Life's a journey

What they say about Zhang Wei

"I was awed by Zhang's 10-volume magnum opus, brimming with both joy and jealousy. Zhang has constantly been surprising China's literary scene with his works, whether it is The Ancient Ship in the 1980s, September's Fable in the 1990s or Song of the Hedgehog in the new century."

- Tie Ning, writer and chairwoman of the Chinese Writers' Association

"Zhang has always been exploring the strength and stance of the intellectuals in the sea changes of contemporary China. An intellectual himself, Zhang finds his literary power in grassroots civilian society the fields, the gardens and the seaside."

- Chen Sihe, literary critic and professor of Chinese literature at Fudan University

"If there is a highland of Chinese literature, You Are on the Highland is one. If there is a backbone of Chinese literature, Zhang Wei is one."

- Chen Xiaoming, literary critic and professor of Chinese literature at Peking University

"In a letter to Zhang 26 years ago, I called one of his characters 'Hamlet in the vineyard'. Zhang is Hamlet himself, holding onto his literary vine and fighting against the erosion of money and the market. Zhang is a writer with inner contradictions and conflicts, which turn out to be the wellspring of his vigor and enchantment."

- Lei Da, literary critic

"Zhang's writing represents a faith, a pilgrimage He names and trudges across his literary mountains and rivers, as his protagonists do in his writing. The biblical purity and piety in his writing are consoling."

- Liang Hongying, literary critic