Liu Zaifu, a writer, critic, and scholar, was born in Nanan county of Fujian province in 1941. He graduated from the Chinese Department of Xiamen University in 1963. Liu has worked as a research fellow and the director of Literary Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Science and the Editor-in-chief of Literary Review. One of the most outspoken ¡°conscientious intellectuals¡± in China, Liu participated in activities in support of the Tienenmun Uprising in 1989.  After he was exiled and relocated to the U.S. in 1989, he served as the visiting scholar and research fellow respectively at University of Chicago, University of Stockholm , University of Colorado at Boulder, City University of Hong Kong, Donghai University, and Zhongyang University. Currently he is the Honorary Professor at City University of Hong Kong and the Visiting Fellow at the University of Colorado at Boulder. He has published numerous academic and literary books, including The Theory of Aesthetic Thoughts on Lu Xun, On the Composite of Human Character, Tradition and Chinese, Theory of Chinese Literature, The Collection of Liu Zaifu's Prose Poetry, On Twenty-Five Human Kinds, Farewell to the Gods, Farewell to Revolution, Sin and Literature, Theory of Famous Modern Chinese Literary Figures, Theory of Gao Xingjian, Comprehending Dreams of the Red Chamber, and Notes of A Floating Life.  He is the recipient of the 1989 Gold Key Award.