You Jin

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You Jin
Native name
尤今
BornTham Yew Chin
1950 (age 73–74)
Ipoh, British Malaya
OccupationWriter
LanguageChinese, English
Alma materNanyang University
Period1970-present
GenreNovel
Notable worksJinse Daishu
Release Your Happiness
Even The Heart Soars
Chinese name
Chinese尤今
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese譚幼今
Simplified Chinese谭幼今

Tham Yew Chin (Chinese: 谭幼今; born 1950), known by her pseudonym You Jin (尤今), is a Singaporean writer. She received the Cultural Medallion Award in 2009 for her contributions to Singapore's literary arts scene.

Early life and family[edit]

Tham was born 1950 in Ipoh, British Malaya. Her family relocated to Singapore when she was eight years old. Moving to Singapore, she suffered from a language barrier as she only spoke Cantonese. Her father was a construction worker, and her paternal grandfather was an immigrant from then-poverty-torn China.[1]

Career[edit]

Tham has published close to 160 literary works under the pseudonym of You Jin.[2] In 2009, she received the Cultural Medallion in literary arts for the first time.[3] Tham contributed an essay titled A Fish in Water for former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew's 2012 book, My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore's Bilingual Journey.[1]

In 2012, Tham's writing was translated into English for the first time. Her 2004 collection of short stories, 听, 青春在哭泣 : 短篇小说, was translated by Sylvia Li-chun Lin and published by Epigram Books as Teaching Cats to Jump Hoops as part of its Cultural Medallion series.[4] Her 2005 autobiography, A Life in Words (文字就是生命} was then translated by Shelly Bryant and published in 2016 by the same company, marking the fourth time she would win the award.[5]

In 2014, three of Tham's books, Jinse Daishu (金色袋鼠), Release Your Happiness (释放快乐) and Even The Heart Soars (心也飞翔), entered the Singapore Literature Prize shortlist for Chinese fiction and non-fiction.[6] Eventually, Even The Heart Soars (心也飞翔) won a merit award for Chinese non-fiction.[7]

Awards[edit]

  • 1982: National Book Development Council of Singapore Book Award
  • 1991: National Book Development Council of Singapore Book Award
  • 1991: Singapore Chinese Literary Award (from the Singapore Literature Society)
  • 1996: Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award
  • 2009: Cultural Medallion for Literature

Selected works[edit]

  • 词选赏析 (1973, 华文中学教师会)
  • 电神和雷魔 : 泰国民间故事 / The Tale of Lightning and Thunder (1980, 彩艺出版公司)
  • 大胡子的春与冬 (1989, 新亚出版社) ISBN 9971803984
  • 风筝在云里笑 (1989, 东升出版社, 热带出版社) ISBN 7536013183
  • 尘世浮雕 (1990, 成功出版社) ISBN 9813088192
  • 含笑的蜻蜓 (1991, 教育出版公司) ISBN 9971002469
  • 方格子里的世界 : 尤今的足迹 (1992, 四川文艺出版社) ISBN 7541109312
  • 灯影內的人生 : 尤今散文选粹 (1992, 四川文艺出版社) ISBN 9787541109164
  • 百年苦乐 (1993, 新亚出版社) ISBN 997180767X
  • 家在新加坡 : 尤今散文新作 (1993, 四川文艺出版社) ISBN 7541110620
  • 结局 (1993, 吉林人民出版社) ISBN 978-7-206-01902-9
  • 活在羊群里的人 (1994, 新亚出版社) ISBN 9971807904
  • 长屋生涯原是梦 (1995, 浙江文艺出版社) ISBN 7533908155
  • 瑰丽的旋涡 (1995, 教育出版公司) ISBN 9971005514
  • 回首叫云飞风起 (1995, 浙江文艺出版社) ISBN 7533908384
  • 跌碎的彩虹 (1996, 教育出版公司) ISBN 9971007460
  • 华义文圃. 第十期, 学海无涯 (1997, 华义中学中文学会) OCLC 426281524 ISSN 0129-0983
  • 荒谷 (1997, 新亚出版社) ISBN 9812252533
  • 大地的珠宝 (1998, 新亚出版社) ISBN 978-981-225-346-0
  • 黑色的稻米 (1999, 2000, SNP Editions) ISBN 9971010364
  • 吹笛子的人 (2001, 重庆出版社) ISBN 753665233X
  • 豆花不撒谎 (2005, 玲子传媒) ISBN 9814157562
  • 大地的耳朵 (2007, 玲子传媒) ISBN 9789814200585
  • 缤纷城事 (2008, 四川人民出版社) ISBN 9787220074981
  • 缤纷城事 : 随尤今的足迹, 听都市的声音 (2008, 玲子传媒) ISBN 9789814243063
  • 爱恨交缠的瘀痕 (2010, Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd) ISBN 9789810626525
  • 爱是一朵花 (2010, 江苏文艺出版社) ISBN 9787539936345
  • 寸寸土地皆故事 (2010, 新加坡青年书局) ISBN 9789810864132
  • 等待国旗的人 (2010, 新加坡青年书局) ISBN 9789810864125

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Lee, Kuan Yew (2012). My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore's Bilingual Journey. Straits Times Press. pp. 349–352. ISBN 9789814342032.
  2. ^ "Teaching Cats to Jump Hoops". Epigram Books. Retrieved August 10, 2013.
  3. ^ Editions Didier Millet (2011). Singapore at Random. Editions Didier Millet. pp. 141–. ISBN 978-981-4260-37-4.
  4. ^ "Teaching Cats to Jump Hoops". Epigram Books. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
  5. ^ Jin, You (2016). A Life in Words. Epigram Books. ISBN 978-981-4615-44-0.
  6. ^ "Singapore Literature Prize 2014 Shortlist". The Book Council. Retrieved 7 October 2014.
  7. ^ Martin, Mayo (4 November 2014). "S'pore Literature Prize 2014 winners announced". MediaCorp. TODAY. Retrieved 29 January 2015.
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