Peng Shanshan (Australia)
Creative Award
Author Biography:
Peng Shanshan holds a Master’s degree in Literature and studied at the Art Department of Peking University and the Graduate School of the Chinese National Academy of Arts. She remained at the Music Research Institute for several years, conducting research in musical anthropology. Earlier, she studied Film and Television Production at Beijing Normal University, receiving systematic training in screenwriting and directing, and has worked in film, theater, and education. In 2013, she immigrated to Melbourne, Australia. She is a member of the Australian Society of Authors (ASA) and a columnist for China Xinhua Publishing. Her literary works include the novels Turning Around, Starting Over, Passing Laws, and Where to Go, published by Xinhua Publishing; her essays and poetry appear in various periodicals and online. Awards include the Second World Chinese Literature Novel Prize for Passing Laws, the Excellence Award for the poem China Across the Shore—My Mother (2020 National Anti-Pandemic Poetry, Calligraphy, and Painting Contest), and the Honor Award for the poem The Desert Hero’s Bones Reflect My Tenderness in the First International Poetry Prize of “Poetry and Beyond.”
Awarded Work: Turning Around (80 Episodes)
Story Synopsis:
Set in Melbourne, Australia, the story follows Xiao Mengying, a woman left behind while her husband Meng Licheng, a pharmaceutical tycoon, spends long periods away for work and engages in extramarital affairs. Despite her awareness, she endures for the sake of preserving her marriage.
Meng Licheng’s friend, Sophia, a divorced Chinese real estate agent, helps Meng Licheng’s family purchase their first home and a commercial property as an investment, earning Xiao Mengying’s trust. However, Sophia is materialistic. After the sudden death of her Western boyfriend, she seeks inheritance through a lawyer but fails. Touched by Xiao Mengying’s kindness in giving her 1,000 AUD, Sophia encourages her friend to explore life, dating, and pleasure, including casual relationships, which Xiao Mengying hesitates to embrace. At a social gathering, she meets Xue Hua, an attractive man left behind in Melbourne, sparking mutual attraction.
While maintaining the friendship, Sophia also promotes her real estate deals to Xiao Mengying. Xiao Mengying becomes romantically involved with Xue Hua, who exploits her through art trading and unethical international business. Once she uncovers the truth, she severs all ties. Sophia’s pursuits of young men also end in disappointment when she discovers one was a fake wealthy heir, and Xiao Mengying falls into a real estate trap causing financial loss and legal disputes.
At another gathering, Xiao Mengying meets James, a cultured Western scholar who speaks Chinese. They bond over cross-cultural understanding. James gifts her lavender seeds, shares his simple life with his elderly mother, and recounts a lost love and his late wife. With his help, Xiao Mengying navigates legal challenges and improves her English.
Meanwhile, her old friend He Xuebing faces overseas marriage failures and unsuccessful IVF attempts, relying on Xiao Mengying’s financial help. Immigration company complications and Xue Hua’s illegal trading abroad create further tension. Meng Licheng’s extramarital relationships escalate with public confrontation in Melbourne. Xiao Mengying finally decides to end her strained marriage and files for divorce.
Her former suitor, Shen Minghao, returns to Melbourne after ten years but is unable to reconcile differences in values. With James’ assistance translating her poetry and prose, she wins her property lawsuit. Together, they attend James’ mother’s funeral, where James gifts Xiao Mengying a hand-knitted cashmere sweater made by his mother.
The story culminates at the seaside, where James presents Xiao Mengying with a published collection of her translated works and confesses his love. He also shares the inheritance left by his mother and proposes establishing a private language school together. Xiao Mengying accepts, and they return home to a garden blooming with the lavender seeds James had gifted her, symbolizing new beginnings and hope.
Professional Review:
This drama depicts Xiao Mengying’s journey through marital crisis, betrayal, and emotional confusion in a foreign country, highlighting female self-awareness and rebirth amidst real-world and spiritual challenges. Themes of real estate traps, romantic entanglements, cross-cultural healing, and poetic love intertwine to create multiple dramatic climaxes. It is a richly layered, emotionally nuanced portrayal of urban female growth.
