Zhang Wei was born in 1956 in China’s northern province of Shandong. He graduated from the Chinese Department at Yantai Normal College in 1980. Three years later, he became a member of the Chinese Writers Association, an organization for which he has served as the Vice-Chairman of the Shandong branch. His first novel, The Ancient Ship, was a bestseller and award-winner in China. One of the most widely respected fiction writers of the post-Mao era, Zhang Wei lives in Beijing.