Course:ASIA351/2022/Zhang Henshui
| Zhang Henshui 张恨水 | |
|---|---|
.jpg) | |
| Born | May 18, 1895
Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, Great Qing |
| Died | February 15, 1967
Beijing, People's Republic of China |
| Occupation | Chinese novelist |
| Education | 南昌甲種農業學校
(Nanchang Agricultural School) 蘇州蒙藏墾殖學堂 (Suzhou Mongolian and Tibetan Agricultural School) |
| Genre | Romance, Military fictions |
| Spouses | Xu Wenshu 徐文淑
Hu Qiuxia 胡秋霞 Zhou Shuyun 周淑雲 |
| Children | 13 Children |
Zhang Henshui (Chinese: 张恨水; May 18, 1895 - February 15, 1967)[1] was a popular Chinese novelist and writer. Writing under his pen name Zhang Henshui, it is estimated that he wrote 110 novels with 40 million Chinese characters during his writing career.[2] His writing style was often labeled as Yuanyang hudiepai 鴛鸯糊蝶派 (Mandarin Ducks and Butterfly literature)[3] and gained popularity during the 1920s and 1940s.
Life
Zhang Henshui (張恨水), is the pen name of the Chinese writer Zhang Xinyuan (張心遠). Zhang Henshui was born on 18 May 1895, JiangXi province. Zhang Henshui was born into an official family as his father worked in the Qing government's Salt Tax Department.
In 1905, Zhang attended schools in Shangrao and Lichuan.[4] He falls in love with Chinese fictions after reading classics like 《西遊記》 “Journey to the West” and 《列國志》“Chronicles of the Eastern Zhou Kingdoms”. In 1912, after the death of his father, Zhang went to Qianshan, Anhui, his ancestral home with his mother.
1914, Zhang started using the pen name “Henshui” to write, which was derived from Li Yu’s 『自是人生長恨水恨東』[5] “It’s always for life to have regret never ceased, as river water flows ever east” (Zi Shi Ren Sheng Chang Hen Shui Hen Dong) in 《相見歡。林花謝了春紅》 (Wither'd grove flowers and Spring's fading hues).[6]
Zhang started his career in 1918 when he published his first fiction, which is a classical Chinese novella 《紫玉成煙》 “Purple Jade and Smoke”[7]
Zhang Henshui spent his whole career working as a journalist and writer. It is estimated that he wrote a total of around 40 million Chinese characters in over 110 novels throughout his life.[2]
In 1949, Zhang Henshui was appointed to be the advisor for the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China. In 1959, Zhang Henshui was appointed as a member of the Central Research Institute of Culture and History. [8]
1967, Zhang Henshui passed away in his house, due to cerebral hemorrhage.[7]
Family
Zhang Henshui had one wife and two concubines. Zhang Henshui's first wife is Xu Wenshu (徐文淑)
Zhang then married Hu Qiuxia (胡秋霞) in 1924.
Zhang married Zhou Shuyun (周淑雲) in 1932.[9]
Zhang Henshui has a total of 13 children[10]
Literary career
Zhang Henshui traveled for many years in his youth attempting to find work, but officially settled in Beijing and began his career in literature as an editor, journalist, and writer[11] in 1919, though he had already done some journalist work prior.
Zhang Henshui officially stopped producing and writing novels in the 1950’s, with more than one hundred works totaling in 30 million characters under his name[11]. During his height of fame in the 1930's[1], he could have up to seven works undergoing serialization simultaneously, with the author organizing his different stories and characters through a system of charts and outlines[1]. His work is considered to be under the genre of Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies[11], which is a body of work that primarily focuses on emotions and romance, though an exception to this genre can be made with his 1935 novel Shanghai Express[11].
In 1949, he published his own memoir in order to clarify rumors surrounding him along with any misconceptions, mostly due to works that were published under his name by other individuals.
The following is an example, taken from his essay "A Theft of Words" (1943), of these falsified publications/stolen work :
"Recently, friends brought me a depressing piece of news: that while passing through Shanghai they had seen journals such as Short Story Monthly and Haibao serializing my novels. Undoubtedly this is yet another instance of my words being stolen. Since my friends did not tell me the title of these novels, I don’t know whether these plagiarists have taken my old works and published them under a new title, or whether some unworthy writers have written a novel and usurped my name to get himself published. In any event, it’s indisputable that this is a malicious act."[1]
| Name of Work | Year Published | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Romance in the Imperial City | 1924/1925 | This was Zhang Henshui’s first novel and was first published in a newspaper that ran for fifty-seven months[11], before being published as part of an edition of a book by Shanghai Shijie Shuju in 1925[12]. |
| Chun ming waishi 春明外史 (An Unofficial History of Peking) | 1924-29 | This was a series written by the author in the span of five years. It is also considered to be one of his first mature novels and gained much popularity during its original publication[13]. It is a gigantic piece of literature, consisting of almost a million Chinese characters, and is considered to be one of his most popular works[1]. |
| Tixiao yinyuan 啼笑因緣 (Fate in tears and laughter) | 1929 | This work was first published in the Shanghai paper Xinwenbao 新聞幸ß [11] and was later released as a novel in 1930, also gaining much popularity with Shanghai locals. The novel, in the span of only three years, was adapted into many plays, songs, and many other forms of media[1]. |
| Name of Work | Year Published | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Shanghai Express | 1935 | First published in the journal Lüxing zazhi 方孩行雜誌(Traveler)[14]. This story follows a wealthy man, Hu Ziyun, who is traveling to Shanghai by train when he meets and falls for a young woman named Miss Liu. Their relationship develops during the journey until one night Miss Liu steals Hu Ziyun's money after a night of drinking and departs from the train before Hu Ziyun wakes up and realizes what has happened[14]. The story ends with Hu Ziyun as a poor man. |
| Bashiyi meng (Eighty-one Dreams) | 1941 | This novel contains fourteen short stories that can be read independently from one another[15]. Five of these stories have a supernatural basis, six have no supernatural implication but remain separated from the real world through their presentation as dreams, and three are presented as realistic but with some supernatural characteristics[15]. The supernatural elements are taken from chinese myths and legends, and the stories overall can be read as satirical.[15] |
| Hizui jinmi (The root of all evil) | 1948 | This novel was serialized between September 1946, to November 1948, and went on to be published as a novel in 1949.[16] The story takes place in Chongqing during a period of war and tells the stories of different characters as their moralities and economic stances dwindle as they do everything possible to purchase and obtain gold.[16] |
Representative works
Two of the major works that Zhang Henshui published include《春明外史》(Chūnmíng wàishǐ , An Unofficial History of Beijing)[17]as well as《平滬通車》(Píng hù tōngchē, Shanghai Express: A Thirties Novel) which also has a published English translation[18].《平滬通車》(Shanghai Express) is commonly viewed as an example of Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies literature novels, since it is mostly seen as entertainment literature aimed at a wide reaching audience as the main characters spend the majority of the novel on a train[18]. Major elements in these novels, including those in《平滬通車》(Shanghai Express), have a focus on food and the beauty of women[18]. There have been negative critiques on the English translation of it however, with Daniel J. Bauer stating that there was a “lack of Chinese characters to match names and titles in the afterword”[18].
《春明外史》(Chūnmíng wàishǐ , An Unofficial History of Beijing) is considered Zhang Henshui’s first mature novel, and revolves around the protagonist Yang Xingyuan and his tragic romantic life[17]. There is much focus on traditional Chinese perspectives in the novel, while also delving into the depth of human emotions[17]. Critics like T.M. McClellan have described Yang Xingyuan as a personification of both a traditional and comforting worldview, “characterized by nostalgic and melancholic romanticism”[17].
Overall, Zhang Henshui’s style is directed more towards a broad and diverse audience[17], catering to the majority as opposed to specific classes. It focuses mostly on the concept of reading purely for entertainment, as well as including characteristics of traditional novels that have been put under a modern lens[17]. This also characterizes the idea behind Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies literature that Zhang Henshui’s novels embody, with the concept of “stereotypical love stories”, the unification of traditional and modern concepts, and the addition of Westernization[19].
Influence
Commonly abbreviated to "Butterfly literature", this style of literature emerged in the early 20th century as a response towards the May Fourth Movement. This movement, triggered by protests against the Chinese government’s response towards Japan, brought forth a reevaluation of China’s position in the global context. Using science and democracy, Chinese people had hoped to build a new nation. In literature, the May Fourth Movement called for literature to be reformed based on vernacular language or baihua 白话文. In response to this, Butterfly literature called for a “reaffirmation” of tradition[20], the antithesis to the “modern” May Fourth literature.
Butterfly literature, originally stemming from the traditional elements of romantic love, often includes other popular fiction such as love stories, social novels, Western-style detective novels, fantasy novels, comic novels, etc.
Due to the nature of Butterfly literature, it grew very popular among the people. Not only did Zhang Henshui become a popular figure amongst the public, with a growing readership in each serialization, but his works also became popular.
Criticism at that time against Butterfly literature writers was often by May Fourth writers. In 1922 article titled "Ziran zhuyi yu zhongguo xiandai xiaoshuo" (Naturalism and modern Chinese fiction), Mao Dun, for example, said that “[o]ld style writers are said to be fond of recording every event in the most detailed manner possible, instead of analyzing actions for a proper description.”[21] Mao Dun also furthers his point in that Butterfly literature often has two elements that are considered undesirable: “wen yi zai dao (literature as the embodiment of dao for moral instruction), and youxi (literature as “play” or “amusement”)” which he considered as dangerous and a "departure from reality".[22] Mao Dun believed that literature should be "the analysis of events and in an investigation of psychology".[21]
However, despite these criticisms, Butterfly literature continued to thrive until the 1940s.
In more recent reexaminations of Zhang Henshui’s works, a more sympathetic view has been common. Instead, it looks at his work as a more progressive light, differing from the traditional ideas of Butterfly literature, and “toward the May 4th/Western-influenced mainstream”.[13] In mainland China, it was even raised questions about Zhang’s own ideological standings and what is portrayed in his writings, despite hardly discussing his own thoughts or fully adopting Marxist ideologies that the May Fourth authors do. Scholar T.M. McClellan argues that Zhang sought to “”modernize” and improve the old-style novel, while preserving those features that he believed to be well loved by the Chinese reading public” via the use of his world building in his writings, which aimed to create a disturbing, realistic but dream-like world that McClellan calls “oneiric romanticism”.[13] This, in turn, is what McClellan believes to have challenged the May Fourth realism, albeit not as much as May Fourth authors, in contrast to the other Butterfly literature writers who wrote to comfort readers. In this light, Zhang Henshui used the old-style novel’s traditional form and language and combined it with the May Fourth’s style of content.
Works in English Translation
- Madam White Snake (English: 1981; trans. by Myra Ellis)
- Shanghai Express: A Thirties Novel (English: 1997; trans. by William A. Lyell)
- The Eternal Love: The Story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (English: 1991; trans. by S.R. Munro)
Adaptations
| Year | Adaptation | Movie / Drama | Director / Broadcasting | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | Yínhàn shuāngxīng 银汉双星 | Movie | Chūnmíng wàishǐ 春明外史 | |
| 1932 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (Fate of Tears and Laughter) | Chinese movie | Dir. by Zhang Shichuan | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 |
| 1941 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (Fate of Tears and Laughter) | Chinese movie | Dir. by Sun Jing | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 |
| 1952 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (A Tale of Laughter and Tears) | Hong Kong movie | Dir. by Yeung Kung-leung | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 |
| 1957 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (Between Tears and Laughters) | Hong Kong movie | Dir. by Lee Sun-fung | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 |
| 1964 | Gù dōu chūnmèng 故都春夢 (Between Tears and Smiles) | Hong Kong movie | Dir. by Lo Chen | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 |
| 1964 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (A Story of three loves) | Hong Kong movie, 2 parts | Dir. by Wong Tin-lam | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 |
| 1974 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (The Fatal Irony) | 25 episodes | HK TVB | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 |
| 1975 | Xīn tíxiào yīnyuán 新啼笑因緣 (Lover's Destiny) | Hong Kong movie | Dir. by Chor Yuen | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 |
| 1980 | Jīnghuá chūnmèng 京華春夢 (Yesterday’s Glitter) | 25 episodes | HK TVB | Jīnfěn shìjiā 金粉世家 |
| 1987 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (Laugh in the sleeve) | HK Asia Television | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 | |
| 1987 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (Fate of Tears and Laughter) | Tianjin Television | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 | |
| 1987 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (Fate of Tears and Laughter) | Nei Mongol Television | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 | |
| 1989 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (Fate of Tears and Laughter) | Taiwan Television | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 | |
| 1995 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (Fate in Tears and Laughter) | Anhui Television | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 | |
| 2003 | Jīnfěn shìjiā 金粉世家 (Story of a Noble Family) | 40 episodes | CCTV, Guangdong QiangTV, Zhongshan Jingwei | Jīnfěn shìjiā 金粉世家 |
| 2004 | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 (Fate in Tears and Laughter) | 38 episodes | CCTV | Tíxiào yīnyuán 啼笑因緣 |
| 2006 | Yè shēnchén 夜深沉 (Deep Night) | 34 episodes | China International Television | Yè shēnchén 夜深沉 |
| 2008 | Zhǐzuìjīnmí 纸醉金迷 (Drunken Gold) | 42 episodes | Beijing East Ascending Production | Zhǐzuìjīnmí 纸醉金迷 |
Most notable adaptation is《啼笑因緣 》(Tíxiào yīnyuán, Fate in Tears and Laughter) with multiple film and drama adaptations.[23] In addition, there have been several Chinese operas (Peking Opera, Hebei Banzi, Ping Opera, Shanghai Opera, Cantonese Opera, Suzhou Pingtan, and Quyi Dagu) based on it in 1931, 1941, 1956, 1962, 1983, 1981, 1984, and 1993.[24]
However, other adaptations include:《春明外史》(Chūnmíng wàishǐ , An Unofficial History of Beijing), 《金粉世家》(Jīnfěn shìjiā, The Story of a Noble Family),《夜深沉》(Yè shēnchén, The Deep Night), and《纸醉金迷》(Zhǐzuìjīnmí, Paper Fan and Drunk Gold).[25]
Further reading
- McClellan, T.M. Zhang Henshui and Popular Chinese Fiction, 1919-1949. Edwin Mellen Press, 2005.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Chow, Eileen Cheng-yin (2017). A New Literary History of Modern China. Harvard University Press. pp. 354–359. ISBN 9780674978898.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Zhang Henshui 張恨水". Paper Republic 紙托邦.
- ↑ Denton, Kirk A. (2003). "Zhou Shoujuan's Love Stories and Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies Fiction". The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature: 355 – via ProQuest Ebook Central.
- ↑ "張恨水小傳 Zhang Henshui's Biography".
- ↑ "張恨水 Zhang Henshui". 語文360 Yuwen360.
- ↑ "李煜 林花謝了春紅，太怱怱。Wither'd grove flowers and Spring's fading hues". Chinese Poetry in English Verse.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Zhang Henshui張恨水". Newton中文百科.
- ↑ "張恨水_中國作家網 Zhang Henshui_China Writer.com". China Writer 中國作家網.
- ↑ "纵观张恨水的一生，有三个女人从始至终陪伴着他. There Were 3 Women Staying By Zhang Henshui's side throughout his life". 凤凰网文化 ifeng Culture.
- ↑ "子女谈张恨水：父亲一直在寻找爱情 The Children Talks About Their Father: He Kept Searching for Love".
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 11.3 11.4 11.5 Heroldová, Helena (Spring 2000). "Shanghai Express: A Thirties Novel 平滬通車 (Ping Hu Tongche). Fiction from Modern China by Zhang Henshui and William A. Lyell". China Review International. 7: 278–280 – via https://www.jstor.org/stable/23731975.
- ↑ McClellan, T.M. (Spring/Fall 1998). "Change and Continuity in the Fiction of Zhang Henshui (1895-1967): from Oneiric Romanticism to Nightmare Realism". Modern Chinese Literature. 10: 113–133 – via https://www.jstor.org/stable/41490775. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 McClellan, T.M. (Spring/Fall 1998). "Change and Continuity in the Fiction of Zhang Henshui (1895-1967): from Oneiric Romanticism to Nightmare Realism". Modern Chinese Literature. 10: 113–133 – via https://www.jstor.org/stable/41490775. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 14.0 14.1 Heroldová, Helena (Spring 2000). "Shanghai Express: A Thirties Novel 平滬通車 (Ping Hu Tongche). Fiction from Modern China by Zhang Henshui and William A. Lyell". China Review International. 7: 278–280 – via https://www.jstor.org/stable/23731975.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 McClellan, T.M. (Spring/Fall 1998). "Change and Continuity in the Fiction of Zhang Henshui (1895-1967): from Oneiric Romanticism to Nightmare Realism". Modern Chinese Literature. 10: 113–133 – via https://www.jstor.org/stable/41490775. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 16.0 16.1 McClellan, T.M. (Spring/Fall 1998). "Change and Continuity in the Fiction of Zhang Henshui (1895-1967): from Oneiric Romanticism to Nightmare Realism". Modern Chinese Literature. 10: 113–133 – via https://www.jstor.org/stable/41490775. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 17.5 McClellan, T.M. (Spring/Fall 1998). "Change and Continuity in the Fiction of Zhang Henshui (1895-1967): from Oneiric Romanticism to Nightmare Realism". Modern Chinese Literature. Vol. 10, No. 1/2: pp. 113-133 – via JSTOR. Check date values in:
|date=(help)CS1 maint: extra text (link) - ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Bauer, Daniel J (1998). "Review of Shanghai Express: A Thirties Novel". Asian Folklore Studies. vol. 57, no. 2: pp375-78 – via JSTOR.CS1 maint: extra text (link)
- ↑ Barthlein, Thomas (April 1999). ""Mirrors of Transition": Conflicting Images of Society in Change from Popular Chinese Social Novels, 1908 to 1930". Modern China. Vol. 25, No. 2: pp. 204-228 – via JSTOR.CS1 maint: extra text (link)
- ↑ Du, Yan (Sept 2007). "The Sexualized Confucianism and the Confucian Sexuality: A Critique of Rey Chow's "Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies: An Exercise in Popular Readings"". Sexuality & Culture. 11: 51–61 – via ProQuest. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ 21.0 21.1 Chow, Rey (1991). Woman and Chinese modernity : the politics of reading between West and East. University of Minnesota Press. p. 41. ISBN 0-8166-1870-4, 978-0-8166-1870-5 Check
|isbn=value: invalid character (help). - ↑ Chow, Rey (1991). Woman and Chinese modernity : the politics of reading between West and East. University of Minnesota Press. p. 40. ISBN 0-8166-1870-4, 978-0-8166-1870-5 Check
|isbn=value: invalid character (help). - ↑ "Fate in Tears and Laughter".
- ↑ "啼笑因緣".
- ↑ "张恨水".
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