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Lulu Wang (novelist)

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Lulu Wang
Lulu Wang in 2007
Lulu Wang in 2007
Native name
王露露 (Wáng Lùlù)
Born (1960-12-22) 22 December 1960 (age 63)
Beijing, China
OccupationWriter, teacher
Alma materPeking University
Years active1997–present
Website
www.luluwang.nl

Lulu Wang (Chinese: 王露露; pinyin: Wáng Lùlù; born 22 December 1960) is a Chinese-born writer who has lived in the Netherlands since 1986. She is a best-selling novelist and also a columnist for Shijie Bolan (World Vision).

Early life

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Lulu Wang was born on 22 December 1960 in Beijing, China. Her mother was a teacher of literature. At Peking University, Wang studied subjects including English language and literature.[1] After graduation, she taught at the university before moving to the Netherlands in 1986, at the age of 26;[2] there she taught Chinese at the Zuyd University of Applied Sciences in Maastricht.[1]

Writing career

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In 1997, she published her semi-autobiographical debut novel, Het Lelietheater ("The Lily Theatre"),[2] which is strewn with Chinese-language proverbs and rhymes translated into Dutch.[3] The novel sold over 800,000 copies in the Netherlands and earned her the Gouden Ezelsoor in 1998 for the bestselling literary debut work;[4] the following year, it won an International Nonino Prize at the Salzburg Easter Festival.[5][6] In 1997, she was noted to be the best-selling Dutch-language author.[7] The novel has been translated from Dutch into several languages, including English.[8][9]

"For a while, her name was virtually the only one an average Dutch reader could produce when asked to name a Chinese writer."[10]

Her 2010 novel, Wilde rozen is, like her debut, a book based on her life in China; this time, the main character is twelve-year-old Qiangwei, who grows up during the Cultural Revolution. Wang called it her most personal book yet.[11] In 2012, she published Nederland, wo ai ni, a book app containing animations, music, and a discussion forum, also available as an e-book; it was later published in a printed version as well. A second book app was published in 2013, Zomervolliefde, a bilingual Dutch and Chinese publication including poems, illustrations, a song, and a short movie.

In addition to being a best-selling author,[12] Wang works as a columnist for the international Chinese-language magazines World Vision (Chinese: 世界博览, pinyin: Shìjiè Bólǎn)[13] and World Affairs (Chinese: 世界知识, pinyin: Shìjiè Zhīshì).[14]

Awards

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Selected works

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References

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  1. ^ a b Yue, Tao (Spring 2007). "Fiction is philosophy: interview with Lulu Wang" (PDF). IIAS Newsletter. Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 January 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  2. ^ a b T'Sjoen 2004, p. 20.
  3. ^ Howell & Taylor 2003, p. 161.
  4. ^ a b (in Dutch) Gouden Ezelsoor, Grafische Cultuurstichting. Retrieved on 8 March 2015.
  5. ^ a b (in Italian) I Premiati del Quarantesimo Premio Nonino Archived 2015-02-27 at the Wayback Machine, Nonino. Retrieved on 8 March 2015.
  6. ^ a b (in Italian) Il Premio Nonino per Salisburgo alla scrittrice cinese Lulu Wang, Corriere della Sera, 1999. Retrieved on 8 March 2015.
  7. ^ Louwerse 2007, p. 125.
  8. ^ "Wang, Lulu 1960-". Archived from the original on 2016-04-06.
  9. ^ "DNB|115627944".
  10. ^ Idema 2013, p. 202.
  11. ^ Post, Hans Maarten (20 August 2010). "Lulu Wang keert terug naar haar jeugd". Het Nieuwsblad (in Dutch). Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  12. ^ Schwartz, John Burnham (September 10, 2000). "Mao's Summer Camp". The New York Times. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  13. ^ "Lulu Wang". Meuse Rhine Journal. Maastricht. 9 July 2013. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  14. ^ (in Dutch) Jeroen Gijselhart, "Nieuwe reeks: Lulu Wang over haar cultuurshock in Nederland", If then is now, 2013. Retrieved on 11 March 2015.
  15. ^ Paridon, Elsbeth van (April 1, 2014). "Cultural ambassador Lulu Wang". China.org.cn. Retrieved 31 January 2015.

Bibliography

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