Da Chen

Da Chen speaking at the North Carolina State University 2007 Convocation

Da Chen (1962 – December 17, 2019) was a Chinese-American author whose works included Colors of the Mountain, Brothers, and Sword. Colors of the Mountain gave rise to a version for young readers, China's Son,[1] and a sequel, Sounds of the River.[2] The Washington Post, San Francisco Chronicle, Miami Herald and Publishers Weekly hailed Brothers as the best book of 2006.[3]

Born in Huangshi, Putian, Fujian, China,[4][5] he grew up in poverty during the Cultural Revolution.[6] His paternal grandfather had owned land, and that wealth attracted the persecution of the Chinese Communist Party.[1] That persecution did not spare the rest of the family, and Chen was expelled from school and sent down to the countryside to do hard labor.[7] Even though the Cultural Revolution denied him much of his formal education, Chen studied for and performed well in the college entrance exams reinstated after the Cultural Revolution.[7] He was admitted to and graduated from Beijing Language and Culture University. After teaching there, he emigrated to the U.S. on a scholarship for Union College in Lincoln, Nebraska. In 1990, he received a J.D. from Columbia Law School,[8][9][10] and he then worked as an investment banker while writing.[7] After the publications of his memoirs, he also taught writing at Fairfield University and New York University.[1]

Chen lived in Southern California with his wife, Sunny, and two children.[5][11] Chen died December 17, 2019, at his home in Temecula, California, from lung cancer.[1]

Bibliography

• Colors of the Mountain (1999)
• China's Son: Growing Up in the Cultural Revolution (2001)
• Sounds of the River: A Memoir (2002)
• Wandering Warrior (2003)
• Brothers (2006)
• My Last Empress (2012)[12]
• Girl Under a Red Moon (2019)

See also

• Scar literature
• Sent-down youth

References

1. Maughan, Shannon (January 2, 2020). "Obituary: Da Chen". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
2. Charles, Eleanor (January 19, 2003). "The Guide". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 30, 2020. Da Chen to Give Talk[...]His memoir is titled, Color of the Mountain, and its sequel is Sounds of the River.
3. MFA in Creative Writing - Faculty Archived 10 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine - Fairfield University
4. Chen, Da (2006). A Montanha e o Rio (in Portuguese). Rio de Janeiro: Nova Fronteira. pp. dust jacket. ISBN 978-85-209-1992-7.
5. "Da Chen » Biography". dachen.org. Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
6. Kirch, Claire (May 31, 2019). "BookExpo 2019: Sisterhood Is Powerful for Children's Book Authors". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
7. Rogers, John (December 24, 2019). "'Colors of the Mountain' author Da Chen dies at 57". Associated Press. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
8. "Da Chen". albany.edu. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
9. "Biographies/Autobiographies/Memoirs" (PDF). Tucson-Pima County Library. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2017. Retrieved September 19, 2016. Da Chen recently graduated from Columbia Law School on a full scholarship.
10. "Summer Reading Recommendations". columbia.edu. Archived from the original on October 9, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
11. The Random House "Author's Spotlight" of Da Chen. Retrieved 23 December 2006.
12. Ghosts, grief and great love in China by Da Chen, My Last Empress. Ahram.org. Reprint from Reuters. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 21 October 2012.