关凯文

关凯文（英语：Kevin Kwan），本名关本安，男，生于新加坡，美国作家。曾外祖父胡先愿是当地历史悠久的华侨银行创办董事，祖父关伯谦（Arthur P. C. Kwan）是眼科医生。其高祖关元昌则是中国牙医先驱。其在星洲接受了早期教育，11岁随家人移民美国纽约，现为美国公民。

生平

曾开办视觉创意顾问工作室，后转向写作。一开始写诗，后转向小说创作。曾游历亚洲多个地方。关的作品关注人类行为，背景一般设定在亚洲，他认为亚洲人开放的生活是虚构作品的良好素材。中国的发展——不仅北京和上海，也包括一些较小城市的爆炸式发展也是他关注的对象。他的书常常会以脚注的形式向读者介绍比较生僻的词汇。

《疯狂亚洲土豪》是他的成名作，曾登上当年的畅销书榜。该书讲述了出身新加坡富裕家庭的尼克·杨移民纽约后的故事。之后又出版了续作《中国富女友》（China Rich Girlfriend，2015）。这两部小说同属于他的亚洲富豪系列，他曾表示要完成一部三部曲。

身份争议

新加坡国防部称关虽申请过放弃新加坡公民权，但因为其未曾在新加坡服役而被拒，声明其因违反国民服役义务而正被通缉。因新加坡不容许年满21岁国民持双重国籍，而申请放弃新加坡籍依法例必须先在18岁履行服役责任。当局又指他没有持有效文件而在海外长期居留。

著作

《疯狂亚洲土豪》（Crazy Rich Asians，2013，高宝书版《疯狂亚洲富豪》）

《中国富女友》（China Rich Girlfriend，2015）

《富人问题一箩筐》（Rich People Problems: A Novel，2017）

Kevin Kwan (born 1973 or 1974) is a Singaporean-born American novelist and writer of satirical novels Crazy Rich Asians, China Rich Girlfriend, and Rich People Problems. His latest book, Lies and Weddings, was released in June 2024.

In 2014, Kwan was named as one of the "Five Writers to Watch" on the list of Hollywood's Most Powerful Authors published by The Hollywood Reporter. In 2018, Kwan made Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people and was inducted into The Asian Hall of Fame.

Early life

Kevin Kwan was born in Singapore as the youngest of three boys into an established Chinese Singaporean family. His great-grandfather, Oh Sian Guan, was a founding director of Singapore's oldest bank, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation. His paternal grandfather, Sir Arthur Kwan Pah Chien M.D., was an ophthalmologist who became Singapore's first Western-trained specialist and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his philanthropic efforts.

Sir Arthur's wife, Kwan's paternal grandmother Egan Oh, Lady Kwan, was a prominent debutante who became a socialite after her marriage. Kwan's maternal grandfather, the Rev. Paul Hang Sing Hon, founded the Hinghwa Methodist Church. Kwan is also related to Hong Kong-born American actress Nancy Kwan and former Singaporean finance minister Richard Hu, who was a cousin of his father.

While in Singapore, Kwan studied at the Anglo-Chinese School and lived with his paternal grandparents. Kwan's father and mother, an engineer and pianist respectively, moved the family to the United States when Kwan was 11. The family moved to Clear Lake, Texas, and Kwan attended Clear Lake High School, graduating when he was 16.

He attended San Jacinto College, and the University of Houston-Clear Lake, where he earned a BA in Media Studies, after which he moved to Manhattan to attend Parsons School of Design in order to pursue a BFA in Photography. In New York, Kwan worked for Interview Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, and Tibor Kalman's design firm M&Co. In 2000, Kwan established his own creative studio, clients of which included Ted.com, Museum of Modern Art, and The New York Times.

On August 22, 2018, Singapore's Ministry of Defence stated that Kwan is wanted in Singapore for defaulting on National Service obligation. The Ministry of Defence stated that Kwan had failed to register for National Service in 1990 and did not have a valid exit permit to remain overseas, even though he has been living outside of Singapore since he was 11 years old. In 1994, his application and subsequent appeal to renounce his Singapore citizenship without serving National Service were rejected. Kwan is liable to a fine of up to $10,000 and a jail term of up to three years under the Enlistment Act.

Career

Kwan edited I Was Cuba (featuring photographs collected by Ramiro A. Fernández, published in 2007) and coauthored the book Luck: The Essential Guide with Deborah Aaronson (published in 2008).

Kwan became inspired to write Crazy Rich Asians in 2009 while caring for his father, who was dying of cancer. Kwan and his father would reminisce about their life in Singapore while driving to and from medical appointments, and Kwan began writing stories to capture those memories. Kwan stated one of his goals was to showcase the "educated families with style and taste that have been quietly going about their lives for generations" which went beyond the typical contemporary coverage of Asia which focused on conspicuous consumption. Friends had been urging him to commit his memories to paper as well. Moving to the United States has westernized his view of Asia, and he likens himself to "an outsider looking in" when describing his life in Singapore.

He has also detailed how big of an impact music has had on his career. In an interview with Spotify he described listening to Fleetwood Mac and Kathleen Smith as he wrote his novels.