CaoWenxuan,afamousChinesechildren’sfictionwriter,tooktheHansChristianAndersenAwardatthe53rdBolognaChildren’sBookFairinItalyin2016.ThiswasthefirsttimeaChineseauthorhadeverwontheaward.Asthejurychaircommented,“Thebook’snarrativesurroundingabitterchildhoodsetsagoodexampleforchildrentofacetoughchallengesinlife,whichwonwidefavorwithyoungreaders.”
In2015,theratiobetweendomesticoriginalworksforchildrenandimportedworksforchildrenmeasured1:1.Tenyearsago,itwas3:7.
April4,2016,Italy:CaoWenxuanpresentshisworkatthe53rdBolognaChildren’sBookFair.XinhuaGuoPei:EmbroideryEnVogue
In2016,TimemagazinelistedGuoPei,aChinesefashiondesigner,asoneofthe“100MostInfluentialPeople”intheworld,honoringhercoutureworkhighlightedbytraditionalChineseembroideryandnationalcostumesinherline,ChineseWeddingDresses.SheshottointernationalstardomwhenAmericanR&BsuperstarRihannaworeherdesigntotheMetGalain2015.
“I’manativeChinesedesigner.AllmyworkisthemedaroundChineseculture.”
July3,2016,Paris,France:ChinesedesignerGuoPeireceivesapplausefromtheaudiencealongwithhermodels.ShewastheonlyChinesedesignertoshowthere.ICJiaZhangke:CopyrightProtector
JiaZhangke,awell-knownChinesefilmdirector,haswonmanyinternationalawardsforfilmsincludingStillLifeandATouchofSin.OnJune3,2016,JiawastappedtoserveasvicepresidentoftheInternationalConfederationofSocietiesofAuthorsandComposers,thefirstChinesepersontoholdtheoffice.
“Ihopethatcopyrightownersbecomemoreawareoftheirrightsandhowtoprotectthemselves.Still,Iwanttoarouseconsciousnessinregardtorespectingintel-lectualpropertyrightsinallrelevantcom-paniesaswellasconsumers.”
JiaZhangkeonOctober13,2015.CFPLangPing:MiracleMaker
Atthe2016RioOlympicGames,theChineseWomen’sVolleyballTeamunderheadcoachLangPingtookthegoldafter12yearsofcomingupshort.Hernickname“IronHammer”hasbeensynonymouswithwomen’svolleyballmiraclesfromthemomentsheemergedastheacespikerofthenationalteamthatwonfivesuccessiveworldtitlesinthe1980stothedayshebecameheadcoachofthenationalteam.TheChineseWomen’sVolleyballTeambecamethefirsttoobtainfiveconsecutiveworldtitles:1981and1985WorldCups,1982and1986WorldChampionshipsandgoldatthe1984SummerOlympicsinLosAngeles.Sincethen,theteamhasgoneontowinseveralworldchampionshipsincludingthe2003and2015WorldCupsandthe2004and2016Olympics.
“We’vealwayscarriedonthespiritoftheChi-neseWomen’sVolleyballTeam,butthat’snotenough.Wecan’twinwithspiritalone;wemustbecompetitiveenoughtobeatotherstechnically.”
September17,2016:LangPingandherteamvisitGuangyaHighSchoolinGuangzhou,GuangdongProvince.ICWangAnyi:ShanghaiLitterateur
OnSeptember21,2016,ChinesewriterWangAnyiwonthe5thNewmanPrizeforChineseLiterature,greatlyenhancingthestrengthandinfluenceofChineseliteratureinEuropeanandNorthAmericancountries.HermostnotableworksincludeTheSongofEverlastingSorrowandDocumentaryandFiction,bothhistoricalnarrativesofShanghai.ProfessorDavidDer-weiWangoftheDepartmentofEastAsianLanguagesandCivilizationsatHarvardUniversitycalledher“theotherinheritoroftheShanghaiLiteratureafterEileenChang.”
“Writinganovelisofsimplefun;otherwise,whyhaveIbeenengagedinwritingforover30years?Breakthroughsandchangesmustbemade,orworkwillbecomemeaninglessandlackcreativity.”
November11,2014:WangAnyi’slecturedrawsacrowdofstudentsatHuazhongUniversityofScienceandTechnology.CFPFuYuanhui:ViralAthlete
ChineseswimmerFuYuanhuitookthebronzeintheWomen’s100-meterBackstrokeattheRioOlympics.Shebecameanovernightsensationwhenherreferencetoher“prehistoricpower”inaninterviewafteradvancingtothefinalswentviralontheinternet.InOctober2016,shewasvotedoneofthe“MostInfluentialPeopleBorninthe1990sinChina”byChinesenetizens.
“Ihaveusedallmyprehistoricpowerstoswim.”
August8,2016,RiodeJaneiro,Brazil:ChineseswimmerFuYuanhuiattheOlympicAquaticsStadiumduringthe2016OlympicGames.CFPMeiBaojiu:MeiSchoolInheritor
MeiBaojiu(1934-2016),theninthchildofMeiLanfang,wasamasterperformerofPekingOpera.Hebeganperformingwithhisfatherattheageof18andbecamecommittedtotheinheritanceanddevelopmentoftheMeiSchoolofPekingOpera.DespitethewaningpopularityofPekingOpera,heinsistedonpassingtheauthenticarttofuturegenerationswhileinnovatingamodernperformingartpatternbyabsorbingvariousexpressivemethodsanddifferentmeansofdissemination.HediedonApril25,2016,atage82.
“NotonlyshouldweworshipandenshrinePekingOperaasanationaltreasureandaquintessentialpieceofChi-neseculture,butwemustmineitsgreatpotentialandcarryitforward.”
April16,2015:FamousPekingOperaartistMeiBaojiuattheopeningceremonyoftheFifthBeijingInternationalFilmFestival.CFPChenZhongshi:ANovelRecordofChina
ChenZhongshi(1942-2016)wasarenownedChinesewriterwhobecameknownforWhiteDeerPlain,amodernclassicofChineseliterature.In1998,ChenwasawardedtheMaoDunLiteraturePrize,thehighesthonorinChineseliterature.Hisnovel,WhiteDeerPlain,hasbeentranslatedintomanylanguages.Thebookwashailedasthe“bestandmostinfluentialgrandnarrationoftheChinesenationoverthelast30years.”ChendiedonApril29,2016,attheageof73.
“Iwanttousemybookasthepillowinmycoffin.”
November4,2014:ChenZhongshiatthecelebrationofthe60thanniversaryofthefoundingofShanxiWritersAssociation.ICYangJiang:CentenarianTalent
YangJiang(1911-2016)wasaChineseplaywright,translator,andresearcherofforeignliterature.HermostrepresentativeworksincludeBaptismandSixChaptersfromMyLife“DownUnder.”Shewaswell-versedinEnglishandFrench,andhertranslationofDonQuixotefromSpanishintoChinesewonhertheCivilOrderofAlfonsoX,awardedbySpanishKingJuanCarlosin1986.ShemarriedQianZhongshu,agreatChinesewriterandhistorian,whocalledherthe“mosttalentedwomanandworthiestwife.”YangdiedonMay25,2016,atage105.
“Marriageorcareerislikeafor-tressbesieged:Thosewhoareoutsidewanttogetin,andthosewhoareinsidewanttogetout.Ithappenstomostofus.”
—ForewordtoFortressBesieged,themagnumopusofQianZhongshu
September7,2001:YangJiang(right)receivesathank-yousouvenirfromTsinghuaUniversityaftersigninganagreementtodonate720,000yuanaspartofascholarship.Shealsodonatedthecompensatoryrightsofherpublications,aswellasthoseofherhusband,totheschool.byWangChengxuan/XinhuaLuGusun:English-ChineseLexicographer
Throughouthislife,LuGusun(1940-2016)wascommittedtoteaching,researchingandtranslatingBritishandAmericanlanguageandliteratureandwonwidespreadfameforhisEnglish-ChineseDictionary.Composedof15millionwords,theinfluentialreferencebookwasthefirstcomprehensiveEnglish-ChinesedictionarycompiledbyChinesescholars.LupassedawayonJuly28,2016,attheageof76.
“Compilingdictionariesisanartofregret.”
LuGusunonMay23,2005.byJinLiwang/CFP