Cheng Ch'ing-wen | |
|---|---|
| 鄭清文 | |
| Born | 16 September 1932 Taoyuan, Taiwan |
| Died | 4 November 2017 (aged 85) Taipei, Taiwan |
| Alma mater | National Taiwan University |
| Occupation | Writer |
Cheng Ch'ing-wen (Chinese: 鄭清文; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tēⁿ Chheng-bûn; 16 September 1932 – 4 November 2017) was a Taiwanese writer and a graduate of National Taiwan University. Cheng Ch'ing-wen was born in Taoyuan Street, Taoyuan City, during the Japanese rule of Taiwan. Originally surnamed Li, he was later adopted by his uncle and changed his surname to Cheng.[1] While working at a bank, he continued to write.
He worked at the then government-run Hua Nan Bank for forty years.[2] His works in English are generally under the transliteration "Cheng Ch'ing-Wen" and that is how he is described in many English-language publications published in Taiwan. The transliteration "Tzeng Ching-wen" is also used.
He was one of the leaders of the Taiwanese "nativist" movement. Cheng was fluent in Taiwanese Hokkien. He graduated from elementary school in Taiwan with six years of instruction in Japanese, and only thereafter began to learn Chinese.
A collection of twelve of his short stories, Three-Legged Horse, was made available in English in 1998, and won the 1999 Kiriyama Prize for fiction.
His works included short stories, essays, and fairy tales. His three collections of fairy tales (Swallow Heart Berries, Sky Lanterns/Mother, and Picking Peaches) are populated with birds, insects, and other animals that all have the ability to speak, in a manner common to fairy tales.
Cheng died at the age of 85, on November 4, 2017.[3]