Wang Wenxing was born in Fuzhou, Fujian in 1939 and grew up in Taiwan. He obtained his B.A. in Foreign Languages & Literature from the National Taiwan University

National Taiwan University

National Taiwan University is a national co-educational university located in Taipei, Republic of China . In Taiwan, it is colloquially known as "Táidà" . Its main campus is set upon 1,086,167 square meters in Taipei's Da'an District. In addition, the university has 6 other campuses in Taiwan,...

 and received an MFA

Master of Fine Arts

A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...

 from the University of Iowa

University of Iowa

The University of Iowa is a public state-supported research university located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. It is the oldest public university in the state. The university is organized into eleven colleges granting undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees...

. He is currently a Professor of Foreign Languages and Literature Department at The National Taiwan University.

His first novel, Family Catastrophe

Family Catastrophe

Family Catastrophe is a novel by the Taiwan author Wang Wenxing published in 1972. It deals with a son's relationship with his father, explored through a series of flashbacks in the context of the now-aged father's disappearance....

was published in 1972, a story about a runaway father and a son who takes over the household in his stead. He has also published a novel entitled Bei Hai De Ren (Backed Against the Sea) as well as several collections of short stories.