Chapter 79 Section five

Although Eileen Chang was only glimpsed in Taiwan, the fate has been forged since then. When the youths in mainland China are brainwashing together, singing quotation songs, dancing loyalty characters every day, and suffering the "unprecedented" baptism, almost all the youths in Taiwan have one hand. Zhang Ailing read this book with fascination. No wonder Taiwanese female writer Zhu Tianwen said proudly: "About Zhang Ailing, the mainland is at least 30 years later than Taiwan. In Taiwan, we can say that we grew up reading Zhang Ailing, and the weak water takes a spoonful of three thousand. Everyone has taken a piece of Zhang Ailing from him. This kind of cultural composition is indeed different from that of the mainland. In a word, the individual's own space."

Zhang Ailing's works "returned" to the mainland after the 1980s—and not "all"! ——At that time, Hong Kong and Taiwan literature attacked the mainland, and Eileen Chang returned with it. Readers were pleasantly surprised and at a loss. They either regarded her as an "unearthed cultural relic" or as a "Chinese American", and mainstream literature even instinctively rejected her. It is secretive.Some readers who call themselves "Zhang fans" have never even heard of the topic of He. To this day, the name of "Zhang Ailing" is already in the sky, but mainland writers still cannot look at it with a peaceful mind and an objective perspective. Even if they really like it in their hearts, they still have to embellish their words to cover up their guard and try to cover it up.Once someone is dubbed a "Zhang Pai writer", he has to explain and argue in a hurry. Although Zhang Ailing's grammar is used in the article and often quotes Zhang Ailing's allusions, but when writing a book, I can't stop thinking about it. Clearing the boundary line, the left sentence "one divides into two" and the right sentence "remove the excess and save the essence", are coy and pretentious, which is really ironic.

Mr. Xu Zidong from Hong Kong asked a good question: "Interestingly, the general contemporary writers are honored and proud if they are judged to have 'Lu Xun's spirit', 'Lao She's language' or 'Shen Congwen style'. Why are they considered to be Zhang's? Writers, either 'drawing the line' or 'defecting from their predecessors', are even consciously or unconsciously anxious about Zhang's influence? Is it because writers don't want to be obliterated by too attractive predecessors? Perhaps people are concerned about Zhang Ailing's status in literary history Still confused?"

Taiwanese writers did not have these worries. As early as the 1960s and 1970s, there were already many writers who called themselves "Zhang School", and they called Eileen Chang "grandmother".There are two main reasons for this great success: one is the publication of Xia Zhiqing's "History of Modern Chinese Fiction" (English version) in 1961; the other is the systematic recommendation of Zhang Ailing's works by Taiwan Crown Publishing House. Xia Zhiqing, a native of Wu County, Jiangsu Province, was born in Pudong, Shanghai in 1921. He graduated from Hujiang University in June 1942 and left Shanghai for Taipei in October 1945. According to his own memories, during the three years between graduation from university and going to Taiwan, "Only participated in two decent literary and artistic gatherings: in the autumn of 1943, I met Qian Zhongshu, Yang Jiang and his wife and other Shanghai literary and artistic celebrities at the home of Song Qi's brother and sister-in-law; The family of the lower class students in the English Department met Zhang Ailing and many students from Hujiang University and St. John’s University, and they all came here to admire Zhang Ailing.”

The "low class classmate" refers to Ms. Zhang Zhenying, a graduate of the English Department of Hujiang University; the meeting place is at the home of Zhang's classmate at No. 661 Julaida Road; ".However, at that time Xia Zhiqing was focusing on English and American literature, determined not to read contemporary Chinese works, so his knowledge of Eileen Chang was limited.The purpose of participating in such a literary gathering is just to "meet a few smart women who love literature and art", not to admire Zhang Ailing's name.At the meeting that day, his eyes were always attracted by Liu Jinchuan, a beautiful lady from Ningbo, but he pursued it for a long time but failed; he didn't have a deep impression of Zhang Ailing, only remembering that "she was wearing a cheongsam or a suit, Standing up to talk, laughing seems to give people a little lack of self-confidence. The audience surrounded her, as if they were all standing."

Afterwards, under Hu Shi's strong recommendation, Xia Zhiqing received a stipend to study in the United States and became a doctoral student in English and American literature at Yale University.While at Yale, I met my first American wife and gave birth to a daughter, but later divorced; my second wife was Wang Dong, who graduated from National Taiwan University and came to the United States, and gave birth to another daughter. Unfortunately, she was born with dementia, could not speak, and could not take care of herself at all. , This is the greatest regret in Xia Zhiqing's life. In 1961, the book "History of Modern Chinese Fiction" was completed, which for the first time let Americans know the names of Lu Xun, Mao Dun, Lao She, Qian Zhongshu, Shen Congwen, and Zhang Ailing.Think: "Zhang Ailing should be the best and most important writer in China today. As far as short stories are concerned, they can be compared with British and American modern female writers such as Manshfield, Ampot, Welty, and McCluss. I'm afraid it is even better. It is an immortal work in the history of modern Chinese novels." And it is "the greatest novella in China since ancient times."

Once the book was published, it immediately became a popular book for the study of modern Chinese literature, and it is also a textbook for many European and American universities.However, Xia Zhiqing and Zhang Ailing had no relationship at this time. Although they had met once in Shanghai, Zhang Ailing had long forgotten; their second meeting was in Washington, D.C. in March 1964. Gao Keyi, editor of the Chinese Department of the Voice of America, invited Chen Shixiang, Wu Luqin, and the Xia brothers to meet Zhang Ailing in a restaurant.This will be described in more detail later. Since then, Xia Zhiqing and Zhang Ailing formally established diplomatic relations and started correspondence. In October 2004, Ms. Zhou Li, who was famous in the literary world for her autobiographical inspirational novel "Chinese Women in Manhattan", interviewed Mr. Xia Zhiqing twice. The first time we met at a restaurant, and the second time he met near Columbia University in New York 113 Street apartment, and brought a disc written by Wang Huiling.

Xia Zhiqing showed Zhou Li several letters from Zhang Ailing. The address Zhang Ailing typed out did not use Eileen or Lai Ya Fedinomd Reyhor's surname, but just "Chang".The letters are all written vertically, on thin white letter paper, and the black pen writing is very elegant. At the end of each letter, Mrs. Xia Wangdong's name is always mentioned.Mrs. Xia said: "Zhang Ailing is really polite. Every letter should ask me and Yuezhen (the demented daughter) well." Talking about Zhang Ailing's two husbands, Xia Zhiqing was still angry, thinking: "This Lai Ya, because she is so poor, must go to Zhang Ailing to have an abortion! A child is as important as a woman's life. After Zhang Ailing's miscarriage, it is really true. Withered. If she had a man and a half woman, how much comfort and happiness would it bring her in the next few decades of widowhood! I think this may be because she has neither Hu Lancheng nor Hu Lancheng in the last "Comparison". The reason for Lai Ya's photo text. These two men are really not worthy of her love and miss!"

"History of Modern Chinese Fiction" writes Eileen Chang into the history of literature for the first time, which is undoubtedly a milestone for Eileen Eileen Eileen Chang's works; The publication of her novels in English is still difficult, her financial situation has not improved at all, and her husband, Laiya, is suffering from life and death.She wrote to Song Qi and his wife, complaining that she had been "unable to sell", and said that she had been typing in the dark, and she hadn't finished typing yet... It is Ping Xintao, the owner of Taiwan's "Crown" Publishing House, who has directly improved her financial situation and the publication of her works.

The name of Ping Xintao is no stranger to mainland readers, not only because he is the person in charge of "Crown" magazine, but also because he is the husband of Aunt Qiong Yao, the "godmother of love"; for this book, his other identity is It is even more interesting - he is also the nephew of Ping Jinya, the owner of the Central Book Company. Twenty years ago in Shanghai, Zhang Ailing's first book was not submitted to the Central Book Company for publication. Since then, she and Ping Jinya got married and got involved in a "one thousand yuan gray tin" lawsuit; twenty years later, she finally It is better to hand over the publishing rights to the Heira family, and this cooperation lasted for thirty years, until after death.

Ping Xintao recalled: "In Hong Kong in 1965, I met Mr. Song Qi, a gentle and elegant scholar, we hit it off right away, and he enthusiastically recommended several Hong Kong writers to me, especially Zhang Ailing. At that time, Zhang Ailing was living in the United States. Hearing Zhang Ailing's name, I felt cordial and happy. It was definitely a great honor to publish her works. It was published in April 1966 and we cooperated happily. Since then, Zhang Ailing All works of "Crown" are exclusively published by "Crown". In her youth, Zhang Ailing and Mr. Heping Jinya's "Vientiane" magazine forged a profound literary relationship, and then cooperated happily with "Crown" for fifty years. The publishing businesses of the two Ping families work closely together, so the origin spanning two generations, perhaps just like the title of her first book, can be called another 'legend'." In April 1966, it was published by Taiwan Crown Publishing House, and soon after, "Rumors", "Chang Ailing's Fiction Collection", and so on, set off the "Chang Ailing fever" in Taiwan.The royalties from the "Crown" have also become Zhang Ailing's main source of income since then. In her letter to Xia Zhiqing on December 22, 1983, Zhang Ailing clearly mentioned: "The only requirement I have always asked for publishers is business ethics. For the past few years, although the royalties of the crown have been 2,000 US dollars every six months, sometimes doubled, it is my only fixed income..." The affirmation overflowed on paper. In January 1984, she published an essay on the special issue commemorating the 30th anniversary of the publication of "Crown", claiming: "I read every issue of "Crown" from beginning to end, and feel that China really needs such an approachable and He also produces a rigorous magazine." ""Crown Books" has translated a large number of best-selling books in recent years, and I have been privately telling my friends in letters that this is the right way to push the horizon of the broad readership." Ping Xintao recalled: "Zhang Ailing's life is simple, and the letters I wrote are also very simple. In order not to increase her troubles, the letters I wrote in the past are also in a few words, telegrams, and even polite greetings. In order to "get in touch with her quickly", letters are sent through the fax machine of a grocery store near her residence on weekdays, but every time she goes shopping in the store, she can only receive the fax. When the fax arrived, she might not reply immediately, and there might be a gap of 20 or 30 days. I think she must be very used to this plain but direct way of communication, so we can maintain our friendship for 30 years without changing." Xia Zhiqing once wrote in "Superman Talent, Peerless Desolation-Mourning Eileen Chang": "Eileen Chang has reviewed the 'Complete Works' published by Crown Series for her in the past few years, and added a new "Contrast Note", which summarizes all It is equivalent to writing a concise family history. At the end of last year, she won the "Special Achievement Award" for literature from "China Times". Although Zhang Ailing was infirm and inconvenient to return to the China to accept the award and meet many writers and readers who love her, but she has left a set of proofreading and accurate 'Complete Works' for them and Chinese literature readers all over the world, and she has no regrets." ——Her first book was not handed over to Ping Jinya, but her last book "Contrast Notes" and "Complete Works" of her life were handed over to Ping Xintao. This is not only a "legend", it is simply "Surprising surprise"! What is even more touching is that Zhang Ailing willed all property to Song Qi before her death.And Song Qi signed a "Appointment Authorization Letter" four months later (January 1, 1966): "I hereby appoint Taiwan Crown Literature Publishing House Co., Ltd. as the sole agent for Ms. Zhang Ailing who I own. All copyright matters of copyright in any region of the world, including any publishing authorization and all other adaptations and derivative authorizations in any form and in any medium." In the same year, Song Qi passed away, and his wife Song Kuang Wenmei became the legal heir of Zhang Ailing's works. "Crown" then became the legal agent and the biggest beneficiary of Zhang Ailing's copyright.On September 11, 2003, Ping Xintao issued the "Copyright Statement": "All Zhang Ailing's works are in accordance with the provisions of the Universal Copyright Convention and the Berne Convention, and their copyrights are still valid and have not become public property. After Ms. Zhang Ailing's death, she was appointed by Song Qi and his wife as sole agent for all copyright and legal matters related to Zhang Ailing's works." He also stated that in addition to the Harbin Publishing House he had authorized, "all Zhang Ailing's works that were not authorized or had expired long ago All editions are illegal pirated editions". Previously, he had authorized Huacheng Publishing House and Shanghai Ancient Books Publishing House to publish Zhang Ailing's works for a period of two years. I have a set of "Zhang Ailing's Works Collection" published by Huacheng Publishing House in March 1997. There are 11 volumes in total, and there is no income and income as a rule. Book, so I added someone's "preface" at the beginning, compared Zhang Ailing and Lu Xun, and then came to the conclusion: "(Lu Xun)'s works from to Zhongzhong, none of them are repeated. In contrast, Zhang Ailing's journey from "Agarwood Crumbs: The First Burn of Incense" to "May 4th Suicide Note" (Western Press: Actually it should be "May 4th Suicide Note", I don't know if the preface was wrong or the proofreading was wrong). "Great", still singing the same tone. A writer who can't constantly break through himself is hard to describe as 'great' after all. Eileen Chang is just an excellent writer who has created a unique style." ——I also draw two inferences from this: Either this person has never read and probably does not know, let alone understand Zhang Ailing's plays; or, he is blind! Deliberately obliterating some of the works, and then explaining that Zhang Ailing has not "grown up" and is not "great" enough.How is it different from "unnecessary"?And such a nonsensical preface occupies five pages of paper in front of each of the eleven books. When I open a book, I see him. I really want to tear the book. This kind of torment like digging a grave and spreading ashes, it's no wonder that Ping Xintao wants to take back the copyright.