In early 1990, Luo Lingyuan walked through the streets of Berlin, unable to understand a single word.
She had just completed her Master’s degree in Journalism at Fudan University and moved to Berlin with her German husband. In her original life plan, her passion for writing would have led her to become a journalist and writer in China. But now, she found herself a stranger in an entirely new society—and stripped of her own language.
Determined not to depend on anyone for a living, she began looking for work. Her first jobs included hotel cleaning, waiting tables, and working in retails. She once fell ill from physical exhaustion and overwork, her body too frail to cope.
Despite the demands of her day jobs, she never gave up on her dream of writing. At night, she attended German language classes at Berlin’s Volkshochschule. Starting from scratch, she worked her way into an entirely new language.
Gradually, vocabulary became familiar, grammar fell into place. She began reading how German authors portrayed China. The more she read, the more dissatisfaction grew. As her German improved, she realized these portrayals lacked vitality and reality. The subtle superiority and condescending ideologies embedded in Western narratives troubled her deeply.
By the early 2000s—ten years after moving to Germany—Luo Lingyuan finally secured a job as a journalist for a German media outlet. Through news reporting, she stepped into the world of writing in German. As she wrote, she “hoped to let German readers feel the heartbeat of the Chinese people through her pen.”
From journalism, she transitioned into literature. Her debut short story collection “Du fliegst jetzt für meinen Sohn aus dem fünften Stock!” was published by DTV (Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag) in 2005 and received acclaim from Süddeutsche Zeitung. In 2007, she was awarded the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize for emerging authors by the Bosch Foundation. Since then, Luo has continued to write and has published 11 books in German.
On September 27, 2025, at the Blaues Haus Berlin Living Room, Luo Lingyuan will join us to share her life stories and literary journey, through several threads:
- The first ten years in Berlin, yearning to write
- How did I get the opportunity to “write” in Germany?
- From journalism to fiction—how did the transition happen?
- How do I write novels in German? Who do I write for?
In addition to recounting her growth and writing in Germany, Luo will read from her newly written Chinese fable Wanbi 109 (万彼 109), a rabbit tale dedicated to readers in China. She will also introduce two of her major German-language novels: the autobiographical novel Das fragile Glück der Harmonie (The Fragile Happiness of Harmony) and the crime novel Das Mädchen und der Tod (The Girl and Death), based on the real-life murder case of Chinese student Li Yangjie in Dessau.
Guest Speaker Introduction
Luo Lingyuan is a Chinese-German writer. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and a Master’s degree in Journalism from Fudan University. In 1990, she moved to Berlin. She has published short stories and essays in Chinese, as well as eight novels and three short story collections in German, receiving multiple literary awards in Germany.
In 2007, she received the Adelbert von Chamisso Prize for Emerging Writers from the Robert Bosch Stiftung; in 2017, the Erfurt Writer-in-Residence Literary Award (Erfurter Stadtschreiber-Literaturpreis); in 2023, she was the Writer-in-Residence in Arosa, Switzerland; and in 2025, she was awarded the Berliner Literature Prize from the Prussian Sea Trade Foundation (Preußische Seehandlung Stiftung). Luo Lingyuan’s works include: Die chinesische Delegation (The Chinese Delegation), Das fragile Glück der Harmonie (The Fragile Happiness of Harmony), Das Mädchen und der Tod (The Girl and Death), etc.
Link to the awards:
Adelbert von Chamisso Prize of the Robert Bosch Stiftung: https://www.bosch-stiftung.de/en/project/adelbert-von-chamisso-prize-robert-bosch-stiftung
Erfurter Stadtschreiber-Literaturpreis: https://www.erfurt.de/ef/de/engagiert/kunst/stadtschreiber/index.html
Writer-in-Residence in Arosa: https://georgbrunold.org/writer-in-residence
Preußische Seehandlung Stiftung: https://stiftung-seehandlung.de/home/literaturstipendiatinnen-2025
Event Information
Date: September 27, 2025 (Saturday)
Time: 15:00–17:00
Location: Blaues Haus Berlin Living Room (Address will be sent by email upon successful registration)
Registration: Due to limited space in the living room, if you would like to join this activity, please scan the QR code below and fill out the questionnaire to register. After successful registration, we will send the specific activity information to your email address. If you don’t hear back from us, we appreciate your understanding.
Registration deadline: 12:00 PM (Berlin time), Friday, September 26, 2025
Important Notes
- Adults and children aged 14 and above are welcome to register.
- If you are unable to attend after registering, please cancel your reservation in time to allow others the opportunity to join.
- Registered participants are kindly asked to arrive no later than 5 minutes before the event begins.
- Video recording during the event is not permitted. Thank you for your understanding.
- Photographs will be taken during the event for internal use by the Blue House Foundation. If you have any concerns, please let us know in advance.