Philip Pan
Encyclopedia
Philip Pan is an American journalist and author. He won the Arthur Ross Book Award
Gold Medal in 2009 for his bestselling book about political change in modern China, Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China, which was also named a Best Book of 2008 by the Washington Post and the Economist magazine. The New York Times literary critic Michiko Kakutani
wrote that the book possessed "both the immediacy of first-rate reportage and the emotional depth of field of a novel."
Pan was formerly a reporter for the Washington Post and headed its Beijing and Moscow bureaus. He also received the 2002 Livingston Award
for International Reporting for his articles about labor conditions in China, and an Overseas Press Club award for stories about Chinese-style authoritarianism. He started his career working at the Post's Metro Desk "covering crime, education and immigration policy" after graduating from Harvard University with a bachelor's in government in 1995. He was managing editor for The Harvard Crimson
and "freelanced for the Boston Globe, and interned with the Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and the Jersey Journal." He joined the Post's Beijing
bureau in 2000.
His book profiles a dozen individuals caught in the struggle over China's political future, including a filmmaker trying to uncover the truth about the execution of a young woman named Lin Zhao
during the Cultural Revolution
, an elderly surgeon named Jiang Yanyong
who blew the whistle on China's cover-up of the epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome
, and a blind rural activist named Chen Guangcheng
who was jailed after trying to stop a campaign of forced abortion and sterilization in his village. Other topics covered by his book include China's shourong detention system, investigative journalism in China, and the publication of, and reception of An Investigation of China's Peasantry, which was later released as Will the Boat Sink the Water
in English translation.
He now lives in Hong Kong with his wife and son.
Arthur Ross Book Award
The Arthur Ross Book Award was endowed in 2001 by Arthur Ross for the purpose of recognizing books that make an outstanding contribution to the understanding of foreign policy or international relations. The prize is for nonfiction works from the past two years, in English or translation, and is...
Gold Medal in 2009 for his bestselling book about political change in modern China, Out of Mao's Shadow: The Struggle for the Soul of a New China, which was also named a Best Book of 2008 by the Washington Post and the Economist magazine. The New York Times literary critic Michiko Kakutani
Michiko Kakutani
is an American Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times and is considered by many to be a leading literary critic in the United States.-Life and career:...
wrote that the book possessed "both the immediacy of first-rate reportage and the emotional depth of field of a novel."
Pan was formerly a reporter for the Washington Post and headed its Beijing and Moscow bureaus. He also received the 2002 Livingston Award
Livingston Award
The Livingston Awards are American journalism awards issued to media professionals under the age of 35 for local, national, and international reporting...
for International Reporting for his articles about labor conditions in China, and an Overseas Press Club award for stories about Chinese-style authoritarianism. He started his career working at the Post's Metro Desk "covering crime, education and immigration policy" after graduating from Harvard University with a bachelor's in government in 1995. He was managing editor for The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson
The Harvard Crimson, the daily student newspaper of Harvard University, was founded in 1873. It is the only daily newspaper in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduates...
and "freelanced for the Boston Globe, and interned with the Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Journal Constitution, and the Jersey Journal." He joined the Post's Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
bureau in 2000.
His book profiles a dozen individuals caught in the struggle over China's political future, including a filmmaker trying to uncover the truth about the execution of a young woman named Lin Zhao
Lin Zhao
Lin Zhao born as Peng Lingzhao in Suzhou, December 16, 1932 died on April 29, 1968, was an outspoken dissident during the Hundred Flowers Movement of 1957...
during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, an elderly surgeon named Jiang Yanyong
Jiang Yanyong
Jiang Yanyong is a Chinese physician from Beijing who publicized a coverup of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome epidemic in China. Jiang was the chief physician of the 301 Military Hospital in Beijing a senior member of the Communist Party of China.-Introduction:In 1989, Dr. Jiang was the...
who blew the whistle on China's cover-up of the epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome
Severe acute respiratory syndrome
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome is a respiratory disease in humans which is caused by the SARS coronavirus . Between November 2002 and July 2003 an outbreak of SARS in Hong Kong nearly became a pandemic, with 8,422 cases and 916 deaths worldwide according to the WHO...
, and a blind rural activist named Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangcheng
Chen Guangcheng is a blind civil rights activist in the People's Republic of China who drew international attention to human rights issues in rural areas. He was placed under house arrest from September 2005 to March 2006 after talking to Time magazine about the forced abortion cases he...
who was jailed after trying to stop a campaign of forced abortion and sterilization in his village. Other topics covered by his book include China's shourong detention system, investigative journalism in China, and the publication of, and reception of An Investigation of China's Peasantry, which was later released as Will the Boat Sink the Water
Will the Boat Sink the Water
Will the Boat Sink the Water, subtitled The Life of China's Peasants and originally published as Zhongguo nongmin diaocha: An Investigation of Chinese Peasants, Will the Boat Sink the Water, subtitled The Life of China's Peasants and originally published as Zhongguo nongmin diaocha: An...
in English translation.
He now lives in Hong Kong with his wife and son.