Paris, Oct 29: A Chinese author and filmmaker, Dai Sijie, on Monday won one of France's most prestigious literary awards for his latest book, Le Complexe de Di (The Di Complex), which juxtaposes individual psychoanalysis with China's culture of collectivity. He was awarded the Prix Femina, an honour bestowed by a panel of respected women authors which rivals France's top prize, the Goncourt, for the national fame it brings winners - and the boost in Christmas book sales.
The 49-year-old Dai - who moved to France 20 years ago after three years spent in a Chinese "re-education camp" and who writes in French - made a name for himself internationally for his bestselling semi-autobiographical book Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, which he also made into a film.
His latest work follows the life of a Chinese man who returns from exile in France and uses Freudian dream analysis to try to treat a corrupt judge in a bid to win the freedom of his girlfriend, an imprisoned photographer.

Le Complexe de Di was published in France in September and has already been snapped up by several publishers elsewhere, including in the United States where rights were sold for 225,000 dollars (200,000 euros).

Dai told journalists Monday he was "very happy" at winning the Prix Femina, adding that it would give him "more confidence" in his work.
He said his latest book was more ambitious than the last, describing it as "the aventure of the first Chinese psychoanalyst who wants to explore the Asian unconscious, which is a big mystery." Bureau Report