Ying Chang Compestine (born March 8, 1963) is a Chinese American author, speaker, television host and chef. She has written over 27 books, including the novel Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party based on her life growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution,For a twist on the lunar new year dumpling add green Tea" NPR https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2014/01/31/268926416/for-a-twist-on-the-lunar-new-year-dumpling-add-green-tea and a middle grade novel, Morning Sun in Wuhan, set in Wuhan, China.
Biography Ying Chang Compestine was born and raised in Wuhan, China, during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Her family was considered "bourgeois," so the Red Guard took her family's belongings and her father was put in jail twice. Because of the family's difficulties, Compestine was sent to live with her grandparents.
Compestine earned a degree in English and American literature and taught English in China. She also worked as an interpreter for China's Bureau of Seismology.
Compestine graduated with a master's degree in sociology from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1990. She met her husband just before she finished graduate school. Before becoming an award-winning author, she taught sociology at various universities and colleges in the U.S. and China until 1998.
Career After immigrating to the United States, Compestine taught sociology and writing at universities in both the U.S. and China. Compestine has received various education awards including the Master Teacher Award from both Front Range Community College (1991–1992) and the International School of Beijing (2000).
Compestine has hosted several cooking shows on Chinese Language News Broadcaster for Phoenix North America Chinese Channel, as well as appearing as a guest on the Food Network, Discovery Channel, and HGTV. She also worked a food editor for Martha Stewart's Body + Soul magazine and is a contributor for Cooking Light, EatingWell, Self, and Men's Health. Compestine is also a spokesperson for Nestle and Celestial Seasonings.
Writing career
Compestine’s writing often combines Chinese food, folklore, history, family stories, and cultural memory. Across cookbooks, picture books, young adult novels, memoir, and graphic works, her books frequently explore identity, resilience, intergenerational relationships, and the meeting of Eastern and Western perspectives. https://www.yingc.com/themesandstyle.html
Compestine began writing after the birth of her son. Her first book was the cookbook Secrets of Fat-Free Chinese Cooking, published in 1997.https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Ying-Chang-Compestine-revisits-the-Cultural-2499273.php She later began writing books for children, drawing on her memories of China, her family, and Chinese culture.https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Ying-Chang-Compestine-revisits-the-Cultural-2499273.php Her work spans cookbooks, picture books, young adult fiction, memoir, and graphic works, and frequently incorporates Chinese food, folklore, history, festivals, and family traditions.
Her young adult novel Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party (2007) draws on her childhood experiences during the Cultural Revolution.https://www.sfgate.com/entertainment/article/Ying-Chang-Compestine-revisits-the-Cultural-2499273.php The book was included in the 2008 American Library Association’s Best Books for Young Adults list and Publishers Weekly’s Best Children’s Books of 2007.https://web.archive.org/web/20170908015945/https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/books/view/9780805082074
In 2014, Compestine co-authored Secrets of the Terra-Cotta Soldier with her son Vinson.https://new-asian-writing.com/naw-interview-with-ying-chang-compestine-and-vinson-compestine/https://www.slj.com/story/pictures-of-the-week-authors-celebrate-at-abrams-books
Her middle-grade novel Morning Sun in Wuhan, set during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, was published in 2022.
Her picture book memoir Growing Up Under a Red Flag (2024), illustrated by Xinmei Liu, recounts her childhood during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The book received starred reviews from School Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, and Booklist, and was selected as a Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection.https://www.slj.com/review/growing-up-under-a-red-flag-a-memoir-of-surviving-the-chinese-cultural-revolution https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780593533987https://www.booklistonline.com/Growing-Up-under-a-Red-Flag-A-Memoir-of-Surviving-the-Chinese-Cultural-Revolution-Xinmei-Liu/pid=9789083https://www.juniorlibraryguild.com/growing-up-under-a-red-flag-a-memoir-of-9780593533987j
Other recent picture books include Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu (2024), illustrated by Crystal Kung, and The Chinese New Year Helper (2025), illustrated by Ginnie Hsu.
Compestine’s young adult novel A Banquet for Hungry Ghosts has been developed as an animated adaptation by Robot Playground Media. Public descriptions of the project describe it as an animated horror anthology based on the book, blending Chinese customs, culture, cuisine, and ghost stories.https://www.animationmagazine.net/2025/11/toonz-serves-up-a-banquet-for-hungry-ghosts-as-anthology-animated-feature/
Her graphic novel cookbook Buddha Jumps over the Wall, and Other Curiously Named Classic Chinese Dishes: A Graphic Cookbook—26 Recipes & Stories was published by Chronicle Books in March 2025. The book combines recipes with the folkloric stories behind classic Chinese dishes. In 2025, Google Play named it its “Favorite Graphic Novel” in its Best of 2025 books list.https://play.google.com/store/books/editorial?id=mc_books_global_best_of_2025_fcp
Speaking career
Compestine has presented as a speaker, author, and guest chef on cruise ships, at resorts, schools, conferences, and other venues, including The World Residences at Sea, Silversea, Crystal, Canyon Ranchhttps://www.canyonranch.com/experts/ying-chang-compestine, and TCS World Travel.
Her speaking topics include her childhood in China during the Cultural Revolution, resilience and storytelling, Asian culture and cuisine, healthy living and cooking, and the writing and publishing process. She also presents programs that combine memoir, food, culture, and wellness. Canyon Ranch lists Compestine as a guest expert and describes her as a nationally recognized authority on culture and cuisine, an award-winning author, and a former food editor for Martha Stewart’s Whole Living magazine. The profile also notes that she speaks for cruise ships, private jet journeys, resorts, and organizations worldwide, and that her programs address her writing journey, her life in Wuhan, China, and healthy eating and living.
Recent program topics have included healthspan and lifespan, the healing power of personal storytelling, Asian food and wellness traditions, Asian folklore and hungry ghost traditions, and concise writing inspired by principles of simplicity and clarity.https://www.yingc.com/speaking
Common speaking themes include inspirational speaking, healthy eating and cooking, cultural storytelling, and writing programs. Her educational offerings include author visits and writer-in-residence programs, where she works with students and teachers to encourage reading, writing, creativity, and cross-cultural understanding.
Publications Buddha Jumps Over a Wall and Other Curiously Named Chinese Dishes. Chronicle Books. Release date: March 2025. The Chinese New Year Helper. Rocky Pond Books. 2024. ISBN 9780593534014 Growing Up Under a Red Flag. Rocky Pond Books. 2024. ISBN 978-0593533987. Ra Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu. Rocky Pond Books. 2024. ISBN 978-0593533055. Dragon Noodle Party. Holiday House. 2022. ISBN 978-0823449507. Morning Sun in Wuhan. Clarion Books. 2022. ISBN 978-0358572053. Little Red Riding Hood and the Dragon. Abrams Books for Young Readers. 2022 ISBN 978-1419737282. D is for Dragon Dance (Chinese/English bilingual edition). Holiday House. 2018. Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party (German translation). Verlagshaus Jacoby & Stuart. 2018. The Chinese Emperor's New Clothes. Abrams Books For Young Readers. 2018. ISBN 978-1419725425. The Chinese Emperor's New Clothes (Audiobook Sample). Abrams Books For Young Readers. 2018.
Awards BookAwardRevolution Is Not a Dinner PartyCalifornia Book Award for Young Adult Literature
2008 ALA Best Books For Young Adults
2008 ALA Notable Children's Books
2007 Publishers Weekly Best Children's Fiction Book List
2007 San Francisco Chronicle Best Children's Fiction Book List
2008 Chinese American Librarian Association Best Book
2007 New York Public Library 100 Best Titles for Reading and Sharing
2007 Fall Book Sense Children's Picks
2007 Parent's Choice Silver Honor
2007 Cybils Award Nomination for Young Adult Fiction
2008 Tayshas Reading List (Texas)
2007 Chicago Public Library Best of the Best
2007 Cleveland Public Library Celebrate With Books
2007 Cuyahoga County Public Library Great Books for Kids
2008 Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People — CBC and the National Council for Social Studies
2008 IRA Notable Books for a Global Society
2008 NCTE Award
2008 Capitol Choices — Best Books of the Year, Washington, D.C.
2008 New York Public Library's Teen Age List
2008 Cooperative Children's Book Center — Best of the Year
2008 Bank Street College of Education — Best Children's Book
2008 Notable Children's Book in the Language Arts
2008 Book of the Year Award — Northern California Independent Booksellers Association
2008 Women's National Book Association's Judy Lopez Memorial Awards Honor
2008-09 Maine Student Book Award
2008 Notable Children's Books in the English Language Arts
2009 ATPE Book of the Month
2009 Sakura Medal Book
2008-2009 Nominated for the Maine Student Book AwardA Banquet for Hungry Ghosts: A collection of Deliciously Frightening TalesNotable Book for 2010 by the Children's Literary Assembly
AARP as a Grandparent's Book for ChildrenSecrets of The Terra Cotta SoldierTop 3 Books by The Morning Call Best Multi-Cultural Books of 2014 Award
NYPL's 100 Best Children's Books of 2014
Best Fiction on the Bank Street College 2015 List
The Nerdy Book Club's Top 10 Historical Fiction List
Shortlisted for the Hong Kong Golden Dragon Book Award
CALA Best Book Award of 2014Crouching TigerWinner of the Panda Book Award in China
Winner of The Morning Calm Award in South Korea
The Chinese American Librarians Association Best Book of 2011
CCBC Choices for 2012The Runaway Wok: A Chinese New Year TaleFeatured title at the Asian Festival of Children's Content in Singapore
2013 Washington Children's Choice Picture Book Award (WCCPBA)Nominee
2012 Storytelling World Resource Award
2012 California Collections List, for school libraries
Scholastic Book Club Choice
2011 Lasting Connections Top 30 Titles from BooklistThe Chinese Emperor's New Clothes2018 Parent's Choice Awards
2019 Great Texas Mosquito List
2019 Bank Street College of Education — Best Children's BookMorning Sun in Wuhan2022 Selected as one of the best books of 2022 by the New York Public Library 2022 Honorable Mention of the Freeman Book Award by NCTAsia
2022 Recipient of the Common Sense Selection for Books designation
2023 Chosen as a Gold Standard Selection by the Junior Library Guild
2023 Notable Social Studies Book by the NSST/CBCRa Pu Zel and the Stinky Tofu2024 Recipient of the Common Sense Selection for Books designation 2024 Winner of the MOSS Kids National Championship
2024 BookPage's Best Picture Books of the Year
2024 Evanston Public Library 101 Great Books for Kids
2024 New York Public Library Best Books for KidsGrowing Up Under a Red Flag2024 Chosen as a Gold Standard Selection by the Junior Library Guild
2024 Recipient of the Common Sense Selection for Books designation
2024 Starred review from the School Library Journal
2024 Starred review from Publishers Weekly
2024 Starred review from Booklist
2024 CALIBA Golden Poppy Award Finalist