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Dai Sijie

ダイ・スージエ

Dài Sījié

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1954-03-02 （Putian, Fujian）
Nationality
China, France
Languages
Chinese, French
Residence History
China (birthplace) → France (Paris resident)

Career

Occupations
author, filmmaker, screenwriter, director
Active Years
1984-

Education

Sichuan University
Department of History
Period: 1978-1982
Year of Graduation: 1982
Country: China
Studied art history
Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC)
Film
Period: 1984
Year of Graduation: 1984
Country: France

Awards

Prix Femina
2003
Work: Le Complexe de Di
Organization: Société des Gens de Lettres
Result: winner
Prix Jean Vigo
1989
Work: China, My Sorrow
Result: winner

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress

2000 novel

Story of youths sent to re-education during Cultural Revolution who expose a seamstress to forbidden Western literature.

Cultural RevolutionPower of literatureRe-education
Adaptations
  • [film] Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress / Dai Sijie (2002)

Mr. Muo's Travelling Couch

2003 novel

Travels of a Chinese man influenced by French psychoanalysis.

PsychoanalysisOedipus complex

Once on a Moonless Night

2007 novel

The Aerial Acrobatics of Confucius

2008 novel

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Writes in FrenchLyrical style based on Cultural Revolution experiences
Recurring Motifs
Cultural RevolutionInfluence of Western literatureIntersection of China and France

Legacy

Known for novels based on Cultural Revolution experiences, Prix Femina winner. Chinese-French author and filmmaker.

Trivia

  • Volunteered for re-education camp during Cultural Revolution despite exemption as only child
  • Skilled tailor