goncourt, a prestigious prize for French language literature. The ten members of the Académie Goncourt select twelve literary works as ...

(a prize voted by secondary school students). Her second novel to appear in English translation was ''

Empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...

'' (2006). She was awarded chevalier of the

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres The ''Ordre des Arts et des Lettres'' (Order of Arts and Letters) is an order of France established on 2 May 1957 by the Minister of Culture. Its supplementary status to the was confirmed by President Charles de Gaulle in 1963. Its purpose is ...

in July 2009 and chevalier of the

Ordre national du Mérite The Ordre national du Mérite (; en, National Order of Merit) is a French order of merit with membership awarded by the President of the French Republic, founded on 3 December 1963 by President Charles de Gaulle. The reason for the order's esta ...

in May 2011. Shan Sa is also a painter with exhibitions in Paris, New York, and Shanghai.

Biography

Shan Sa was born as Yan Ni in Beijing, China, to a scholarly family. She adopted the pseudonym Shan Sa from a poem by the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

poet

Bai Juyi Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...

. At age 8, she published her first poetry collection, and went on to obtain the first prize in the national poetry contest for children under 12 years, an event that created a public upheaval. After graduating from secondary school in Beijing, she moved to Paris in August 1990 thanks to a grant by the French government. Settling there with her father, a professor at the

Sorbonne University Sorbonne University (french: Sorbonne Université; la Sorbonne: 'the Sorbonne') is a public research university located in Paris, France. The institution's legacy reaches back to 1257 when Sorbonne College was established by Robert de Sorbon ...

, she quickly adopted the French language. In 1994, she finished her studies of philosophy. From 1994 to 1996 she worked as a secretary of painter

Balthus Balthasar Klossowski de Rola (February 29, 1908 – February 18, 2001), known as Balthus, was a Polish-French modern artist. He is known for his erotically charged images of pubescent girls, but also for the refined, dreamlike quality of his image ...

. Thereafter she published her first two novels and a collection of poetry, meeting with great critical acclaim including the 1998

Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

(Prix Goncourt for first novel) for ''Porte de la paix céleste''. In 2001 she reached the top of her success with the publication of her most famous book so far, ''

The Girl Who Played Go ''The Girl Who Played Go'', originally published as ''La Joueuse de Go'', is a 2001 French novel by Shan Sa set during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria. It tells the story of a 16-year-old Chinese girl who is exceptionally good at the game of ...

'' (''La Joueuse de Go'' in French). The book received good feedback from readers and was awarded a number of prizes, including the 2001

(Prix Goncourt of the High-school students) and has been translated to 32 languages.

Bibliography

* ''Yan Ni's Poems'' (阎妮的诗, 1983). * ''Porte de la paix céleste (Gate of Celestial Peace)'' (1997). * ''Les Quatre Vies du saule (The Four Lives of the Willow)'' (1999). * ''La Joueuse de go (

)'' (2001). * ''Impératrice (

)'' (2003), based on the life of

Empress Wu of Zhou Wu Zetian (17 February 624 – 16 December 705), personal name Wu Zhao, was the ''de facto'' ruler of the Tang dynasty from 665 to 705, ruling first through others and then (from 690) in her own right. From 665 to 690, she was first empres ...

* ''Les Conspirateurs (Conspirators)'' (2005) * ''Alexandre et Alestria (Alexander and Alestria)'' (2006) * ''La Cithare nue (The Ghost Empress)'' (2010)

Awards

* Winner of the Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman for ''Porte de la paix céleste (Gate of Celestial Peace)'' in 1998. * Winner of the Prix Cazes-Brasserie Lipp for ''Les Quatre Vies du saule (The Four Lives of the Willow)'' in 1999. * Winner of the

in 2001 and the 2004 Kiriyama Prize for fiction for '' La Joueuse de go (The Girl Who Played Go)''.

External links

Shan Sa LinkedIn pageShan Sa at the PEN American Centre website
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shan, Sa 1972 births Living people Artists from Beijing 20th-century French novelists 21st-century French novelists French women novelists Prix Goncourt du Premier Roman recipients Prix Goncourt des lycéens winners Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres 20th-century French women writers 21st-century French women writers 20th-century Chinese novelists 21st-century Chinese novelists Chinese women novelists Chinese novelists Go (game) writers 20th-century Chinese women writers 20th-century Chinese writers 21st-century Chinese women writers 21st-century Chinese writers Chinese emigrants to France Writers from Beijing French-language writers from China