Fang Fang

Fang Fang , pen name of Wang Fang (; born 11 May 1955), is a Chinese writer, known for her literary depictions of the working poor. She won the Lu Xun Literary Prize in 2010. Born in Nanjing, she attended Wuhan University in 1978 to study Chinese. In 1975, she began to write poetry and in 1982, her first novel was published. She has since written several novels, some of which have been honored by Chinese national-level literary prizes. Fang garnered international attention for her Wuhan Diary, documenting the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in China, and has used her platform to call for an end to internet censorship in China.

Wuhan Diary

During the 2020 Hubei lockdowns, Fang Fang used Weibo share her Wuhan Diary , a daily account of life in the locked-down city of Wuhan. In addition to her own writing, Wuhan Diary utilized anonymous interviews with other people in the city. The account drew international public attention.

Fang Fang—a member of China Writers Association and the former chairwoman of the officially affiliated Hubei Writers' Association—was considered to be a "politically trustworthy figure".

Reception Some Chinese netizens responded with criticism or ridicule.

Fang Fang's domestic supporters were primarily middle-aged people who saw her as holding government figures accountable.

Within China, Fang Fang has faced criticism, being labelled as a liar and "traitor" by users on social media platforms such as Weibo due to her perceived criticism of the Chinese government. ' It portrayed her as having "handed over the knife" with which her "Western sponsors" could attack China.

In the west, Fang Fang was met with almost unanimously positive reaction. Fang Fang's publishing house, HarperCollins states that her work is a display of courage to expose social injustice, corruption and sociopolitical problems that hindered the response to the pandemic.

Translated works (English) Contains One Glittering Moment, Landscape, and Dead End.Love and its Lack are Emblazoned on the Heart Forever'', translated by Eleanor Goodman in