About the Author: Gu Hua

Gu Hua (June 20, 1942) (simplified Chinese: 古华; traditional Chinese: 古華; pinyin: Gǔ Huá), is a Chinese novelist born in the People's Republic of China. His birth name was Luo Hongyu (羅鴻玉). His writings concern rural life in the mountainous area of southern Hunan of which he was familiar. In 1988 he emigrated to Canada.

Hua is best known for his 1981 novel Furong zhen (A Small Town Called Hibiscus) which won the inaugural Mao Dun Literature Prize (1982), one of most prestigious literature prizes in China. It was the third top-selling novel to ever win that prize, selling over 850,000 copies. The novel was a rebuke of the Cultural Revolution. The novel was famously adapted to film in 1986 as Hibiscus Town, winning many awards including 'Best Film' of the 1987 Golden Rooster Awards, China's equivalent of the Academy Awards.

(from Wikipedia)