Established in the name of Shi Nai'an, the author of the world-famous classical work Heroes of the Marshes, the Shi Nai'an Literature Award aims to encourage the in-depth exploration and development of long literary narrative art of contemporary Chinese and to promote the innovation and prosperity of contemporary long literary narrative pieces in Chinese to further enhance the global status of the works. Starting from 2011, the event is held every two years. Being one of China’s highest literary awards, it has high authority and important influence at home and abroad.

Winning works of the 4th Shi Nai'an Literature Award

On October 29, 2020, after several rounds of intense voting, the winning works of the 4th Shi Nai'an Literature Award were announced. Five works were awarded, i.e., A Story in the Clouds by Alai, Disappeared Identity by Fan Xiaoqing, Nanjing: The Biography by Ye Zhaoyan, A Life Like Sea by Mai Jia and A Biography of Dunhuang by Ye Zhou. Yulan and Her Children by the local writer Wang Yulan in Xinghua, Jiangsu Province won a special award. A Story in the Clouds, Disappeared Identity and A Life Like Sea were published by October Literature and Art Publishing House under Beijing Publishing Group.