Guo Jingming Chinese writer. Date of Birth: 06.06.1983 Country: China

Biography of Go Jinmin

Go Jinmin, also known as "Fourth Dimension" or "Four", is a Chinese writer and one of the representatives of the so-called "post-eighties" generation in Chinese literature. He was born on June 6, 1983, in Ziyang City, Sichuan Province, to Zhou Huelan and Go Jiangwei. Go Jinmin attended Xianyang Elementary School in the Guncun District of Ziyang City and the Ninth Middle School of Ziyang City.

In 2002, he enrolled in the School of Film and Television Arts and Technology at Shanghai University. In 2001 and 2002, Go Jinmin participated in the fourth and fifth "New Thinking" essay competitions, winning first prize both times and gaining recognition among young readers in China. He then wrote several works for the magazine "Sprouts", which were well-received by readers. In October 2002, Go Jinmin began serializing his novel "City of Dreams" in the same magazine. The novel gained wide resonance and Go Jinmin became widely known.

In 2003, the publishing house "Spring Wind of Literature and Art" released "City of Dreams" as a separate book, achieving great success in the market. The novel was subsequently reissued in various interpretations, including comics, and an edition in traditional Chinese characters was released in Taiwan in the same year. At the same time, many consider the novel to have many parallels in terms of plot and other aspects with the RG Veda collection by the Japanese manga group CLAMP.

In 2003, Go Jinmin published collections of stories titled "Reflection in the Left Hand, Years in the Right" and "The Boundary between Love and Pain". These books also gained recognition and support from part of the audience. Some of Go Jinmin's works were also reissued as comics. At the end of 2003, his second novel "Do You Know How Many Petals Fell in the Dream..." was published with a circulation of 300,000 copies. Portraying the lives of Beijing students, the novel reflected the views of some young people on life and love. The book immediately caused a stir among Chinese youth. However, after the book was published, Beijing writer Zhuang Yui claimed that it violated the copyright of her own work and filed a lawsuit in the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court. The hearings lasted three years, and as a result, Go Jinmin was found guilty of copyright infringement by Zhuang Yui.

In 2004, Go Jinmin and his friends established the "Island" studio in Shanghai and started publishing a series of illustrated stories under the same name. Go Jinmin became the chief editor of the series but also continued to write as one of the authors. In 2005, his third novel "Sunturn 1995-2005" was published, which included part of the content of the "Island" series. In the same year, the publishing house "Rainy Morning" in Taiwan released an edition of "Do You Know How Many Petals Fell in the Dream..." in traditional Chinese characters. In March 2005, the Chinese edition of Forbes magazine ranked Go Jinmin 92nd on the "List of Famous People of 2005 according to Forbes". In July 2005, his "musical novel" "Squints" was released.

On July 24, 2005, Go Jinmin was selected as the author of the novel "The Oath" based on the film of the same name by Chen Kaige. After the publication of his novel "Do You Know How Many Petals Fell in the Dream..." in 2003, writer Zhuang Yui claimed that this book, in its plot, language, and character relationships, largely repeated her internet novel "Around and Within the Circle". In 2004, she filed a lawsuit against Go Jinmin in the Beijing Second Intermediate People's Court. In December 2004, after the first hearing of the case, the court found Go Jinmin guilty of copyright infringement and ordered the writer and the publishing house to cease publication of the novel, pay Zhuang Yui compensation of 200,000 yuan, and issue an apology to Zhuang Yui in the newspaper "Chinese Youth". Go Jinmin disagreed with the decision and filed a complaint with the higher court.

After the publication of the court's decision in the press, Go Jinmin's figure once again attracted the attention of the general public and prompted reflection on society regarding the entire group of "post-eighties" writers. At the same time, Go Jinmin refused to express his opinion on this matter in the media. During his participation in the program "Cultural Dialogue" on China Central Television, after Go Jinmin repeatedly refused to answer the host's questions about this case, he temporarily left the studio and returned only after a few minutes. This incident sparked discussions about the writer's behavior on the internet.

On May 22, 2006, the Beijing Third Intermediate People's Court issued a final ruling on Zhuang Yui's lawsuit against Go Jinmin, which denied Go Jinmin and the publishing house "Spring Wind of Literature and Art" satisfaction of the complaint. They were ordered to pay 200,000 yuan in compensation, 10,000 yuan as compensation for moral damages, and issue an apology to Zhuang Yui. After paying 210,000 yuan, Go Jinmin and the publishing house publicly announced their refusal to apologize. Soon after, Zhuang Yui filed a lawsuit for the compulsory issuance of an apology. The court's decision on this matter has not yet been made.

Initial assessments of Go Jinmin's work were mostly positive, especially regarding the novel "City of Dreams". In particular, the "clean style" of Go Jinmin's works was noted. However, after the news of the copyright infringement was made public, opinions in the press became divided. Some authors continued to attribute great writing talent to Go Jinmin, while others criticized him for lacking depth and maturity, calling him a product of a commercialized society.

As a result of the discussion of Go Jinmin's and Zhuang Yui's case, Chinese internet slang acquired a new word. Chinese users began using the abbreviation of Go Jinmin's name, GJM, to denote any plagiarism or reposting of someone else's post.

In July 2006, writers Han Han and Zhang Yuezhan published an open letter in their blogs, fiercely criticizing Go Jinmin and his fans. Zhang Yuezhan wrote that "Go Jinmin has lost the title of a literary figure" and she feels ashamed for him. Han Han directly criticized the fans, calling them "stupid and naive". After that, an "internet war" broke out between Go Jinmin's fans on one side and Han Han and Zhang Yuezhan on the other.