On October 21, renowned writer Nie Hualing passed away peacefully at her home in Iowa, USA, at the age of 99. Her daughter, Wang Xiaolan, confirmed that her mother “left this world calmly, without much suffering,” according to reports from Taiwanese media outlets such as Central News Agency and United Daily News.
Born in Wuhan, Hubei in 1925, Nie Hualing moved to Taiwan in 1949 to pursue her literary career. She taught at National Taiwan University and lectured at Donghai University before settling in the United States in the 1960s, where she took a position at the University of Iowa.
In 1967, Nie Hualing co-founded the International Writing Program with American poet Paul Engel, bringing together writers from around the globe. To date, over 100 countries and regions have participated, including notable Chinese authors such as Mo Yan and Wang Anyi, along with Taiwanese poets and writers like Ya Xian and Chen Yingzhen.
Nie Hualing authored several acclaimed works, including “Lost Golden Bell,” “Mulberry Green and Peach Red,” and “Beyond a Thousand Mountains, Water Flows Long.” Some of her writings have been translated into languages such as English, Italian, and Portuguese; in 1990, the English version of “Mulberry Green and Peach Red” won the American Book Award.
In the preface of her book “Three Lifetimes,” she reflected, “My mother tongue is my root, the one thing I can hold onto.”
On the evening of October 21, Taiwan’s Wenxun magazine paid tribute to her on social media, describing her as “the eternal mother of the literary world.” The article included a quote from Nie Hualing stating, “I am a tree: my roots are in the mainland, my trunk in Taiwan, and my branches and leaves in Iowa.”
The piece also highlighted Nie Hualing’s immense contributions to international cultural exchange, noting that she received a Nobel Peace Prize nomination for linking writers worldwide and promoting global interactions, earning her the accolades of “the forever mother of the literary world” and “the mother of global literature.”
