Xiao Hong (1911–1942) is best known for her two short novels, Field of Life and Death and Tales of Hulan River. Howard Goldblatt has translated numerous works of contemporary Chinese fiction, most notably the novels of Nobel Prize winner Mo Yan.

"Market Street, first published in China in 1936, was written by the young woman writer Xiao Hong, who is best known for her two short novels, Field of Life and Death and Tales of Hulan River. In Market Street, the twenty-year-old author recounts in fictional autobiographical form two years of her short life when she lived in Harbin between 1932 and 1934. . . . Goldblatt has furnished a translation up to his usual high standard."