Zhang Ling | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1957 (age 66–67) Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Genre | Literary fiction, novel, novella, short story |
| Notable works | A Single Swallow,Gold Mountain Blues, Aftershock |
Ling Zhang (Chinese: 张翎; born in 1957) is a former senior audiologist and fiction writer in Toronto, Canada. She was born in Wenzhou, China and came to Canada in 1986 to pursue her MA in English at University of Calgary. She obtained her second MA degree in Communication disorders at the University of Cincinnati. She has published nine novels and several collections of novellas and short stories in Chinese. One of her novels,《金山》, has been translated into English, French, and German. She has won numerous important literary prizes in China.
In 2009, Zhang's novella, Aftershock (2010 film), a tale about the survival of the horrific 1976 Tangshan earthquake, was made into China's first IMAX movie, directed by Feng Xiaogang. This movie became the greatest box office success[1] at the time and has grossed more than US$100 million at the Chinese box office.[2] According to The Wall Street Journal, Aftershock opens the Imax market to Chinese films.[3] The abc NEWS also mentions that Aftershock becomes the highest-grossing film in China.[4]
In 2011, a lawsuit was launched against Zhang Ling for alleged copyright infringement from works by three Canadian writers. However, the case was closed with no judgment against either of the parties.
A Single Swallow, the English version of Zhang's novel《劳燕》, listed on 2017 Sina best ten books list/2017 新浪年度十大好书,[5] published by Amazon Crossing in October 2020, has immediately caught the media and readers' interest[6] and was reviewed as “a literary work suffused with prodigious and descriptive exposition.”[7][8] A Single Swallow became Amazon's #1 Kindle bestseller in Chinese literature and WWII historical fiction. The novel also was the winner of AudioFile Earphones Award [9] and was listed with The New York Times Globetrotting 2021.[10]