Chinese Literature - Li-hua Ying 2010

WANG XIAONI (1955— )
The Dictionary

WANG XIAONI (1955— ). Poet, fiction and essay writer. Born in Changchun in northeast China, Wang Xiaoni worked as a literary editor after receiving her B.A. from Jilin University. She moved to Shenzhen in 1985 and is currently on the faculty of Hainan University. Wang is widely recognized in China for her poetry; among the honors she has received is the 2002 Poetry Prize sponsored by the country’s three most influential poetry journals. Her early poems are devoted to the expression of agrarian life. As she moves to include a wider spectrum of themes, she maintains a fascination with the rural spirit of innocence and simplicity. She is particularly interested in the details of everyday life and much of her imagery is drawn from the world around her. Wang’s poetry, written in a plain but precise language, expresses a gentle and graceful sensibility, a personal voice that emphasizes intimate feelings and emotions. The most important of her fictional works is Fangyuan sishi li (Twenty Kilometers Radius), which tells, in a fragmented style, a realistic story of educated urban youth living in the countryside, where the dire conditions of extreme poverty and lack of hope force young people to resort to cruel measures in order to survive. See also WOMEN.