Contents Briefing

As a representative of contemporary Chinese culture, Tie Ning is one of the most influential writers in China. This series of novels includes the four novels she has written so far, with illustration done by several carefully-chosen artists in China.

Of these four novels, The Gate of Rose portrays the human dignity of three women during the Cultural Revolution; A City without Rain tells the story of a Chinese mayor and his extramarital lover, The Bathing Beauty is an epitome of the confusion and perplexity of women in the city in the reform age; and Benhua presents a panorama of human and natural history on the Great North China Plain in modern times, from the entangled warfare among warlords to the Anti-Japanese War. It demonstrates the national spirit with bloody battles and shows humanity in the life on the Loess Plateau.

Author Profile

Tie Ning, a native of Beijing and a celebrated contemporary Chinese writer, is currently president of Chinese Writers Association. Her main works include novels: The Gate of Rose, A City without Rain, The Bathing Beauty, Benhua; representative novelettes: Pile of Wheat Straw, How Far Away Is Eternity, and A Red Shirt without Buttons; representative short-stories: Oh, Xiangxue, That Night at Andre's; and more than 3 million words of prose and film scripts. Many of her works have won national awards. Her collection of prose essays The White Night of Women won the first Lu Xun Literature Award and her novel How Far Away Is Eternity won the second Lu Xun Literature Award. The film Oh, Xiangxue adapted from her short story of the same title won the highest prize in the category of youth film at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival. The film The Girl in Red was awarded "The Golden Rooster" and "The One Hundred Flower" outstanding feature film prizes. Some of her words have been translated into English, French, German, Japanese, Russian, Dutch and Spanish.