El candado de oro eileen chang biography

Chinese-American writer and screenwriter (1920–1995)

In this Chinese name, the kinsfolk name is Chang.

Eileen Chang (traditional Chinese: 張愛玲; simplified Chinese: 张爱玲; pinyin: Zhāng Àilíng; Wade–Giles: Chang¹ Ai⁴-ling²；September 30, 1920 – Sep 8, 1995), also known variety Chang Ai-ling or Zhang Ailing, or by her pen reputation Liang Jing (梁京), was pure Chinese-born American essayist, novelist, standing screenwriter.

Chang was born take up again an aristocratic lineage and cultured bilingually in Shanghai. She gained literary prominence in Japanese-occupied City between 1943 and 1945. In spite of that, after the Communists defeated ethics Nationalists in the Chinese Civilized War, she fled the land. In the late 1960s lecture early 1970s, she was rediscovered by scholars such as Apophthegm.

T. Hsia and Shui Jing. Together with the re-examination take in literary histories in the post-Mao era during the late Decennium and early 1980s, she coral again to literary prominence domestic Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mainland Better half, and the Chinese diaspora communities.^[2]

Life

Childhood and youth

Chang was born Zhang Ying (張煐) in Shanghai, Prc on September 30, 1920.

She was the first child ingratiate yourself Zhang Zhiyi (張志沂; 1896–1953) ahead Huang Suqiong (黃素瓊; 1893–1957). Chang's maternal great-grandfather, Huang Yisheng (黃翼升; 1818–1894), was a prominent navalcommander. Chang's paternal grandfather, Zhang Peilun (1848–1903) married Li Ju'ou (李菊耦; 1866–1916) and was son-in-law preempt Li Hongzhang, an influential Manchu court official.

She was too raised by her paternal tease Zhang Maoyuan (張茂淵; 1898–1991).^[1]

In 1922, when Chang was two days old, the family relocated disturb Tianjin. When she was triad, her father introduced her halt Tang poetry. Beginning in 1924, her father often brought say-so prostitutes or concubines and became heavily addicted to opium, which led to fights between will not hear of parents.

During this time, Chang's mother decided to travel be different her aunt to study elaborate France.^[1] In 1927, after Chang's father promised to end rulership drug usage and extramarital assignment, Chang and her mother came back and settled in Nobble. Chang's parents eventually divorced rejoicing 1930; she and her previous brother Zhang Zijing (張子靜; 1921–1997) were raised by their paterfamilias.

At the age of 18, Chang contracted dysentery. Instead another seeking medical treatment, her curate beat her and forced back up to stay in her room for six months. Chang one of these days ran away to live spare her mother and they stayed with her mother for almost two years, until she went to university.^[3]

Education

Chang started school fighting age 4.

Chang had transmitted copied excellent English skills besides counterpart native Chinese. In 1937, she graduated from an all-female Faith boarding high school, St. Mary's Hall, Shanghai, even though decline family was not religious.^[1]

At sting early age, under her mother's influence, Chang began painting, performance piano, and learning English.^[4]

In 1939, Chang was accepted to nobility University of London on deft full scholarship, but was incapable to attend due to Faux War II.

Instead, she pretended English Literature at the Asylum of Hong Kong, where she met her lifelong friend, Muslim Mohideen (炎櫻; died 1995). During the time that Chang was one semester sever of earning her degree remit December 1941, Hong Kong prostrate to the Empire of Gloss. Chang's famous works were undamaged during the Japanese occupation.^[5]

Marriages

In 1943, Chang met her first keep Hu Lancheng when she was 23 and he was 37.

They married the following yr in a private ceremony. Muslim Mohideen was the sole attendant. In the few months put off he courted Chang, Hu was still married to his gear wife. Although Hu was styled a traitor for collaborating know the Japanese during World Hostilities II, Chang continued to tarry loyal to Hu. Shortly next, Hu chose to move have knowledge of Wuhan to work for pure newspaper.

While staying at unblended local hospital, he seduced nifty 17-year-old nurse, Zhou Xunde (周訓德), who soon moved in shrink him. When Japan was guilty in 1945, Hu used choice identity and hid in say publicly nearby city of Wenzhou, at he married Fan Xiumei (范秀美). Chang and Hu divorced access 1947.^[2]

While in MacDowell Colony, Another Hampshire, Chang met and became involved with the American screenwriterFerdinand Reyher, a Philadelphia native just about 30 years her senior.^[6] Next to the time they were tersely apart in New York (Chang in New York City, Reyher in Saratoga), Chang wrote survey Reyher that she was denoting with his child.

Reyher wrote back to propose. Although River did not receive the communication, she telephoned the following farewell to inform Reyher she was arriving in Saratoga. Reyher esoteric a chance to propose discriminate her in person, but insisted that he did not energy the child. Chang had guidebook abortion shortly afterward. On Lordly 14, 1956, the couple mated in New York City.^[7] Abaft the wedding, the couple troubled back to New Hampshire.

Equate suffering a series of strokes, Reyher eventually became paralyzed, already his death on October 8, 1967.

Death

On September 8, 1995, Chang was found dead smudge her apartment on Rochester Boulevard in Westwood, Los Angeles, overtake her landlord.^[8] According to other half friends, Chang had died have a phobia about natural causes several days previously her building manager discovered cast-off body, after becoming alarmed think it over she had not answered respite telephone.

Her death certificate states that she died from cardiovascular disease.^[8] According to Chang's longing, she was cremated without harebrained memorial service, and her flop were scattered in the Ocean Ocean.

After Chang's death, Author Soong (宋淇; 1919–1996) became distinction executor of her estate, succeeded by his son Roland Soong (宋以朗).^[9] In 1997, the Soong family donated some of Chang's manuscripts to the East Eastern Library at the University shambles Southern California (USC), including ethics English translation of "The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai" and glory unfinished manuscript of the original "The Young Marshall."^[9] In 2015, Roland Soong handed Eileen Chang's manuscripts to Hong Kong teacher Rosanna Fong (馮睎乾) for put up and research.

Career

Shanghai

At the boulevard of 10, Chang's mother renamed her as Aìlíng, a interpretation of Eileen, in preparation reckon her entrance into an Straightforwardly school. While in high grammar, Chang read Dream of say publicly Red Chamber, one of loftiness Four Great Classical Novels sum Chinese literature, which influenced pull together work throughout her career.

Yangtze displayed great literary talent take up her writings were published brush the school magazine. The pursuing year, she wrote her initiation short novel at the withdraw of 12.^[10]

Chang's writing is gasp influenced by the environment coop which she lives. Shanghai enjoin Hong Kong in the Decennium were the background of patronize of her earlier novels.^[5] She was known for her “aesthetic ambivalence” where the narrative thing and language were reminiscent exert a pull on the traditional “linked-chapter” novel extensively the setting was more effect line with modern urban melodramas.

Chang also sought to race and examine the psychology more than a few her characters.^[11]

In 1943, Chang was introduced to the prominent rewrite man Zhou Shoujuan, and gave him a few pieces of grouping writing. With Zhou's support, Yangtze soon became the most well-received new writer in Shanghai. Inside the next two years, she wrote some of her chief acclaimed works, including Love up-to-date a Fallen City (Qing Cheng Zhi Lian, 傾城之戀) and The Golden Cangue (1943). In scrap English translation of The Flourishing Cangue, Chang simplified English expressions and sentence structures to dream up it easier for readers entertain understand.^[12]

Several short stories and novellas were collected in Romances (Chuan Qi, 傳奇) (1944).

It at the moment became a bestseller in Nobble, boosting Chang's reputation and title among readers and also birth Chinese literary circle.^[13]

A collection befit her essays appeared as Written on Water (Líu Yán流言) escort 1945.^[14] Her literary maturity was said to be far out of reach her age.

As described do without Nicole Huang in the dispatch to Written on Water, "The essay form became a strategic for Eileen Chang constantly kind redefine the boundaries between take a crack at and work, the domestic coupled with the historic, and meticulously prompt weave a rich private convinced together with the concerns describe a public intellectual."^[14] In Ordinal century China, Chang experimented observe new literary language.

In draw essay entitled "writing of one's own," Chang retrospectively remarks answer her use of a different fictional language in her parable LianhuantaoChained Links.^[14]

In the early time of her career, Chang was famously associated with this comment:

To be famous, I should hurry. If it comes very late, it will not fetch me so much happiness ...

Hurry, hurry, or it choice be too late, too late!^[15]

Hong Kong

In 1945, Chang's reputation waned due to postwar cultural swallow political turmoil. It worsened aft the defeat of the Leader government by the Communists rank the Chinese Civil War. One day, Chang left mainland China keep an eye on Hong Kong in 1952, culmination her writing career in Snatch was over.^[14] In Hong Kong, she worked for the Coalesced States Information Service (USIS), which promoted United States interests overseas.^[16] During this time, she wrote two anti-communist works,The Rice-Sprout Song (Yang Ge, 秧歌) and Naked Earth (Chidi zhi lian, 赤地之戀, sometimes known in English owing to Love in Redland),^[17] both lady which she later translated bounce Chinese and published in Taiwan.^[18]The Rice-Sprout Song was Chang's supreme novel written entirely in English.^[2]

Chang wrote Naked Earth at magnanimity direct request of the USIS.^[16] She used a plot compendium supplied by USIS agents respect write the book.^[16] According comprise academic Brian DeMare, the publication is a consequence of description anti-Communist paranoia of the Combined States Cold War mentality fairy story lacks the poetry and meaning of Chang's other works.^[19]

She too translated a variety of Simply works into Chinese, most markedly The Old Man and authority Sea by Ernest Hemingway courier "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving.^[20] Chang's construction of The Old Man bid the Sea was seen variety Cold War propaganda for honesty USIS and is argued get closer have directly influenced her scribble literary works and translating of The Rice-Sprout Song.^[21]

She then left for illustriousness United States in 1955, conditions to return to mainland Ware again.

United States

In 1955, Yangtze moved to America, struggling assume become an English writer. In trade work was rejected by publishers many times.^[9] Chang's move do too much Hong Kong to the U.S. in the 1950s marked keep you going important turning point in Chang's literary career.^[11]

In 1960s, Chang was constantly searching for new approval opportunities, particularly ones that take part in translating or writing screenplays.

Yangtze once tried to adapt uncut screenplay for Hollywood with Sinitic elements, but was unsuccessful since the agent thought the portrayal had too much content keep from psychological changes.^[9] Chang became nifty U.S. citizen in 1960 delighted headed to Taiwan for addon opportunities, returning to the U.S. in 1962.

Betrayal is mar overarching theme in Chang's afterward works, notably in her Plainly essay "A Return to depiction Frontier" (1963) and one expose her last novels Little Reunions (2009, published posthumously).

Compared be bounded by her previous works, there downside many more tragedies and betrayals in her writings later reworking in her life.^[22]

In 1962, as she resided in San Francisco, Chang started writing the Truly novel "The Young Marshal" family unit on the love story amidst the Chinese general Zhang Xueliang and his wife, Zhao Yidi, with an aim to disclose into the American literary existence.

However, due to the assemblage of Chinese names and knotty historical background in the work, her editor gave a civilized favorable evaluation of the introductory chapters, which greatly undermined Chang's confidence in the writing. Speed up her interest in Chang Hsueh-liang waned, she abandoned the tale. In 2014, Eileen Chang's bookish executor, Roland Soong, managed scolding have the unfinished "The Sour Marshal" published, with a Island translation by Zheng Yuantao.

In America, Chang also wrote triad novels based on her crack up life: The Fall of nobleness Pagoda, The Book of Change, and Little Reunions.^[11] In 1963, Chang finished her English semi-biographical novels, The Fall of nobleness Pagoda and The Book replica Change. Both were believed taint be her attempts to volunteer an alternative writing style collect mainstream America; she did battle-cry succeed.

The full-length novels were not published until 2010.^{[11][23][24][25]}

In 1966, Chang had a writing accessible at Miami University in Oxford.^[9] In 1967, Chang held clean up short-term job at Radcliffe School. In 1969, upon the bidding of Shih-Hsiang Chen (陳世驤Chén Shìxiāng), a professor of Oriental Languages at the University of Calif., Berkeley, Chang became a chief researcher at the Center complete Chinese Studies of Berkeley.^[26][27] Frequent research topics include the Island Communist terminology and the Ordinal century novel Dream of depiction Red Chamber.^[26] In 1971, righteousness year Chen died, Chang compare her post at Berkeley.^[27][28] Difficulty 1972, Chang relocated to Los Angeles.

In 1975, she realised the English translation of "The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai," top-hole late Qing novel written sentence Wu Chinese by Han Bangqing. The manuscript for the rendition was found among her documents at the University of Gray California and published posthumously pull 2005.

In 1978, Crown Magazine published "Lust, Caution", “Xiang Jian Huan”(相見歡) and “Fu Hua Instruct Rui”(浮花浪蕊), all written by Eileen Chang.^[29]

In 1990, Chang began chirography an essay "Table of Like and Hate" (愛憎表), a meditating of her thoughts during depiction school days.

In 2016, "Table of Love and Hate" was published posthumously in the July issue (Issue 155) of Taiwan's Ink magazine and in excellence autumn-winter issue of China's Generation magazine.

Influence

Chang was a botanist and modernist writer.^[11] Her lid important contribution was her rendering of a unique wartime chronicle, one that deviated from description grand accounts of national and revolution.

She sought be familiar with recount the seemingly irrelevant petty details and experiences of daily philosophy of ordinary men and squadron in periods of social duty and violence. Chang was as well known for her view show consideration for modern history, displaying colours, shape, and moods in her chirography and juxtaposition of historical 1 with the domain of domesticity.^[30]

During the 1970s, Chang's legacy difficult such a significant impact bloat many creative writers in Formosa that several generations of “Chang School writers” (張派作家) emerged,^[31] especially Chu T’ien-wen, Chu T’ien-hsin, Sculptor Yao-de [zh], and Yuan Chiung-chiung.^[32]

With reciprocal efforts to unearth the literate histories of the pre-revolutionary life in the post-Mao era, grand renewed Eileen Chang “fever” sweep up through the streets of mainland China.

The name Eileen River became synonymous with the glories of a bygone era. Though with Taiwan in the Decade, a group of young body of men authors who were clearly elysian by Chang rose to distinction in the 1980s and 1990s.^[2] Other notable Mainland China authors influenced by Chang include Wang Anyi, Su Tong, and Gesticulate Zhaoyan.^[32]

Chang has been listed considerably one of the four battalion literary geniuses in Shanghai through the Republic of China stage, alongside Su Qing, Guan Lu, and Pan Liudai.

Chang has also been listed as collective of the four women academic geniuses during the Republic catch sight of China era, along with Lü Bicheng, Xiao Hong and Shi Pingmei.^[33]Dominic Cheung, a poet accept professor of East Asian languages at the University of Austral California, said that had get the picture not been for the Sinitic civil war, Chang would own been a recipient of primacy Nobel Prize in Literature.^[8]

In favoured culture

Eileen Chang's works are regularly adapted for screens.

The unexcelled known is probably Ang Lee's film Lust, Caution (2007), household on her novella of representation same name, starring Tony Leung Chiu-wai and Tang Wei. High-mindedness film won the Golden Insurrection award at the Venice Membrane Festival and Golden Horse Accolade for best film in 2007. Other film adaptations include Love in a Fallen City (1984) and Love After Love (2020), the latter based on Chang's "Agarwood Incense: The First Censer"; both films are directed vulgar Ann Hui.

Chang's Love burst a Fallen City was very adapted into stage performances contempt the Hong Kong Repertory Drama in 1987, 2002, and 2005. In 2006, the theatre took the Cantonese performance to Pristine York, Shanghai, and Toronto.^[34]

A 20-episode TV series, The Legend do away with Eileen Chang, written by Wang Hui-ling and starring Rene Liu, was aired in Taiwan constant worry 2004.

Malaysian singer Victor Wong wrote a song titled "Eileen Chang" ("Zhang Ailing") in 2005.

Taiwanese writer Luo Yijun includes quotations and themes from Chang's writings and life in jurisdiction novel Daughter.^[35]

In 2020 on honesty occasion of the centennial be on holiday of Chang's birth, an on the internet exhibition Eileen Chang at rendering University of Hong Kong was presented on the website contemplate the University Museum and Quick Gallery, Hong Kong.

The event pieced together a narrative digress highlights the early stages elect Chang's literary career.^[36]

Works in English

Films

The following scripts were penned stop Chang:

• Bu Liao Qing (1947) (不了情, Unending Love, modified outlander novel 多少恨, published as motion picture script)
• Tai Tai Wan Sui (1947) (太太萬歲, Long Live the Missus!)
• Ai le zhongnian (1949) (哀樂中年, The Sorrows and Joys of Psyche Age)
• Jin Suo Ji (1950) (金鎖記, The Golden Cangue)
• Qing Chang Ru Zhan Chang (1957) (情場如戰場, The Battle of Love, script graphic in 1956)
• Ren Cai Liang De (unknown) (人財兩得, script written call a halt 1956)
• Tao hua yun (1959) (桃花運, The Wayward Husband, script hard going in 1956)
• Liu yue xin niang (1960) (六月新娘, The June Bride)
• Wen rou xiang (1960) (溫柔鄕)
• Nan bei yi jia qin (1962) (南北一家親)
• Xiao er nu (1963) (小兒女, Father Takes a Bride)
• Nan Bei Xi Xiang Feng (1964) (南北喜相逢)
• Yi qu nan wang (1964) (一曲難忘, a.k.a.

  魂歸離恨天)

The following are films appointed from Eileen Chang's novels:

See also

References

Portrait

External links