Pierre Ryckmans (writer, sinologist) (born 28 September 1935, in Brussels, Belgium), who also uses the pen-name Simon Leys, is a writer, sinologist, essayist and literary critic. September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1935 (MCMXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Nickname: The Capital Of Europe, Comic City City of a 100 Museums Map showing the location of Brussels in Belgium Coordinates: Country Belgium Region Brussels-Capital Region Founded 797 Founded (Region) June 18, 1989 Mayor (Municipality) Freddy Thielemans Area    - City 162 (Region) km²  (62. ... A pen name or nom de plume is a pseudonym adopted by an author. ... The term writer can apply to anyone who creates a written work, but the word more usually designates those who write creatively or professionally, or those who have written in many different forms. ... Sinology is the study of China, which usually requires a foreign scholar to have command of the Chinese language. ... An essayist is an author who writes compositions which can be about any particular subject. ... Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. ...

He studied law in Louvain, Chinese language, literature and art in Taiwan. He went to Hong Kong, before settling down in Australia in 1970. He taught Chinese literature in Canberra, and later was Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of Sydney, from 1987 to 1993. Leuven in 2004 Leuven (Louvain in French, Löwen in German) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant, of which it is the capital. ... 1970 (MCMLXX) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1970 calendar). ... For other uses, see Canberra (disambiguation). ... The University of Sydney, established in Sydney in 1850, is the oldest university in Australia. ... 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

Pierre Ryckmans wrote that he was requested to use a pseudonym before the publication of Les habits neufs du président Mao in 1971. He chose "Leys" after the main character of Victor Segalen's novel René Leys (published in 1922). ^[1] 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Victor Segalen (January 14, 1878 - May 21, 1919) was a French naval doctor, ethnographer, archeologist, writer and poet. ...

In 2004 he was awarded the Prix mondial Cino Del Duca. The Prix mondial Cino Del Duca (Cino Del Duca World Prize) is a major international literary award established in 1969 in France by Simone Del Duca (1912-2004) to continue the work of her late husband, publishing magnate Cino Del Duca (1899-1967). ...

Works

Ryckmans wrote a series of famous books about Chinese Cultural Revolution. He is also a translator of Chinese literature, such as the Analects of Confucius, and The Treatise on Painting by Shi Tao. Pierre Ryckmans writes in French and English. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: Wúchǎn Jiējí Wénhuà Dà Gémìng; literally Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wénhuà dà gémìng, literally Great Cultural Revolution, or even simpler, to 文革 wéngé, Cultural Revolution) in the People... Engraving of Confucius. ... Shi Tao (born 25 July 1968) is a Chinese journalist who was imprisoned for releasing the text of internal Communist Party documents on the Internet. ...

Bibliography

• Shitao's Les propos sur la peinture du moine Citrouille-amère (translation and comments, 1970)
• La vie et l'oeuvre de Su Renshan, rebelle, peintre et fou (1971).
• Les habits neufs du président Mao (The Chairman's new clothes: Mao and the cultural revolution, 1971)
• Ombres chinoises (Chinese Shadows, 1976)
• Images brisées (1976)
• Human rights in China (1979)
• Broken Images (1981)
• Orwell, ou l'horreur de la politique (1984)
• La forêt en feu: Essais sur la culture et la politique chinoises (The burning forest: Essays on Chinese culture and politics) (1987)
• La Mort de Napoléon (The Death of Napoleon, 1986)
• L'humeur, l'honneur, l'horreur: Essais sur la culture et la politique chinoises (1991)
• Analects of Confucius (translation, 1997)
• Essais sur la Chine (Laffont, 1998, coll. "Bouquins")
• L'Ange et le Cachalot (1998)
• The Angel and the Octopus (collected essays 1983-1998, published February 1999) ISBN 1-875989-44-7
• Protée et autres essais (2001, was awarded the 2001 Prix Renaudot de l'Essai)
• Deux années sur le gaillard d'avant (2002)
• Les Naufragés du Batavia (The Wreck of the Batavia: A True Story, 2003, was awarded the Prix Guizot)
• La mer dans la littérature française (Plon, 2003)
• Lu Xun's La mauvaise herbe (French translation)

Life Wilderness Colors (Bird Watching) by Shitao Yuanji Shitao (1642-1707), a Chinese artist, was born Zhu Ruoji. ... Engraving of Confucius. ... The prix Renaudot (also called prix Théophraste Renaudot) is is a literary award which was created in 1926 by ten art critics awaiting the results of the deliberation of the jury of the prix Goncourt. ... For other meanings of Batavia see Batavia The Batavia was a ship of the Dutch East India Company (VOC), built in 1628 in Amsterdam, which was struck by mutiny and shipwreck during her maiden voyage. ... Plön (Ploen according to the standard conversion of umlauts) is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. ... Lu Xun Lu Xun (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , pinyin: LÇ” Xùn) or Lu Hsün (Wade-Giles) (September 25, 1881 – October 19, 1936), the pen name of Zhou Shuren (Traditional Chinese: , Simplified Chinese: , pinyin: Zhōu Shùrén), has been considered one of the most influential Chinese writers...

Movies

The 2001 movie The Emperor's New Clothes, directed by Alan Taylor, was based on Leys' novel The Death of Napoleon. Close-up of three stamps showing scenes from the story The emperor in procession by Edmund Dulac The Emperors New Clothes is a Danish fairy tale written by Hans Christian Andersen and first published in 1837, as part of Eventyr, Fortalte for Born (Fairy Tales, Told for Children). ... Alan Taylor, historian and author of books about early American history, including Colonial America, the American Revolution, and the Early American Republic. ...

Notes

1. ↑  Simon Leys: "Victor Segalen, les tribulations d'un poète en Chine", in Figaro Littéraire February 3, 2005

Le Figaro is one of the leading French morning daily newspapers. ...

External links

• Simon Leys: The burning forest: "Human Rights in China"
• IMDB entry for The Emperor's New Clothes