Yu Hua (simplified Chinese: 余华; traditional Chinese: 余華; pinyin: Yú Huá; born April 3, 1960) is a Chinese author, widely considered the foremost writer of avant-garde fiction and one of the greatest living authors in China.Shortly after his debut as a fiction writer in 1983, his first breakthrough came in 1987, when he released the short story "On the Road at Age Eighteen". Yu Hua was regarded as a promising avant-garde or post-New Wave writer. Many critics also regard him as a champion for Chinese meta-fictional or postmodernist writing. His novels To Live (1993) and Chronicle of a Blood Merchant (1995) were widely acclaimed. While other works like Brothers (2005–06) received mixed reviews domestically, but positive reviews abroad.Yu Hua has written five novels, six collections of stories, and three collections of essays. His works have sold around a total of nine million copies and have been translated into 21 languages. Source: Wikipedia (en)