Family and early life Lee's
ancestral homeland is
Taishan, Guangdong Province, China. She was born Li Pak (李白) to a rich and big family in Hong Kong. Her wealthy paternal grandfather had four wives and passed the family business of traditional Chinese medicine to her father. She was brought up in a large old house and heard many stories which would later become her source of inspiration.
Education and occupation Since her youth, Lee has developed a strong passion for literature. As a student of
True Light Middle School of Hong Kong, she actively contributed to
Happy Family and
Chinese Student Weekly (中國學生周報). She once studied at
Kyoto University, Japan, and has had various jobs. She was a primary school teacher while working as a reporter. Lee has worked as a screenwriter for TV series, movie and dramas. At a young age, she learned
Traditional Chinese Dance for about ten years. Lee has danced for a dance company in New York. With her experience as a dancer, Lee helped organize several dance dramas for the Hong Kong Dance Company. In 2001, Lee directed a dance drama adapted from her novel
Fen Mo Chun Qiu (粉墨春秋), performed by Hua Jin Dance Company. In 2013, she worked with the
National Theatre Company of China and adapted her novel
Green Snake into a dance drama.
Literary style Lee's novels depict romantic relationships and tensions between men and women that are tinged with sadness. She has said they are inspired by personal experience. Lee often adapts elements of early Chinese vernacular literature and the supernatural, to retell a well-known theme or story from an underdog perspective. Her novel
Green Snake was based on
White Snake, an ancient Chinese novel in which two snakes become humans and learn about love and suffering. This treatment is an evolution from the original story,
White Snake, where Green Snake is only a supporting character.
Green Snake, the emotional and beautiful Green Snake is the main character, who is in love with Xu Xian. In
Rouge, the main character Fleur, who worked in one of Hong Kong's "flower houses," and comes back to life 50 years later to be reunited with her lover Chan Chen-Pang whom she involved in a double suicide. In
Terracotta Warrior, the immortal Mong Tiang Fong wakes up after 2000 years. Golden Lotus in
The Reincarnation of Golden Lotus is a spirit. == Novels ==