Author who wrote on sex, labor camp, dies

Famed writer Zhang Xianliang, known to be one of the first Chinese novelists to have broken the taboo on sex in literature with his works after the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), died on Saturday. He was 78.

Zhang's novel Half of Man Is Woman, which was first published in 1985, created a stir among readers as it took the lead in dealing with sexuality at a time when the subject was avoided in almost all published literary works.

His works have been translated into more than 30 languages, making him one of the most important writers of modern China.