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Writer Ma Boyong blends Chinese history and imagination to transport modern readers to ancient dynasties
- Ma, one of China’s hottest fiction authors, combines thrilling plots with historical detail to create stories that are ‘both exciting and plausible’
- His books, which have inspired TV and film spin-offs, have won acclaim as young people embrace cultural heritage and ‘China-chic’ trend
Reading Time:5 minutes
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Xinlu Liangin Beijing
For the past century, most of China’s top literary luminaries rose to fame by telling modern stories and critiquing the country’s past.
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In the Republican era and during Mao Zedong’s rule, pioneers of modern Chinese literature such as Lu Xun criticised traditional feudal society.
Beginning in the 1980s, authors such as Nobel laureate Gao Xingjian wrote about social change against the backdrop of modern economic reforms, while another group, including Mo Yan and Wang Xiaobo, reflected on the Cultural Revolution and the scars it left on Chinese society.
But a new generation of writers is looking beyond recent memory to China’s distant past for inspiration. They view China’s ancient dynasties as something to be celebrated – an attitude that coincides with growing national and cultural pride among young Chinese.
Author Ma Boyong is among the most celebrated of this set, having won the People’s Literature Prize – one of China’s top literary awards – in 2010, which secured his spot among the country’s top figures in contemporary literature.
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In his novels, Ma mixes Chinese history with imagination, taking readers back to ancient dynasties. His plots are intriguing but plausible and full of fact-checked details.
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China and viewers there criticise Netflix's 3 Body Problem adapted from Lu Cixin’s sci-fi novels
China and viewers there criticise Netflix's 3 Body Problem adapted from Lu Cixin’s sci-fi novels
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