Inside the mind of math genius

Chinese geometry expert's memoir makes a splash at Frankfurt Book Fair, Yang Yang reports.

In mid-October, the literary scene at the Frankfurt Book Fair is abuzz with discussion about Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai, winner of the 2025 Nobel Prize in Literature. Amid the global literary excitement, attention also turns to one of China's leading publishing conglomerates, Phoenix Publishing & Media Group. At its booth, editors and rights agents are focused on a notable nonfiction title: The Shape of a Life: One Mathematician's Search for the Universe's Hidden Geometry, the autobiography of Shing-Tung Yau, the Fields Medal — winning mathematician. Yau is celebrated as the first Chinese recipient of the Fields Medal, widely considered the highest honor in mathematics.

The English edition of The Shape of a Life is published by Yale University Press, and the Chinese edition was released by Yilin Press in 2021, followed by a youth edition in 2022. To date, the two versions of the Chinese edition have sold over 150,000 copies.