Yan Zhen is a Chinese artist and poet living and working in Beijing.
Born in 1930, Yan left home to join the Chinese liberation movement at the age of fourteen. In 1955, at twenty-four, he published his first volume of poetry, Girl Along the Huaihe River. He soon became a prominent figure in Chinese literature. He is the author of over forty books of poetry, fiction, and prose. He has served as an editor of Poetry Magazine, Qing Ming Journal, and Jiaodong Daily. He is a member of the China Writer’s Association.
In the nineteen-seventies, Yan took on painting as his primary medium. His work has been auctioned at Sotheby’s and shown in New York and Beijing, including a solo exhibition at the National Art Museum of China, where his work has been collected.
In 1985, Yan was a part of the first delegation of Chinese writers chosen after the Cultural Revolution to represent Chinese literature abroad and deliver speeches at institutions including Harvard and Stanford.
In July, 2015, Yan received the Anhui Province Cultural Council’s lifetime achievement award in literature and arts.
Yan and his wife at home in Beijing 2008.