Born in Gaomi, Shandong Province in February 1955, he studied in primary school in his hometown as a child, dropped out of school due to the Cultural Revolution, and worked in the countryside for many years. Joined the People's Liberation Army in 1976 and served successively as squad leader, security officer, librarian, teacher, and secretary. He started his creative career in 1981 and published works such as "Autumn Water" and "Folk Music". In 1986, he graduated from the Literature Department of the PLA Academy of Art. In 1991, he graduated from the Lu Xun College of Literature, Beijing Normal University, and received a master's degree in literature and art.

In 1997, he won the "Everyone's Literature Award", the highest amount in China's history, with a novel, and won a prize of up to 100,000 yuan. In 2000, "Red Sorghum Family" was selected by Asia Weekly as one of the top 100 Chinese novels in the 20th century. In 2001, it won the Best Book Award in the Literary Category of the Taiwan United Daily Readers of the Year. In 2005, he won the Annual Outstanding Achievement Award at the 2nd Chinese Literature Media Awards. In 2006, the first chapter novel was published. In December 2009, a novel was published with a unique writing technique.