Jiang Rong was born in Beijing in 1946. In 1967, he volunteered to join the first wave of intellectuals who moved to the countryside, and lived as a nomad on the outer edges of Inner Mongolia for 11 years. In 1978, he returned to Beijing, where he took a postgraduate degree in economics, and took a position as an economics professor at a Beijing university. He lives in Beijing with his wife, the renowned author and feminist critic Zhang Kangkang. Wolf Totem is his first novel.
'Enlightening, poignant, mysterious - and a miracle' Literary Review 'A refreshingly new perspective on the Cultural Revolution ... harsh and beautiful' Times Literary Supplement '[A] naturalistic, gripping, and deeply affecting novel reminding us how badly we humans have managed our world. Highly recommended.' Library Journal