You Jin


Tham Yew Chin, known by her pseudonym You Jin, is a Singaporean writer. She received the Cultural Medallion Award in 2009 for her contributions to Singapore's literary arts scene.

Early life and family

Tham was born 1950 in Ipoh, British Malaya. Her family relocated to Singapore when she was eight years old. Moving to Singapore, she suffered from a language barrier as she only spoke Cantonese. Her father was a construction worker, and her paternal grandfather was an immigrant from then-poverty-torn China.

Career

Tham has published close to 160 literary works under the pseudonym of You Jin. In 2009, she received the Cultural Medallion in literary arts for the first time. Tham contributed an essay titled A Fish in Water for former Prime Minister of Singapore Lee Kuan Yew's 2012 book, My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore's Bilingual Journey.
In 2012, Tham's writing was translated into English for the first time. Her 2004 collection of short stories, 听, 青春在哭泣 : 短篇小说, was translated by Sylvia Li-chun Lin and published by Epigram Books as Teaching Cats to Jump Hoops as part of its Cultural Medallion series. Her 2005 autobiography, A Life in Words (文字就是生命\\\\

Awards

  • 1982: National Book Development Council of Singapore Book Award
  • 1991: National Book Development Council of Singapore Book Award
  • 1991: Singapore Chinese Literary Award
  • 1996: Montblanc-NUS Centre for the Arts Literary Award
  • 2009: Cultural Medallion for Literature

    Selected works

  • 词选赏析
  • 电神和雷魔 : 泰国民间故事 / The Tale of Lightning and Thunder
  • 大胡子的春与冬
  • 风筝在云里笑
  • 尘世浮雕
  • 含笑的蜻蜓
  • 方格子里的世界 : 尤今的足迹
  • 灯影內的人生 : 尤今散文选粹
  • 百年苦乐
  • 家在新加坡 : 尤今散文新作
  • 结局
  • 活在羊群里的人
  • 长屋生涯原是梦
  • 瑰丽的旋涡
  • 回首叫云飞风起
  • 跌碎的彩虹
  • 华义文圃. 第十期, 学海无涯
  • 荒谷
  • 大地的珠宝
  • 黑色的稻米
  • 吹笛子的人
  • 豆花不撒谎
  • 大地的耳朵
  • 缤纷城事
  • 缤纷城事 : 随尤今的足迹, 听都市的声音
  • 爱恨交缠的瘀痕
  • 爱是一朵花
  • 寸寸土地皆故事
  • 等待国旗的人