Li Ang

Chronology

1952: Born in Lugang (鹿港) on April 7, with the birth name of SHI Shuduan (施淑端). She was the youngest child in the family. LI Ang was exposed to classical Chinese poetry since she was a child.

1964: Studied in the Zhanghua (彰化) Girls Middle School. Began to extensively read literary classics and martial arts novels when her sister SHI Shuqing (施叔青) started to publish her works.

1965: Second year of middle school (8th grade). Began to write her first piece “An Ke’s First Love Letter”〈安可的第一篇情書〉; the original plan for this piece was to be a novel, but LI ended the story around 50,000 words.

1966: Third year of middle school (9th grade). LI Ang tried to submit “Midsummer in the Grassland”〈草原的盛夏〉(the new title of “An Ke’s First Love Letter”) to the Literary Quarterly《文學季刊》, but her submission was rejected.

1968: Junior in High School. Published short stories “Flower Season” 〈花季〉and “Wedding Ritual”〈婚禮〉in the December issue of China Times《中國時報》.

1969: Senior in High School. LI Ang’s “Flower Season”〈花季〉was chosen for Selected Short Stories in the Year Fifty-Seven (1968)《五十七年短篇小說選》. Published novellas Mixed Chorus〈混聲合唱〉and Looking Back from the Zero Point〈零點的回顧〉.

1970: Started undergraduate school at Chinese Culture University, and majored in Philosophy. Began reading Laozi and Zhaungzi (founders of Taoism), Zen Buddhism and other eastern philosophy. Published novellas Curvaceous Dolls〈有曲線的娃娃〉and Sea Journey〈海之旅〉.

1971: Sophomore in College. Published “The Bridge”〈橋〉.

1972: Junior in College. Published short stories “Distance Runners”〈長跑者〉and “Chasing the Moon”〈逐月〉. She began to take an interest in performance art after becoming acquainted with homecoming scholars, HU Yaoheng, LIN Huaimin and WU Jingli. LÜ Xiulian at the time gave speeches all over Taiwan to promote a new feminism and had a huge impact on LI Ang.

1973: Began writing the Lucheng Stories「鹿城故事」series and The Secular World 「人間世」novellas. Published short stories “Fish Hawks”〈關雎〉, “Farewell My Hometown”〈辭鄉〉, “The Story of Chen Xilian”〈西蓮〉, “The Story of LIN Shui Li”〈水麗〉, “Dance Show”〈舞展〉and other stories in Stories from Lucheng collection. She started planning on a project of “Interviews of Contemporary Chinese Artists,” and selected various artists from different time periods and provincial heritages for interviews, including writer WANG Wenxing and artist LIN Huaimin.

1974: Graduated from college in June. Published short stories “The Secular World”〈人間世〉and “Last Night”〈昨夜〉.

1975: Immigrated to Vancouver, Canada, in March. In September she went to pursue a graduate degree in Theatre at University of Oregon-Eugene in the United States. Published novella Late Spring《莫春》and a collection of short stories Mixed Chorus《混聲合唱》.

1976: In April, Da Han Publishing House published Group Portrait- Interviews of Contemporary Chinese Artists.

1977: Received her Masters degree in Theater from University of Oregon-Eugene. Published a collection of short stories The Secular World《人間世》, and short stories “When the Snow Stops”〈雪霽〉 and “The Story of Miss Sophia-One” 〈蘇菲亞小姐的故事之一〉.Then moved to New York and Los Angeles.

1978: Visited BAI Xianyong, who was also a famous writer, in Santa Barbara where she read a news item, “Zhan Wang nee killed her husband”〈詹罔氏殺夫〉 in Anecdotes from Old Shanghai《春申舊聞》, written by CHEN Dingshan. The theme of a woman murdering her husband inspired LI Ang, and she began to work on a novel. She returned home from New York in June. In September, LI Ang began to teach as an assistant professor in the Theater department at Chinese Culture University. She published her two short stories, “The Story of Miss Sophia-Two”〈蘇菲小姐亞的故事之二〉and “Waterfront Park”〈海濱公園〉in United Daily《聯合報》.

1979: Became the editor of the Selected Short Stories in the Year Sixty-Seven (1978)《六十七年短篇小說選》, and Er Ya Publishing House published the book. Published short stories, “The Last Wedding”〈最後一場婚禮〉and “Their Tears”〈她們的眼淚〉in the United Daily《聯合報》.

1981: “Don’t Pity Me, Please Educate Me”〈別可憐我，請教育我〉 received the first prize in China Times literature awards. ZHAN Hongzhi (詹宏志) and ZHANG Wushun (張武順) invited LI Ang to write a column in China Times called “Women’s Opinions” 「女性的意見」. Li Ang also finished her short stories “A Turn in the Course”〈轉折〉, “A Misunderstanding”〈誤解〉, and other works.

1982: Wrote a story of “A Woman Kills Her Husband” but decided to continue to work on the theme, and developed it into a novella. LI Ang also published a collection of short stories Test of Love《愛情試驗》. Furthermore, she began to write a series of allegorical short stories called “Transference”〈移情〉, “Narcissus Syndrome”〈水仙花症〉, and “Three-Inch Soul”〈三寸靈魂〉.

1983: Novella The Butcher’s Wife—Stories from Lucheng〈殺夫〉was published and received the first prize by the United Daily. The Butcher’s Wife〈殺夫〉had a profound impact on the literary scene in Taiwan at that time due to its bold rendering of sex and violence.

1984: Li Ang began to collect materials to work on novella Dark Night〈暗夜〉. She also published a collection of stories Their Tears《她們的眼淚》, Love String《情弦》, a collection of reportages Mirrors and Lamps《鏡與燈》, a collection of short stories Love and Guilt: Sex and Love on College Campus《愛與罪──大學校園內的性與愛》 and a collection of essays Women’s Opinions《女性的意見》from her column. She also completed “Love Letters” series 《情書系列》. The Butcher's Wife was adapted into a film with the same title.

1985: Published a novella Dark Night《暗夜》and a collection of social analysis Extra-Marital Affair《外遇》Dark Night published by China Times Publishing House, touched issues of extra-marital affairs, and caused controversy and was banned by Taipei Government Information Services Department.

1986: Traveled to Germany in July to attend a conference, "The Commonwealth of Modern Chinese Literature"「現代中國文學大同世界」. In November, North Point Press published the English translation of The Butcher’s Wife《殺夫》by Professor Howard Goldblatt and Ellen Leung. LI Ang also started to work on the novel Lost Garden《迷園》. She also published a collection of essays from her column anthology Walking Out of the Dark Night《走出暗夜》, and a collection of short stories A Love Letter Not Sent《一封未寄的情書》.

1987: In September, Li Ang went to Iowa to participate in the International Writing Program. In October, she went to Germany to attend the Frankfurt Book Fair「法蘭克福書展」. German translation of The Butcher’s Wife〈殺夫〉by Helmut Martin and Udo Hoffman was published in Germany. Published A Stray Cat and a Lover《貓咪與情人》.

1988: In November, China Times Publishing House published The Best Years《年華》.

1989: The Butcher’s Wife〈殺夫〉was published in England by Peter Owen Books. Furthermore CHEN Youshi founded Woman《女性人》magazine, published both in China and Taiwan. LI Ang was also chosen as one of the top ten best-selling writers; she also completed a novella Forbidden Colors of the Dream〈禁色的夢〉. Published short stories City God, the Water Spirit〈水鬼城隍〉, Lazy People Turn Into Monkeys〈懶人變猴子〉 and Book on Love〈愛情之書〉.

1990: “Lost Garden”〈迷園〉was published as a series in China Times《中國時報》from August 18th, 1991, to March 11, 1992. Joint Publishing Co in Hong Kong published English translation of The Butcher's Wife by Howard Goldblatt and Ellen Yeung.

1991: “Lu Ku Chronicle”〈鹿窟紀事〉received the first prize literary award from the China Times《中國時報》. Novella Sweet Life《甜美生活》and novel Lost Garden《迷園》were also published.

1992: In April Avant-garde Publishing House published Li Ang’s works as the Selected Works by Li Ang 《李昂集》within the Complete Works of Taiwan Writers—The Third Generation Writers of Post-war. French Sinologist Alain Peyraube translated The Butcher's Wife 〈殺夫〉into French. Bokförlaget Tranan published Swedish translation of The Butcher's Wife in Sweden, Slaktarens hustru, translated by Lennart Lundberg.

1993: Japanese translation of The Butcher’s Wife《殺夫》by Fujii Shozo was published in Japan. In February, Avant-Garde Publishing House published Early Chapter of She Mingde 《施明德前傳》, a biography on SHI Mingde 《施明德》.

1994: In March, an anthology of her column LI Ang Talks about Love 《李昂說情》was published.

1995: Published short stories, “The Devil with a Chastity Belt”〈戴貞操帶的魔鬼〉and “Nirvana Voyageur – A Travelogue of the Trip to Russia: Forget and Images”〈涅槃逆旅－俄羅斯記行：遺忘與圖像〉. Howard Goldblatt compiled and translated The Butcher's Wife and Other Stories, published by Cheng and Tsui Company. De slachter published Dutch translation of The Butcher's Wife in Netherlands, De vrouw van, translated by C.M.L. Kisling.

1997: Attended the Singapore International Writers Festival「新加坡國際作家週」forum in March. In September, published Beigang Incense Burner of Lust: The Devil with a Chastity Belt Series《戴貞操帶的魔鬼系列：北港香爐人人插》, and The Incense Burner Incident「香爐事件」 became one of the Top Ten published new novels.

1998: Participated in the Symposium on “Modern Chinese Literature fro Taiwan”「台灣文學國際研討會」 at Columbia University in April.

1999:Sakuraba Yumiko translated Lost Garden into Japanese; supervised and edited by Fujii Shozo. Published novella Forbidden Colors of the Dark Night; Collection of Li Ang's Erotic Fictions, by Crown Publishing house

2000: Published Autobiography: A Novel《自傳的小說》and Drifting Voyageur 《漂流之旅》.

2002: Received Eleventh Annual Lai Ho Literary Prize. Published a collection of essays Gourmand 《愛吃鬼》. Editor of Selected Novellas in the Year Ninety (2001)《九十年小說選》and Jiu Ge Publishing House published the book.

2004: Received The Chevalier de L’ordre des Arts des Lettres, awarded to commend her literary accomplishments from France’s Minister of French Culture and Communication. Published novel Visible Ghosts 《看得見的鬼》. Published French translation of Dark Night in France, Nuit Obscure, translated by Marie Laureillard. Published Japanese translation of Autobiography: A Novel in Japan 《自伝の小説》, translated by Fujii Shozo. Denoël republished Tuer son mari, new title of The Butcher's Wife, in France translated by Alain Peyrauble and Hua-Fang Vizcarra.

2005: Published novel Bewitching Love《花間迷情》. Short story "The Story of CHEN Xiliang," was adapted into a film, title The Moon Also Rises. Release of a documentary film about LI Ang, Tigerwomen Grow Wings. Against the backdrop of Taiwan's turbulent presidential elections in 2004, Tigerwomen Grow Wings portrays three women, noted opera singer XIE Yuexia, internationally renowned writer LI Ang, and film director CHEN Yinrong, directed by German documentarian Monika Treut.

2007: Published An Erotic Feast for Lovebirds《鴛鴦春膳》. One of the stories, “Beef Noodles” was made into a theatrical production performed by le Théâtre de l’Opprimé in Paris, France."Beef Noodles" was translated into English by Sylvia Li-Chun Lin, published in Chinese Literature Today (Vol. 2, No. 1, 2011, pp. 6–13). Published German translation of Visible Ghosts in German, Sichtbare Geister, translated by Martina Hasse. Published Italian translation of The Butcher's Wife in Italy, La moglie del macellaio, translated by Anna Maria Paoluzzi. A writer in residence in Lingnan University.

2008: Editor of Selected Novellas in the Year Ninety-Six (2007)《九十六年小說選》and Jiu Ge Publishing House published the book. A writer in residence at National Chung-hsing University.

2009: Published Marriage in Seven Lives: Entangled Love Affair of Taiwanese Mainlander《七世姻缘之台灣‭/‬中國情人》and The Splendid Adventure of A Gourmand: A Travelogue of A Gourmet Food Trip《愛吃鬼的華麗冒險‭ ‬旅行美食札記》.

2010: Invited by Emory University to give two lectures “Writing Sex and Politics in Taiwan” and “Women Go Forward”「女人向前行」. Also gave lectures “Writing Sex and Politics in Taiwan” at Duke University and University of Maryland in October and November. Attended International Conference on “The Short Story in English“ in Toronto and read one of her own works with Canadian writer Margaret Atwood on the stage at Toronto Public Library. A Writer in Residence in Lingnan University. Gave a tour speeches on “Writing Sex and Politics in Taiwan” to eight universities in the United States. An International conference on “Multidisciplinary Studies on Li Ang -The Fourth annual conference of Classic Figure” held at National Chung Cheng University.

2011: In spring one of the stories from Beigang Incense Burner: The Devil with a Chastity Belt Series, “Bloody Sacrifice with Color Make-up” was made into a theatrical production, performed by Tanztheater des Staatstheaters Darmstadt in Darmstadt, Germany, choregraphed by LIN Meihong. Published novel Possession《 附身 》by Chiu Ko Publishing House. Published Korean translation of Visible Ghosts in Korea, 《눈에 보이는 귀신》translated by Kim Tae Seong.

2012: The winner of the Thirty-fifth Wu San Lien Literary Awards. Published Spanish translation of The Butcher’s Wife in Spain, Matar al marido, translated by Bernardo Moreno Carrillo.‭ ‬Published Korean translation of Lost Garden in Korea, 《미로의 정원》 translated by Kim Yang Su.

2013: Lexington Books, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers published a collection of articles on Li Ang’s works, Li Ang’s Visionary Challenges to Gender, Sex, and Politics, edited by Yenna Wu. Published Czech translation of Lost Garden, Čarovná Zahrada, and The Butcher’s Wife, Řeznīkova žena, translated by Benešová and Petr Šimon. Published a collection of essays, A Gourmand’s Secret Footpath: Li Ang’s Guide of A Gourmet Food Trip, by You Lu Culture Publishing House.

2014: A writer in residence Jiayi City. Published novel Everyone Takes A Bite out of Roadside Sugarcanes by Chiu Ko Publishing House

2017: Publsihed novel Sleeping Pan by Route (You Lu) Culture Co. Ltd. Li Ang talks about her Sleeping Pan in two Youtube videos: (video from October 7, 2017) and from the Formosa News Network.