Bing Xin (冰心, literally "Ice Heart"), born Xie Wanying (谢婉莹; October 5, 1900 – February 28, 1999), was one of the most prolific Chinese women writers of the 20th century. She was a poet, novelist, essayist, translator, and a pioneer of modern Chinese children's literature.
Pen Name
Her pen name "Bing Xin" (冰心) means "Ice Heart," signifying a morally pure heart. It is derived from a line in the Tang dynasty poem Furong Lou Song Xin Jian (芙蓉楼送辛渐) by Wang Changling (王昌龄): "一片冰心在玉壶" ("my heart is pure as ice in a jade cup").
Life
Bing Xin was born in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, during the Qing Empire. She moved with her family to Shanghai at seven months old and then to Yantai, Shandong, at age four. The vast seascapes of Yantai deeply influenced her philosophy of love and beauty. She began reading Chinese classics such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin at age seven.
She entered Fuzhou Women's Normal School in 1911 and moved to Beijing in 1913. Initially studying science at North China Union Women's University with the aim of becoming a doctor, she was influenced by the May Fourth Movement (1919) and the New Culture Movement, and transferred to the Department of Literature. She was baptized a Christian in 1921 while at Yanjing University.
Bing Xin graduated from Yanjing University in 1923 with a bachelor's degree and went to the United States to study at Wellesley College, earning a master's degree in literature in 1926. She returned to China and taught at Yanjing University until 1936. In 1929, she married Wu Wenzao, an anthropologist.
During the Second Sino-Japanese War, she wrote under the pen name "Nan Shi" (Mr. Man) in Chongqing. After the war, she taught Chinese New Literature at the University of Tokyo from 1949 to 1951, becoming the first foreign female lecturer there. During the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), she and her family were denounced and she was sent to a May Seventh Cadre School in Xianning, Hubei.
After the Cultural Revolution, she experienced a second creative peak. In 1980, she suffered cerebral thrombosis but continued writing. She died on February 28, 1999, in Beijing at the age of 98.
Literary Career
Bing Xin published her first prose, The Impressions of the 21st Hearing, and her first novel, Two Families (两个家庭), in August 1919 in the Morning Post (晨报). Before and after studying abroad in 1923, she began publishing the prose letter series To Young Readers (寄小读者), which became a foundational work of Chinese children's literature.
Her poetry collections Fanxing (繁星, A Myriad of Stars, 1923) and Chunshui (春水, Spring Water, 1923) were directly inspired by Rabindranath Tagore's Stray Birds. She founded what became known as the "Bing Xin Style" in Chinese literature.
Translations
Bing Xin was a renowned translator, most notably of works by Rabindranath Tagore (including Gitanjali and The Gardener) and Kahlil Gibran (The Prophet, Sand and Foam). In 1995, she was awarded the National Order of the Cedar by the President of Lebanon for her translation work.
Legacy
- The Bing Xin Children's Literature Award (冰心儿童文学新作奖) is named in her honor.
- The Bing Xin Literature Museum is located in Changle, Fujian Province.
- She served as chairperson of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
- In 1998, she received the Lu Xun Literary Prize.
Selected Works
- Two Families (两个家庭, 1919) – novel
- A Myriad of Stars (繁星, 1923) – poetry
- Spring Water (春水, 1923) – poetry
- To Young Readers (寄小读者, 1926) – prose letters
- About Women (关于女人, 1943) – prose
- The Little Orange Lamp (小橘灯, 1957) – children's story
- Empty Nest (空巢, 1980) – short story, winner of the National Excellent Short Story Award
