About the Author

Shen Shanzeng (b. 1950) is a professional writer and director, and serves as Deputy Director of the Fiction Committee at the Shanghai Writers Association. In addition to the novel Normal People, his publications include the literary notes, Shanghai Natives, and When the Muse Extends Her Goldfinger, a novel embedding economic theories. Since the late 1990s, he has turned his attention to Chinese classics, producing a series of his own interpretations including Give Me Back Zhuangzi and Give Me Back Laozi.