Jia Pingwa is the author of the novels The Shaanxi Opera, winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, Happy Dreams, Turbulence, Ruined City, White Nights, The Earthen Gate, The Lantern Bearer, The Mountain Whisperer, and Broken Wings. He is also the author of several short fiction and essay collections. Born in Dihua Village, Danfeng County, Shaanxi Province, Jia graduated from Xi'an's Northwest University in 1975. He is a member of the China Writers Association Presidium, deputy chair of the Writers Association Shaanxi branch, and chair of Xi'an Federation of Literary and Art Circles.