Award-winning Chinese novelist Ha Jin (Ph.D., 1993) returned to Brandeis last Tuesday to lecture on his newest book, War Trash, which chronicles the life of a fictional Chinese soldier in the Korean War.Jin, who studied English here, teaches fiction writing at Boston University. About 50 people attended his lecture in the Shapiro Campus Center atrium, part of the Office of Communications' recurring "Meet the Author series," which brings prominent, Brandeis-affiliated authors to a community lectern. The last speaker was Heller School Prof. Robert Reich.

Jin's novel, set between 1951 and 1953, takes the form of a memoir, chronicling the travails of Yu Yaun, a young Chinese soldier, part of Mao Zedong's supposed "volunteer corps." Yaun is captured by Americans and forced to use his knowledge of English to survive on the psychological battlefield of a prisoner-of-war camp.

During his presentation, Jin read a passage from the beginning of the narrator's account of his time in hostile territory waiting for reinforcements.

Jin said his hero, who is 24 in the novel, isn't communist but a socialist. He said he purposely created a character that was not a communist, so the character would be more objective. For this same reason, Jin also crafted a character who spoke English, knew Americans and read English newspapers. The author said this allowed him to "break out of his 50 yards."

Jin recalled his own army days where he served on the border between China and the former Soviet Union. He said it was fear that drove him to write this book. He said the soldiers were more frightened of captivity than death because they had heard about inhumane torture.

Jin said he felt inspired to write this book as a result of culture shock. He said that he was surprised to find that American POWs were welcomed as heroes. In China, POWs are treated as semi-criminals in society.

Professor Emeritus Eugene Goodheart, Jin's first writing professor at Brandeis, introduced him. "[Jin] was a silent presence in the class, always observing with a writer's eye," Goodheart said of his former student.

Jin was born in northeastern China in 1956. He was only 13 when he lied about his age and joined the army. He studied English in Heilongjiang University and later moved to the United States in 1985 to do graduate work. Though he has remained stateside, China has inspired much of his writing.

After his novel, Waiting, won the National Book Award in 1999, Jin's publisher, Zoland Books, pushed him to finish another piece quickly. He said he was desperate because he had only a half-written work, when his wife suggested that he write a short but complete book, resulting in War Trash.

Jin said that War Trash was different than most of his books, because he knew the material first-hand and did not have to do "useless research." Once he finished writing, he filled in the gaps by finding photographs and reading memoirs.

Wayne Mak '06, who is a student in a fiction writing class, said that Jin's writing is very authentic because it is so rich in details. "What [Jin] taught was that you have to put the whole world in your writing. You set it up so that you give the widest expanse possible."

The next "Meet the Author" events, both on Dec. 1, feature Ross Barnett and Ben Bradlee, who was executive editor of The Washington Post during the Watergate scandal.