Encounters is the first fictional work of Xiaowen Zhu, which brings together the author's deep insights into her life overseas over the past ten years.

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Inspired by actual events, Zhu refracts the lives of ten people through ten remarkably brilliant stories. Among these people are: a rich philanthropist based in Los Angeles, a hermit artist living in the Californian desert, a wealthy member of the elite from the Middle East who holds banquets for guests at Malibu beach, a Zen Buddhist devotee practicing in New Mexico’s barren landscape, the Chinese silk king in Beverly Hills, a half-Chinese half-Spanish girl on her way to New York City from Barcelona in search of her true home...

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Differing in cultural backgrounds and idiocrasies, ostensibly, these people share only one thing in common – being untangled through the lens of the author’s rich experiences, profound understanding and deep exploration. However, it is not difficult for readers, after savouring these interesting stories, to find out that these people are all in pursuit of the meaning of life, despite being from different races, cultures, ages and identities. Whether to use wealth for the benefit of society; to get away from the society and cultivate oneself; to leave home and pursue one’s dreams; to inherit traditions; to sacrifice for love; or to give up love for freedom, these all embody the choices of individuals who go against the tide of pre-conceived "societal roles" but may not necessarily succeed. On the contrary, feelings like "failure", "loneliness", "frustration" and "losing love" occur in many stories. However, the author does not focus on a single stage in life, but expresses smoothly the process of life (including

birth and death, love between men and women, gains and losses, among others) through the turn of time and space, which can be appreciated by readers.

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In distilling the happiness of life, Zhu’s writing is humorous, featuring the deliberate use of romantic language, in order to emphasise the illusionary effect of happiness, exploring it psychologically:
“Maria’s delicate hands string the shells, one by one, to make a beaded curtain. The curtain is hung from the ceiling, around the bed frame. Every morning, she holds a piece of shell close to Theo’s ear, waking him up with the shell’s memory of the ocean. Theo doesn’t go to work till the afternoon, but has to work till midnight. Yet, he is always happy to be woken up by Maria this way. He tells her, what the shell is saying today, then falls back to sleep in her kisses.”(Excerpt from Chapter 8 Thoe: A Zen Buddhist Devotee in New Mexico)

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In describing the bitterness of life, Zhu writes with sense and restraint, although not without compassionate feelings, such as:
“Next day, grandpa never woke up. I left the camera on the overbed table in the ward, filming him constantly. In the afternoon, he passed away. The doctors couldn’t bring him back. Grandma didn’t get to the hospital until after he passed. She had high blood pressure, couldn’t handle the shock, so she didn’t come with us at first. Mom and I stayed with grandpa until the end. Mom was very sad, but also felt a sense of relief. Surprisingly, grandma cried so hard that she nearly collapsed. She shook and pounded grandpa’s body, complaining how unfair it was for him to leave like this. I asked her, ‘Don’t you feel a sense of relief?’ She said, ‘We’ve been fighting for our whole life, now he’s gone, what can I do? I’m all alone, what can I do?’ Only then did I realize that she and grandpa were co-dependent, although full of struggle and pain.”(Excerpt from Chapter 7 Emma: Elegy of Suffering)

Zhu’s versatility does not stop there; she is also skilled in using aphorisms and verses, which starts from three levels (literature, philosophy and aesthetics) and then emerges in the dialogues between all kinds of characters, so as to convey an image of one’s mind and thus achieve the process of understanding. Readers can appreciate these themes in her powerful writing.

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Xiaowen Zhu is also a gifted artist. She not only writes literary works, but works as a visual artist and documentary filmmaker; her works have been exhibited widely around the globe. Oriental Silk, a documentary film made in 2015 and one of the representative works of Zhu, centres on Mr. Wong, who is also featured in this book as the subject (see Chapter 5). Given a chance to see this documentary, readers may wish to compare it with the description in this book and analyse the coexistence of literature and moving image.

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We will expect great things from the second book of Xiaowen Zhu’s Encounters. In that book, she will turn her attention to the European continent and the United Kingdom. Born in 1986, Zhu has lived in Shanghai, Frankfurt, New York, Los Angeles and London for many years. Also, her identity as an artist has given her a unique opportunity to access many interesting people. They are such a rich source of creation.