J.J. Cheng is a Chinese American author born in Beijing, China, into a renowned intellectual family, on the eve of the Cultural Revolution.

Prior to coming to America in 1988, Cheng was a pioneer English-speaking broadcaster on CCTV, fluent in telling the “China Story” to the West. Cheng bears personal witness to the dramatic changes in China and the loss of heritage and traditions at the turn of the 21st century including her own family inheritance.

Cheng traces her lineage all the way back to the 11th-century neo-Confucian philosopher, Cheng Hao, excavating spiritual relics and cosmic wisdom buried for centuries. The Cheng legacy, especially the life story of her grandfather, Cheng Zhen Jun, is the inspiration for PHOENIXA: THE NEST. Cheng wrote, illustrated, and narrated the novel.

Based in New York and Beijing, bi-continental, bilingual Cheng is also an award-winning intercultural documentary filmmaker with notable films including GOLDEN LOTUS, The Legacy of Bound Feet (2006), MAMA’S GOLD, The Orphans of Shangri-La (2003), and CHINA GOLD RUSH (2000), a PBS/WLIW21 broadcast. As an associate Professor of Cinema and Television, Cheng taught in both the US and China. Cheng majored in English and graduated with a BA from Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China, and an MA in Communication Arts, TV & Film, from the University of Maryland, USA.