Chinese-British Writer Han Suyin died at the age of 95 in Lausanne

Chinese-British writer and physician Elizabeth Comber, who was known by her pen name Han Suyin, died at the age of 95 on 2 November 2012 at her home in Lausanne, Switzerland.

Han Suyin, was a Chinese-Belgian British writer.  She emerged as among the most powerful voices that served as a bridge between China and the West in the 20th century. She later became an ambassador for China-India relations after her marriage to an Indian colonel, Vincent Ratnaswamy.

She was best known for generating controversy with her hagiographic view of China’s Cultural Revolution.

Above all these she is remembered for her best-selling semi-autobiographical novel that inspired the Hollywood melodrama Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing. It was made into a Hollywood hit in the 1950s, and had won three Oscars.

Han Suyin, on behalf of the Chinese Writers Association, had worked to set up the National Rainbow Award for Best Literary Translation, which is now known by Best Translation Award under the prestigious Lu Xun Literary Award.

She published almost two dozen novels, non-fiction books and memoirs with countless essays for mainstream newspapers and magazines that were often set against the background of historical and generational disruption in Asia.