Xie Wanying (October 5, 1900-Febrary 28.1999), better known by her pen name Bing Xin, was oneof the most well-known Chinese writers of the 20th century. Many ofher works were written for young readers. Her pen nameBing Xin carries the meaning of a pure heart, and is taken from a line in aTang Dynasty poem by Wang Changling.
Bing Xin was born in Fuzhou, Fujian, but moved toShanghai with her family when she was seven months old, and later moved yetagain to the coastal port city of Yantai, Shandong, when she was four.Such a movehad akey influence on Bing Xin's personality and philosophy (哲学)of love and beauty, as the hugeness and beauty of the sea greatly opened youngBing Xin's mind and heart. It was also in Yantai, Bing Xin first began to readthe classics of Chinese literature, such asRomance of the Three KingdomsandWater Margin, when she was just seven.
In 1913, Bing Xin moved to Beijing. She started herwriting career as she wrote for a school newspaper at Yanjing University whereshe was a student and published her first novel. Bing Xin graduated fromYanjing University in 1923 with a bachelor's degree, and went to the UnitedStates to study at Wellesley College, earning a master's degree at Wellesley inliterature in 1926. She then returned to Yanjing University to teach until1936.
In 1929, she married Wu Wenzao, her good friend whenthey were studying in the United States. In literature, Bing Xin founded the"Bing Xin Style" as a new literary style. Shecontributed a lot to children's literature in China such asA Myriad ofStars (1923),Spring Water (1923),Six-one sister(1924),ToYoung Readers (1926),Homeward South (1931),The Collected Worksof Bing Xin(1932-1933). Bing Xin's literary career was productive. Shewrote a lot of works — prose, poetry, novels, reflections and so on. There is aBing Xin Literature Museum in Changle in Fujian Province. The Bing XinChildren's Literature Award is named in her honour.
