Cyber dweller to bestseller

By Vera Penêda Source:Global Times Published: 2012-4-19 22:30:03

Author Li Jie, aka Anni Baobei. Photo: Courtesy of Li Jie

Anni Baobei, or Annie Baby, might have used the Internet as her springboard to success as a contemporary writer, however she's now turning her back on the online world. The 37-year-old author, whose real name is Li Jie, has come a long way since her days as a bank employee in Shanghai. She began posting short stories online in 1996 when she was 24 under the pen name Anni Baobei, but never imagined her cyberspace stardom would turn her into a best-selling author and the fifth richest Chinese writer.

Nicknamed "Flower in the Dark" by her readers due to her novels' morose themes of loneliness and isolation, Li's novels today rank among the most widely read in China. The author helped spearhead the cult of cyber writing in the country that has aroused new interest in reading despite defying literary conventions. More than a decade after she first start hammering out her novels at the keyboard, Li has finally agreed to have her early stories translated into English.

Out of the darkness

This week, she appeared as one of 21 authors invited to discuss Chinese contemporary literature at the 2012 London Book Fair. The Ningbo native just wants to travel the world and write. She might not admit it, but she's proof that China's new age of best-selling authors cut their teeth online.

Reserved and serene, Li is reluctant to talk to the media or even have her photograph taken. She is as enigmatic as her early cyber tales that featured urban characters aspiring to adapt to rapid change and strike a balance between modernity and tradition.

Her characters were tangled in a web of emotions, wrangling with desire, sex and death. "Back then, cyber writing seemed like a good way of expressing my emotions and thoughts. I wrote short fiction stories that drew on some aspects of reality. I never thought I'd become a writer," she told the Global Times.

Li's stint in Shanghai saw her work for a bank, advertising agency, Internet corporation and a publishing house. While her work during the day was mundane, at night she would trawl blogs, forums and chat rooms. Her stories first appeared online at the website rongshu xia, literally "under the banyan tree."

"Chat rooms were the best place to get close to strangers," she wrote in Goodbye, An, one of her short stories. "I was 24 and liked chatting with people online who had similar interests. It was a new experience."

One of those "new experiences" also involved a foray in online intimacy. "Yes, I fell in love online once," she candidly admitted. "All books reflect the character of their writers to a certain extent, but I'm not one of my characters. I no longer chat nor write online," she hastened to add.

Middle-class aspirations

The Internet offered Li a platform to reach a wide audience and become a published author, but now she wants to break free of the young cyber writer tag. Her latest book published in English entailing five short stories, The Road of Others, is a step toward her new direction. 

Her characters drink cappuccinos, listen to jazz and attend English classes. Li became a symbol of a generation for portraying the "petty bourgeois," or xiaozi. Fans celebrated her romantic individualism and speculated about the woman behind the words. One reader blogged about falling asleep, emotionally exhausted, with her head resting on one of Li's books. The author became the voice of China's emerging middle-class engaged in consumption and detached from life in big industrialized cities.

Her publishing debut came in 2001 with short story Goodbye, An selling over half a million copies. After a moment of brief exposure, Li retreated from the spotlight and shunned public appearances. "The Internet was an experimental playground for me and never influenced my stories," stressed Li, who relocated to Beijing in 2003. "I don't think the Internet changed the face of Chinese literature. Many people of different ages are online and can share their stories. I'm not following what's happening and don't pay attention to it."

Li's latest book of short stories translated into English The Road of Others.
Li's latest book of short stories translated into English The Road of Others.

Reaching literary maturity

A prolific writer who also pens columns in Chinese magazines Harvest, Writers and Elle, Li also ranks among the best paid in the country. Last year, her income from royalties was listed at 9.4 million yuan ($1.48 million). Over the past decade, Li's stories - many which have been published in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam Germany and the UK - have evolved to embrace spiritual freedom.

Her style has matured to become brighter, exploring more complex themes. Her characters moved from being tormented by angst in big cities to finding harmony with nature. Drawing inspiration from ancient Chinese and Japanese literature, she stills favors individual subjectivity as well as the female experience and perspective.

"My writing has evolved to become more in depth, philosophical and exploratory of human nature," Li said, pinpointing her 2006 novel Lotus and last year's follow-up Spring Banquet as examples. Lotus is a love story that blossoms during a journey in Tibet, while Spring Banquet explores the struggle of preserving traditional Chinese culture under the blitz of foreign influences.

Li, who has a four-year-old daughter, put her experience in advertising to good use to launch a Chinese-language literary magazine featuring stories and photo essays titled O-Pen.

"I teamed up with four writers, including literary translator Hu Lang, to prepare a purely literary magazine with interviews and content translated from foreign languages," she explained. O-pen primarily targets student readers, from high school to university, as well as graduates.

Li's writings might not be everyone's cup of tea, but her legion of loyal fans is proof of her literary success. Nearly all of her books have become best-sellers, with several selling more than 1 million copies. The awaited release of the English version of The Road of Others coincides with her participation at the 2012 London Book Fair.

"Foreign audiences are still unaware of the myriad of young Chinese voices that are not publicized," lamented the writer. In the meantime, she's keeping busy working on her next book, a photographic diary, and planning a trip to South America.

Toyomi Kuramoto and Zhang Bowen contributed to this story



Posted in: Society, Metro Beijing

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