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Belle Yang

b. 1960

American artist, author, graphic novelist and children's book writer

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About Belle Yang

Born 1960. Belle Yang is an American writer, illustrator, comics artist and novelist.

Belle Yang (born 1960) is a Taiwanese-American artist, author, graphic novelist and children's book writer.

Biography Yang was born in Taiwan in 1960, and moved to the San Francisco Bay area with her parents when she was seven years old. She graduated from the University of California, Santa Cruz, with a degree in biology, then enrolled in art school. When an ex-boyfriend began harassing Yang, her parents sent her to live with friends of the family in Beijing. She spent three years in China, traveling the country and studying history and classical Chinese art. She was in Beijing during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, and returned to the US later that year. Maxine Hong Kingston compared Yang's art and writing to that of Isaac Bashevis Singer and Marc Chagall.

In 1996, Yang wrote a second book about her father's exodus from China, Odyssey of a Manchurian. She completed the trilogy, in 2010, with publication by W.W. Norton and Company of the graphic novel Forget Sorrow, An Ancestral Tale.

Yang has also written children's books including Chili-Chili-Chin-Chin, Foo the Flying Frog of Washtub Pond, Always Come Home to Me and My Name Is Hannah, a retelling of her family waiting for its green card after entering the United States.

Yang has had numerous museum exhibitions, including a national tour in its third year, Crossing Cultures: Belle Yang, A Story of Immigration. She is the subject of a film documentary by Mac and Ava Motion Pictures that has been telecast on public television, My Name Is Belle.

Selected works

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Important facts

Born
1960
Birth century
Nationality
Education
University of California, Santa Cruz

People in Belle Yang's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Belle Yang's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Belle Yang?

American artist, author, graphic novelist and children's book writer

When was Belle Yang born?

Belle Yang was born in 1960.

What is Belle Yang's occupation?

Belle Yang is a writer, illustrator, comics artist and novelist.

What nationality is Belle Yang?

Belle Yang is American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Belle Yang

· Wikidata: Q24263606

· DBpedia: Belle Yang

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Belle Yang. https://biography.guide/belle-yang/

MLA: "Belle Yang." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/belle-yang/.

Chicago: "Belle Yang." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/belle-yang/.

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