Helen Wang facts for kids

Helen Kay Wang (born in 1965) is an English expert in Chinese culture and history, known as a sinologist. She is also a talented translator. She works at the British Museum in London as a curator, which means she helps look after and study East Asian money.

Helen Wang has translated many books from Chinese into English. Some of her translations include award-winning children's books.

About Helen Wang

Helen Wang studied Chinese at the SOAS University of London. She spent a year in China at the Beijing Language and Culture University in the 1980s. Later, she earned her PhD in archaeology from University College London. Her special research was about "Money on the Silk Road." This looked at how money was used in Central Asia up to about 800 AD.

Her Work at the British Museum

In 1991, Helen Wang started working at the British Museum. She joined the team that studies coins and medals from Asia. By 1993, she became the Curator of East Asian Money. This means she is in charge of the museum's collection of money from East Asia.

Her job involves studying these collections. She also researches the history of how these collections were built. She is especially interested in numismatics, which is the study of coins and money. She focuses on money from East Asia and the Silk Road. The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes connecting the East and West. She also studies the collections of Sir Aurel Stein, a famous explorer.

Helen Wang is an important member of several groups that study coins and textiles. She also created a website called "Chinese Money Matters" to share information about Chinese money.

Helen Wang is married to Wang Tao, who is a Chinese archaeologist. They have two children.

Translating Books

Helen Wang started translating books in the early 1990s. She translated short stories and essays by Chinese authors. After a break, she began translating again in the 2010s. She now translates more short stories, essays, and especially children's books.

She often works with other people and groups to translate Chinese books. These groups help bring Chinese stories to readers around the world. She also helped start a group called "Chinese Books for Young Readers." This group helps find and promote Chinese books for young people. She has also been a judge for translation competitions.

Awards and Recognitions

Helen Wang has received many awards for her important work. These awards recognize her studies of money and her translations.

• 2024: She received the Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society. This is a very high honor for someone who studies coins.
• 2024: She won the Lhotka Prize for her book Chinese Numismatics - the world of Chinese money.
• 2023: Her translation of Dragonfly Eyes by Cao Wenxuan was named an Honor Book for the Mildred L. Batchelder Award. This award is for outstanding translated children's books.
• 2023: Dragonfly Eyes was also chosen for the ALSC Notable Children's Books list.
• 2023: Dragonfly Eyes received a "Of Note" Award from the Freeman Young Adult/Middle School Literature.
• 2023: Her translation of Playing with Lanterns was selected for the Notable Social Studies Trade Books list.
• 2023: Playing with Lanterns was also chosen for the USBBY Outstanding International Books List.
• 2019: She received the Jeton de Vermeil from a French numismatic society.
• 2019: Her translation of Bronze and Sunflower was a finalist for the GLLI Translated YA Book Prize.
• 2017: She won the Marsh Award for Children's Literature in Translation for Bronze and Sunflower by Cao Wenxuan. This award celebrates the best translated children's books.
• 2017: She received the Chen Bochui Children's Literature Award. This award recognized her work in translating and making Chinese children's literature more known.
• 2017: Bronze and Sunflower was a finalist for the Kirkus Awards Young Readers category.
• 2017: Bronze and Sunflower was nominated for a YALSA award for Best Fiction for Young Adults.
• 2017: Bronze and Sunflower was listed as one of the New York Times Notable Children's Books of 2017.
• 2017: Bronze and Sunflower was named one of the Best Books of 2017 by the Center for the Study of Multicultural Children's Literature.
• 2015: She received an English PEN Writers in Translation grant for Bronze and Sunflower.

Books She Has Written or Edited

Helen Wang has written and edited many books about her research.

• 2023: Look at the Coins! (co-edited with Robert Bracey)
• 2022: Chinese Numismatics. The World of Chinese Money (with François Thierry, Lyce Jankowski and Joe Cribb)
• 2013: Textiles as Money on the Silk Road (co-edited with Valerie Hansen)
• 2012: Sir Aurel Stein, Colleagues and Collections (editor)
• 2008: Chairman Mao Badges: Symbols and Slogans of the Cultural Revolution
• 2004: Money on the Silk Road: The Evidence from Eastern Central Asia to c. AD 800

Novels She Has Translated

Helen Wang has translated several full-length novels from Chinese.

• 2022: Dinner for Six, by Lu Min (co-translated with Nicky Harman)
• 2021: Dragonfly Eyes, by Cao Wenxuan
• 2017: The Ventriloquist's Daughter, by Lin Man-Chiu
• 2015: Bronze and Sunflower, by Cao Wenxuan
• 2012: Jackal and Wolf, by Shen Shixi

See also

In Spanish: Helen Wang para niños