About the Author
Nathan Sturman was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in 1947. He was educated in Philadelphia Public Schools and, after three years of military service, at home and abroad, at the University of Pennsylvania, where he developed a strong interest in China and Chinese literature. He also immersed himself in east Asian political and cultural history in general, learning Korean and Japanese in addition to Chinese. Being at Pennsylvania in the 70s and 80s was quite an enriching experience for one interested in China, as so many Chinese came there to learn and teach, from every region of China. Nathan began translating the Ping Yao Zhuan as a labor of love in 1980, upon finding an old edition in the University's Van Pelt Library, and it became, in a way, one thread of his life's work as a writer, poet, translator and language educator. Since 1983 he has lived and worked abroad, in Japan and China as teacher and writer, teaching in many Japanese universities, public and private schools for two decades. In 2001-2 he taught English and studied Chinese intensively at Beijing Foreign Studies University's Beidaihe Training Center. He also spent two recent years spent teaching ESL and Chinese in South Florida. After his return to Japan in 2005, Nathan has lived in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, with his wife Masako and US-educated daughter, Naomi. After receiving an advance review copy of this book and completing various revisions, Mr. Sturman died of cancer on June 6, 2008.