Helen Wang facts for kids

Helen Kay Wang (born in 1965) is an English expert in Chinese culture and history. She is also a talented translator. She works at the British Museum in London. There, she is the curator of East Asian Money. This means she looks after and studies money from countries like China, Japan, and Korea. Helen Wang has also translated many Chinese books into English. Some of these are popular children's books that have won awards.

Biography of Helen Wang

Helen Wang studied Chinese at SOAS University of London. She earned her first degree in 1988. During her studies, she spent a year in Beijing, China, learning the language. Later, she earned a special degree called a PhD in archaeology from University College London in 2002. Her research was about "Money on the Silk Road." This looked at how money was used along the ancient trade routes in Central Asia.

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. Her job involves taking care of the museum's collection of money from East Asia. She also studies the history of these collections.

Her main areas of study include:

• East Asian numismatics: This is the study of coins, paper money, and medals from East Asia.
• Silk Road numismatics: This focuses on the money used along the famous Silk Road trade routes.
• Sir Aurel Stein: She studies the collections of a famous explorer named Sir Aurel Stein. He brought many important items from Central Asia to the museum.
• Textiles as money: She also researches how fabrics and cloth were sometimes used as a form of money in the past.

Helen Wang has been part of important groups like the Royal Numismatic Society. She also helps with a Chinese magazine about coins. In 2016, she joined a group that studies textiles from the Silk Road. She also created a website called "Chinese Money Matters" in 2017. Helen Wang is married to Wang Tao, who is a Chinese archaeologist. They have two children together.

Literary Translations

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

Collaborations and Contributions

Helen Wang often works with other translators and groups. She helps with the China Fiction Book Club and Paper Republic. These groups help bring Chinese books to readers around the world. In 2016, she helped start "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. These competitions encourage people to translate Chinese stories.

Awards and Commendations

Helen Wang has received many awards for her work, especially for her translations of children's books.

• 2025: Her book Chinese Numismatics - the world of Chinese money was recognized as one of the Kirkus Best Books of the 21st Century (So Far).
• 2024: She received the Medal of the Royal Numismatic Society. This is a very important award for people who study coins.
• 2024: She was awarded the Lhotka Prize for her book Chinese Numismatics - the world of Chinese money.
• 2023: Her translation of Dragonfly Eyes by Cao Wenxuan was honored with the Mildred L. Batchelder Award. This award is for outstanding translated children's books.
• 2023: Dragonfly Eyes was also named an ALSC Notable Children's Book.
• 2023: Dragonfly Eyes received a "Of Note" Award from the Freeman Young Adult/Middle School Literature.
• 2023: Her translation of Playing with Lanterns was chosen for the Notable Social Studies Trade Books list.
• 2023: Playing with Lanterns was also selected 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.
• 2017: She received the Chen Bochui Children's Literature Award for 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.
• 2017: Bronze and Sunflower was recognized as 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.

Selected Publications

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

• 2023: Look at the Coins! Papers in Honour of Joe Cribb on his 75th Birthday (co-edited)
• 2022: Chinese Numismatics. The World of Chinese Money (co-authored)
• 2013: Textiles as Money on the Silk Road (co-edited)
• 2012: Sir Aurel Stein, Colleagues and Collections (edited)
• 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

Book-Length Translations

Here are some of the full-length books Helen Wang has translated from Chinese into English:

• 2024: The Grass House, by Cao Wenxuan
• 2022: Dinner for Six, by Lu Min (co-translated)
• 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