Cao Wenxuan

Cao Wenxuan (simplified Chinese: 曹文轩; traditional Chinese: 曹文軒; pinyin: Cáo Wénxuān; born January 1954) is a Chinese novelist, best known for his works of children's literature.[1][2][3][4][5] Cao is the vice president of the Beijing Writers Association.[3][4][5] He is also a professor and doctoral tutor at Peking University.[3][4][5] His novels have been translated into English, Dutch, French,[6] German,[7] Italian,[8] Japanese, Korean,[9] and Serbian.[10]

For the ichthyologist, see Cao Wenxuan (ichthyologist).
In this Chinese name, the family name is Cao.
Cao Wenxuan
Cao Wenxuan in 2020
Cao Wenxuan in 2020
Native name
曹文轩
BornJanuary 1954 (age 69)
Yancheng, Jiangsu, China
OccupationNovelist
LanguageChinese
Alma materPeking University
Period1983–present
GenreChildren's literature
Notable worksThe Grass House
Bronze and Sunflower
Notable awards19th Golden Rooster Award for Best Writing
1999 The Grass House
Huabiao Award
1998 The Grass House
14th Tehran International Film Festival - the Golden Butterfly Prize

Biography

Cao was born in 1954 in Yancheng, Jiangsu.[3][11] He entered into the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of Peking University in 1974 and started to publish novels in 1983.[3][11][12]

Hans Christian Andersen Award

In April 2016 Cao was announced as the winner of the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children's writing being the first Chinese author to ever receive the award.[13] The International Board on Books for Young People's jury, announcing the award, said Cao "writes beautifully about the complex lives of children facing great challenges. He is a deeply committed writer, whose own difficult childhood has been deeply influential on his writing in which there are no easy answers."[14] He received the award in Auckland, New Zealand, on 20 August 2016.[15] His acceptance speech was titled "Literature: Another Form of Housebuilding" (文学：另一种造屋).[16]

Cao's Dingding and Dangdang (2012) (Illustrated by Zhenjun Liu) series follows the life of two brothers with Down syndrome living in a small rural Chinese village. This series was selected as one of IBBY’s Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities 2015.[17][18][19]

Works

Novels
  • 1985 The Old Walls (古老的围墙)
  • 1991 Goats Do Not Eat Heaven Grass (山羊不吃天堂草)
  • 1997 The Grass House (草房子)
  • 1999 The Bird (根鸟)
  • 2000 The Red Tile Roof (红瓦房)
  • 2005 Red Tile, Black Tile (红瓦黑瓦)
  • 2005 The Thin Rice (细米)
  • 2005 Bronze and Sunflower (青铜葵花)[20][21][22][23]
  • 2005 The Gourd Ladle (天瓢)
  • 2008 Dawang Tome: The Amber Tiles (大王书：黄琉璃)[24]
  • 2008 Dawang Tome: The Red Lantern (大王书：红纱灯)
  • 2012 Dingding and Dangdang (丁丁当当，黑痴白痴)[25] (Illustrated by Zhenjun Liu)
  • 2014 A Cool Bird Wawa [26]
  • 2015 Firebrand (火印)
  • 2016 Dragonfly Eyes (蜻蜓眼)
  • 2019 Caoxiewan Road (草鞋湾)

Novellas
  • 1983 A Cattle without Horns (没有角的牛)
  • 1988 A Small House Buried in The Snow (埋在雪下的小屋)
  • 1988 The Evening Has Come Down Upon The Ancestral Temple (暮色笼罩的祠堂)

Short stories
  • 1986 Mist Covered The Old Castle (云雾中的古堡)
  • 1986 The Dumb Cattle (哑牛)
  • 1989 The Blue Countryside (忧郁的田园)
  • 1992 The Green Fence (绿色的栅栏)
  • 1994 A City under The Water (水下有座城)
  • 1994 The Red Calabash (红葫芦)
  • 1996 The Rose Valley (蔷薇谷)
  • 1997 Sanjiaodi (三角地)
  • 2005 The Windmill (野风车)
  • 2008 Gouyayu (狗牙雨)
  • 2008 A Very Special Pigeon (一只叫凤的鸽子)[27]

Picture books for children
  • Summer in a Cotton Padded Jacket (穿棉袄的夏天)[25]
  • Feather (羽毛), illustrated by Roger Mello[28] English translation by Chloe Garcia Roberts[29]
  • Chrysanthemum Doll (菊花娃娃)
  • Last Leopard (最后一只豹子)
  • A Big Fish Swims East (一条大鱼向东游)
  • Crazy Rooster (痴鸡)
  • Bird Boat (鸟船)
  • Flying Bird Nest (飞翔的鸟窝)
  • Summer (translated by Yan Ding, illustrated by Yu Rong)
  • Smoke (translated by Duncan Poupard, illustrated by Yu Rong)

Essays

Awards and commendations

Adaptations

One of his works has been adapted for film:

  • The Grass House (草房子) (directed by Xu Geng)

Two more of his works are being adapted for film: Bronze and Sunflower and Firebrand.[37]

References
  1. 曹文轩好文章离不开折腾. GMW (in Chinese). 26 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  2. 文学大师曹文轩来兰与师生分享写作感悟. Sina (in Chinese). 25 November 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  3. Cao Wenxuan (2005-04-01). Qingtong Kuihua (in Chinese). Ifeng Publishing House. ISBN 978-7-5346-3336-2.
  4. Cao Wenxuan (2009-06-01). The Grass House (in Chinese). Jiangsu: Jiangsu Children and Youth Publishing House. ISBN 9787534618727.
  5. Cao Wenxuan (2008-05-01). Goats Do Not Eat Heaven Grass (in Chinese). Jiangsu: Ifeng Publishing House, Jiangsu Peoples' Publishing House. ISBN 9787214050625.
  6. "Bronze et Tournesol : roman". WorldCat.org. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  7. "Cao Wenxuan: Bronze und Sonnenblume. Chinesisch und Deutsch (Ab 14 Jahre)".
  8. "Girasole - Giunti".
  9. "The Surgical Neonate: Anaesthesia and Intensive Care". WorldCat.org. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  10. SLAMNATA KOLIBA - Cao Vensjuen. Retrieved 2019-03-16. {{cite book}}: |website= ignored (help)
  11. "Cao Wenxuan [ China ]". Internationales literaturfestival berlin. 2006. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  12. "The Writer Cao Wenxuan: His Life and Most Important Works". www.saporedicina.com. 25 January 2019. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
  13. Qin, Amy (May 2016). "Little Sugarcoating in Cao Wenxuan's Children's Books". The New York Times.
  14. "Bologna 2016: Rotraut Susanne Berner and Cao Wenxuan Win 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Awards". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  15. CCTV video (2-3 mins)
  16. helenwanglondon (14 October 2016). "Literature: Another Form of Housebuilding – Cao Wenxuan's acceptance speech". Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  17. "Cao Wenxuan: IBBY official website". Archived from the original on 2017-12-09. Retrieved 2017-12-09.
  18. Dingding and Dangdang, 1 Brothers. https://www.chunghwabook.com.hk/Public//files/upload/9789810988425.pdf
  19. Dingding and Dangdang, 2, Blind Goat.https://www.chunghwabook.com.hk/Public//files/upload/9789810988425.pdf
  20. English translation: Bronze and Sunflower, tr Helen Wang, Walker Books, London, 2015. ISBN 978-1406348460
  21. French translation: Bronze et Tournesol, tr Brigitte Guilbaud, Editions Philippe Picquier, 2010 ISBN 2809701512
  22. Review/feature: "Cao Wenxuan, children literature and…talent" by Bertrand Mialaret, 2010, mychinesebooks.com Archived 2015-02-24 at the Wayback Machine
  23. Italian translation: "Girasole", tr Paolo Magagnin.
  24. English translation: Legends of the Dawang Tome: The Amber Tiles, tr Nicholas Richards, Better Chinese, California, 2015. ISBN 978-1-60603-707-2
  25. "Dingding and Dangdang--CCPPG". Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  26. "A Cool Bird Wawa--CCPPG". Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  27. "A Very Special Pigeon", English translation by Helen Wang, published by the Writing Chinese project, University of Leeds, September 2015
  28. "A Feather--CCPPG". Retrieved 4 March 2017.
  29. Starred review in Kirkus, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/cao-wenxuan/feather-wenxuan/
  30. "Crows, by Cao Wenxuan", English translation by Helen Wang, first published in Pathlight magazine, Sept 2015, then as Read Paper Republic no.10, Sept 2015.
  31. "IBBY Announces Winners of the 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Award". IBBY. 4 April 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-10-22. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  32. "2017 Finalists: Young readers | Kirkus Reviews". Archived from the original on 2017-09-27. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
  33. "Notable Children's Books of 2017". The New York Times. 27 November 2017.
  34. BFYA Nominations
  35. "Best Books 2017".
  36. "Introducing...The 2015 IBBY Outstanding Books for Young People with Disabilities!". Toronto Public Library. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
  37. "Award winner's books get film adaptations". China Internet Information Center. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 22 November 2016.
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