Chinese author Jiang Rong beat four other shortlisted writers to become the first winner of the Man Asian Literary Prize for his bestselling novel The Wolf Totem.

The newly established US$100,000 award seeks to recognize the region's best literature that has not yet been published in English.

The Wolf Totem, first published in Chinese, is about the struggle of life during the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) and draws on Jiang's personal experience in the Mongolian grasslands.

The English edition of the book is scheduled for publication in March.

Jiang, who was born in Jiangsu Province in 1946, spent 11 years living with nomadic communities in the border grassland region.

Due to ill health, the Beijing-based writer was unable to accept the award in person at a ceremony held in Hong Kong on Saturday night.

But in a statement, Jiang said he was thrilled and honored his story had caught the attention of the judges. "I spent 30 years thinking, and six years writing The Wolf Totem," he said.

"During that process, I hoped to write a story that would appeal to the Chinese sensibility."

Adrienne Clarkson, who led a panel of three judges, hailed The Wolf Totem as a "panoramic novel" of life in the grasslands during the time of the "cultural revolution".

(China Daily via Agencies November 12, 2007)