Chen Danyan

Chen Danyan was born in 1958 in Beijing, and moved to Shanghai as a child. After studying Chinese literature at East China Normal University (1978–1982), she worked as an editor for the Children's Epoch magazine. Her autobiographical novel Nine Lives (1992) dealt with childhood experiences of the Cultural Revolution, and received the UNESCO-Prize for Peace and Tolerance and was nominated for the 1996 German Youth Literature Prize. She is best known for her trilogy of biographical narratives: Shanghai Memorabilia, Shanghai Princess, and Shanghai Beauty, and central to her recent work is an exploration of the lives of younger generations (in particular young women), growing up in the context of China's one-child policy.