On the afternoon of December 22, 2025, the readers’ meeting “Rooted in the Depths of Life, Writing the Human Comedy–Readers’ Meeting with Acclaimed Writer Chen Yan” was held at the Chang’an Campus of Northwest University. Acclaimed writer and playwright, Standing Committee Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference, and Vice Chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, Chen Yan, visited our university and engaged in a cordial exchange with teachers and students. Tian Minggang, Member of the University Party Committee Standing Committee and Vice President of NWU, along with heads of relevant university departments and over 400 representatives of teachers and students attended the meeting. The meeting was hosted by Professor Lei Ming from the Faculty of Liberal Arts of NWU, with Professor Zhou Yanfen participating in the dialogue.
Prior to the meeting, Jiang Lin, Secretary of the University Party Committee, met with Chen Yan and his delegation, presenting Chen Yan with a commemorative gift on behalf of the university. Chen Yan presented the university with his new work A Towering Mansion.
During the meeting, Chen Yan shared the creative journey and thematic ideas behind his novel A Towering Mansion. “A Towering Mansion tells a story about housing allocation. The essence of housing allocation is actually a matter of resource distribution. This work uses the housing allocation incident to gain insight into human nature, understand society, and reveal the relationships between people,” said Chen Yan. He also discussed the relationship between his own writing and the city of Xi’an, as well as the overall characteristics of Shaanxi literature. He urged university students to intensively study lengthy Chinese and foreign classics, emphasizing that such works are highly beneficial for personal growth and literary creation.
From a scholar’s perspective, Zhou Yanfen shared her understanding of A Towering Mansion. Chen Yan answered questions from teachers and students regarding the differences between Chinese and foreign novels, insights into character creation, and the naming conventions for chapters in A Towering Mansion. (Library of NWU)
