張欣小說選（英文）

　　One of the most productive female writers in contemporary China， Zhang Xin is best known for depictingthevicissitudesexperiencedby intellectuals of her own sex in big cities during the country's on-going reform and opening to the outside worid. The four novelettes of this collection tell of the protagonists' various endeavours to maintain social respect and to seek the true meaning of life. Faced by the fast-changing society and complicated interpersonal relationships， they have experienced many hardships during the process and encountered some despicable people. Every story is a mini-picture of urban life in present-day China， and each character has a unique personality.

　　Panda Books Contemporary Chinese Women Writers VI - Four Novellas by Zhang Xin Having been bom and raised in Beijing （the statement in her "Portrait of Myself' in the Autumn 1993 issue of Chinese Literature placing her birthplace in Jiangsu was actually a reference to her ancestral home） and now living in Guangzhou， Zhang Xin suffuses much of her stories with the pulse and transformational roar of life in the modem Chinese megacity. The military life， as well， figures in her oeuvre， reflecting the sixteen years she spent stationed in the Hunan exurbia. Her army experience began in 1969， at the tender age of fifteen， and though she served as an orderly in the army hospital， by 1978 she was publishing her first fiction and had transferred to an army theatrical troupe as a writer. She continued honing her creativeskills after her demobilisation， enrolling at Beijing University along with a number of other wrilers who had sacrificed their education to serve their country. She graduated in 1990， and has since been engaged in work in the literary and publishing fields. She currently writes under the auspices of the Guangzhou Municipal Literary Research Institute and is a member ofthe Chinese Writers Association.