"He is capable of showing the best of Chinese language. So in context of international literary exchanges, I believe his works show the charm and shared values of Chinese culture," Chen says.

Zhang believes a core value that will take a writer far is "how he can battle against the smallest thought of opportunism to gain profit out of writing".

Two of Zhang Wei's latest collections of prose and essays are from his lectures at the Wansongpu School. An estate Zhang started building in 2003 at the northern part of Jiao-dong Peninsula, it hosts lectures and academic exchanges for talented students.

"To me, a good novelist is the one who takes responsibility in practice," he says. "I saw problems in education then I set out to solve the problems as much as I can," he says.

"I love to lend a hand to writers-to-be because I remember how hard it was for me to start from scratch."