Xu Zhiyuan was born in Jiangsu Province of China in 1976 and graduated from the Department of Computer Science of Peking University. Now he lives in Beijing. Xu’s major works include essays collection Born in the 1970s（那些忧伤的陌生人, 2001）, Yesterday and Tomorrow （昨天和明天, 2004）, Chinese Consciousness of the Generation （这一代人的中国意识, 2004）, Stranger of Motherland （祖国的陌生人, 2010）, World of a Stranger （一个游荡者的世界, 2011）, Scarecrow of This Era （时代的稻草人, 2012）, Flourish Age of Disguise （伪装的盛世, 2012）, Resistance （抗争者, 2014）, Paper Tiger (2015) and so on. His works have been translated into English, French and Korean and other versions. Xu Zhiyuan had participated in publishing kinds of newspapers, magazines which include the Economic Observer（经济观察报）, Life（生活）, Bloomberg Business work (Chinese Version)（彭博商业周刊中文版）, Oriental History Review（东方历史评论）and One Way Street Magzine （单读）. He is also a columnist of Financial Times (Chinese) （FT中文网）and Yazhouzhoukan (亚洲周刊). He had won the "Asia News Award for Best Speech" for his unique contribution to intelligence and was selected as "Youth Leader" by the National Committee on US.-China Relations and BMW STIFUNG Foundation. From 2009 to 2010, Xu served as visiting scholar in the University of Cambridge in UK, and University of Berkeley from 2013 to 2014. Apart from writing, Xu also joins in production of video and audio cultural projects. The in-depth interview-style documentary Thirteen Invitations which he takes participated and serves as a compere has already reverberate great echo, so that his documentary become phenomenal influence. The podcast programs that he holds, One Way Street Magazine (单读) and Encounter Library（艳遇图书馆）have received a widely good reputation for the abundant contents and unique perspective. In 2005, Xu founded independant bookstore Owspace（单向空间） which now has become famous public space of Chinese cultural area. Recently he is writing three volumes biography of Liang Qichao.
