Zhang Ailing(1920-1995)
Zhang Ailing(1920-1995)
The characters of Eileen Chang's writing styles
Take the Golden Cangue as an example. First of all, there is a flowing passion in her work. At first Cao Qiqiao, the protagonist exchanged her love for money, but finally, she was only found being locked by her avarice and became unhappy ever since. She could not change the situation but only tasted the bitter destiny herself. In the story, although out of jealousy she had did something to hurt the others. But it can be seen that she is the weak as well. The protagonist is driven by her passion. Secondly, the use of racconrci(similar to the montage in film-making), which was pointed by Fu Lei, is a significant feature of her delicate novels. Most importantly, the mixed writing style of the writer is popular. There is no doubt that she was one of the most talent writers at that time. Her writing style is a mixture of Ancient and modern Chinese writing style which attract many readers.
Eileen Chang Studies in Mainland China
In 1940s, Eileen Chang just began her writing career. Soon after, she became one of the most popular writers in China. There was a famous catchphrase coined by the publishing industry, called Media:“Ling in the South, Mei in the North.”(Nan Ling Bei Mei) . It was used to refer to the two most popular women writers at that time. Ling stands for Eileen Chang, while Mei stands for Mei Niang.
Actually, from 1940s to 1950s, although Eileen Chang was a well-known writer, not so many scholars studied her works. But there are several important critics of her. The most famous one among them is Fu Lei. He published a critical article in which confirmed the importance of Eileen Chang’s works. At the same time, Hu Lancheng, the lover of Eileen Chang, wrote another article of Eileen Chang’s novels. He regards Eileen Chang as a talent writer and an obstinate but lovely lover. Her works is a kind of harmony.
After that, since the establishment of the PRC, Eileen Chang, who was thought to be a treasonous writer, was nearly unknown in the mainland China. No one dared to study her. The main part of Eileen Chang study is transformed to the west.
After the culture revolution, C.T. Hsia’s “History of Modern Chinese Fiction” was translated into Chinese and published in Hong Kong in 1979. He highlights Shen Congwen, Qian Zhongshu as well as Eileen Chang in his book. It set off a new wave of Eileen Chang studies. Also, it stimulated the rewriting of literary history in 1988 and 1989. Eileen Chang won back the position which she deserved. This period sees a prosperous of Eileen Chang studies and the reevaluations of her works.
References
[1] Chang, Kang-I. Sun, and Stephen Owen, eds. The Cambridge history of Chinese literature. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, 2010.