??????????, 1952-1955 = The novels of Zhang Ailing in Hong Kong, 1952-1955
Abstract of thesis entitled ?he Novels of Zhang Ailing in Hong Kong
1952-1955?submitted by Su Wei Chen for the degree of Master of
Philosophy at The University of Hong Kong in April 1999.
The reputation of Zhang Ailing (Eileen Chang, 1920-1995) as one of the greatest novelists in the history of modern Chinese literature has already been firmly established. Her works have enjoyed wide audience and high critical acclaim in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Her writing, a unique blending of the style of traiditional Chinese fiction and that of modern Chinese fiction, has exercised great influence on the development of Chinese fiction since 1950.
The thesis builds its argument on the division of Zhang? writing career into three periods.
The first period ?the Shanghai Period ?extends from 1943 when she published her first novel to 1952 when she fled Mainland China;
From 1952 when she arrived in Hong Kong to 1955 when she left for the United States is her second period ?the Hong Kong Period;
From 1955 to her death in 1995 is the third period, the United States Period.
The present thesis focuses on her Hong Kong Period, maintaining that it is pivotal in the evolution of her writing art.
The thesis consists of three parts:
Part 1 is a description of the characteristics of Zhang? novels during her Hong Kong Period;
Part 2 is a close reading of her two major novels of the period, namely Naked Earth and The Rice-Sprout Song,
Part 3 is a discussion of the significance of Zhang? novels of the Hong Kong Period.
The purpose of the discussion is not only to establish the importance of her works of Hong Kong Period in the Zhang? fiction as a whole but, with an in-depth analysis of the style of the two novels, to demonstrate the difference of Zhang? three periods.
The thesis also argues that her fiction works during the second period are closely associated with the geopolitical conditions of Hong Kong at the time. The port city of Hong Kong in the early 1950s, extremely special in the international situation of the time, served as a particular arena, which, though open to many possibilities, placed Zhang Ailing in a special locality, thus contributing to the unique features of these two novels.
The thesis tries to prove, through a careful discussion of the characters and other elements of the two novels, that they are a continuation of Zhang? Shanghai Period, as well as a precursor of the United States Period. By placing her Hong Kong Period against a larger literary, social and historical context, the thesis endeavours to chart the course of the development of Zhang? writing as a whole.
School:The University of Hong Kong
School Location:China - Hong Kong SAR
Source Type:Master's Thesis
Keywords:zhang ailing criticism and interpretation ??? chinese literature 20th century
Date of Publication:01/01/1999