History

Bing Xin

Bing Xin, whose real given name is Xie Wanying, is one of the most prolific and esteemed Chinese writers of the 20th Century, as much beloved as the male literary giants of her time.

A native of Fuzhou, Fujian Province, Bing Xin finished her higher education at Yanjing University in Peking, where she graduated with a degree in literature. Later, she went to the United States for further education in Wellesley College, where she gained an MA in English Literature. She returned to China in 1926 and taught at Yanjing University, Qinghua University and Peking Women's Wenli College thereafter. She also spent a year in Tokyo (1949-1950) as a visit scholar.

Bing Xin began writing during the May Fourth Movement and published her first piece of writing in 1919 in Chenbao (Morning Paper). That year also marked the beginning of her literary career that were to span a century. From the 1920s to the 1990s, Bing Xin had many works of prose and poetry, as well as translations, published during her lifetime.

Early works of Bing Xin (1900-1999), also known as Xie Wanying, advocated "the philosophy of love" and expressed a strong individualism.

She was deft at constructing gentle, beautiful, and visionary concepts in her writings. Works of this kind are found in her collections Past Events and To My Young Readers. The prose pieces in Past Events are mostly reminiscences. To My Young Readers documented her life and thoughts in foreign countries for young Chinese readers in the form of correspondences.

Works in both collections express the author's inner feelings and praise of nature and motherhood through descriptions of past and current events. These works are in fact lyrical prose. Bing Xin's prose is written in exquisite and beautiful language with a vibrant tone. Her works are both flowing and concise.

Bing Xin's prose published after 1949 include the collections An Orange-peel Lamp, Shi Sui Xiao Zha -- A Collection of Bing Xin's Prose, and To My Young Readers III . Among these prose works, "An Orange-peel Lamp," "We Have No Winter," and "Cherry Blossoms and Friendship" are the most representative pieces. These works maintain her usual fresh and beautiful artistic style but replace misty and melancholy sentiments with a bright and optimistic tone. Some of Bing Xin's short writings published in recent years are emotionally inspiring and much loved by readers.

While her literary achievements cover a wide spectrum, from novels to poems, she is best remembered for her Letters to Young Readers series, which have stimulated and educated generations of young readers. Bing Xin is well known for her beliefs in maternal love as a cure for various social problems and the importance she placed on mother's role in family and society.

Bing Xin, who witnessed the twists and turns of the twentieth century, always kept pace with the times and engaged herself in writing for 75 years. Her writing career was a vivid representation of the development Chinese literature, namely, from the "May Fourth" literary revolution to modern and contemporary Chinese literature. As the initiator of several "Bing Xin-style" literature forms, she was also a firm practitioner of literature modernization. Besides being an outstanding writer of children's literature, Bing Xin is also a well known modern novelist, proser, poet, and translator. Many of her translations, such as The Prophet by Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran and The Gardener by Indian poet Rabindrnanth Tagore, have been recognized as masterpieces among literary translations. In 1995, Bing Xin was conferred the Nation-level Snow-pine Badge signed by president of The Republic of Lebanon. Her literary works have also been translated into several foreign languages, winning readers' admiration from home and abroad.

A famous social activist, Bing Xin held several official positions, including that of vice-chairwoman of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and was a delegate to the National People's Congress.