Newman Journal

Xi Xi (1937–2022) was one of the most successful and best-known Hong Kong writers, her works read and appreciated by a wide readership, both in Hong Kong and internationally. Xi Xi created a body of work that spoke to life in the city in the days before and after the Handover in 1997. Although originally from the mainland, Xi Xi considered herself a Hong Konger, an identity reflected in much of her work. Her decades-long career yielded numerous wide-ranging works that testified to her preferred themes, her style of writing, her personal and sentimental attachments, and her persistence in being always creative. She was a versatile writer who constantly sought new ways to build worlds and tell stories. She once said_ “To write a novel is to write new content or to write using a new method. If neither is there, I’d rather not write.” In 2019, Xi Xi was awarded the 6th Newman Prize for Chinese Literature by the Institute for US-China Issues at the University of Oklahoma. Xi Xi passed away on December 18, 2022, of heart failure. A statement from Plain Leaves Workshop, which she co-founded, read: “Xi Xi’s life was wonderful, happy, beneficial, meaningful.” Xi Xi’s trip to Oklahoma in 2019 to receive the Newman Prize is fondly recounted, in great detail, in her essay “Newman Journal,” included here in celebration of her memory.