Writer who celebrated country life dies at 73
Print Edition
CHEN Zhongshi, celebrated writer and vice chairman of the China Writers Association, died at the age of 73 yesterday morning in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province.
Chen lost his battle against cancer and died in the hospital at 7:45am, according to sources with the Shaanxi provincial writers association.
A native of Xi’an, Chen worked as a teacher before he became a local cultural official. His best-known novel, “Bai Lu Yuan” (White Deer Tableland), took the Mao Dun Literature Prize in 1997.
Set in the countryside of northwest China, the story is about the fate of two families through half a century, reflecting the changes in China's rural areas. A movie adapted from the novel won the Silver Bear at the 62nd Berlin film festival.
Many people visited the house near the tableland where the novelist was born to mourn.
“He was a real master,” said Zhang Xuming, a reader. “From Bai Lu Yuan, I can see history and human nature.”
Gao Jianqun, another writer native to Xi’an, said Chen had been receiving an 11th round of chemotherapy.
“I am so sad at the loss of him,” he said. “He was a strong man. Few people could stand so many rounds of chemotherapy.”
Gao remembered the first time he saw Chen in 1979. “He was sitting at the corner, carrying a knapsack,” he said. “He was typical of the men in northwest China.”
Chen spent four years finishing “Bai Lu Yuan” while living in abject poverty.
“The experience gave Chen a better understanding of the farmers and the countryside, making the book more vivid and real,” said Xiao Yunru, a literary critic.
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