Works of Zhang Kebiao

Author: Chen Fukang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-01-01
Features: The author of this book is Mr. Zhang Kebiao. He is one of the oldest contemporary Chinese writers who are still diligently writing. He was born in 1900 in Haining, Zhejiang. He experienced and witnessed the vicissitudes of China over the past century. In 1920, he was admitted to Tokyo Higher Normal School for study in Japan. In 1926, he entered the Department of Education at Kyoto Imperial University to pursue a doctoral degree. During his time abroad, he began his literary career. After returning to China, he taught at various schools, including Taizhou Provincial No. 6 High School, Zhejiang No. 2 High School, Shanghai Lida Academy, and National Jianan University. The renowned Hong Kong writer Jin Yong was once his student. In 1926, he co-edited the monthly magazine General with Hu Yushi, Ye Shengtao, Xia Guanzun, and Feng Zikai in Shanghai. He also organized the New Literature group Lion Roar Society with and . In 1928, he joined Kaiping Publishing House, where he edited mathematics textbooks and the Kaiping Literary Dictionary, which had a significant impact. In 1929, he co-founded the Time Book Company with the poet Shao Xunmei, serving as its general manager and editing the weekly magazine Ten Days Talk. At the same time, he published a large number of essays in newspapers and magazines such as Shanghai Daily's Free Talk. He gained fame for his special series of essays The Art of Ascending the Literary World, which attracted the attention of Mr. Lu Xun. During the War of Resistance, he made a mistake and fell into trouble. Fortunately, he eventually extricated himself. Later, he reflected deeply on this and gained a better understanding. In his later years, he endured both sweetness and bitterness but remained composed. After the Cultural Revolution, he regained his literary vitality and continued to write. He is currently a member of the Haining Municipal Committee of the Zhejiang Provincial People's Congress and a member of the Zhejiang Provincial Academy of Arts and Sciences. It is a great spectacle for the literary world that a centenarian occasionally publishes new works. This collection covers Mr. Zhang Kebiao's 80-year writing career. This volume selects his novels and essays. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Mr. Zhang published romantic fiction collections such as Silver Snake, Four Symbols of Love, A Man's Marriage, and Mirage. Some of his novels were republished in the 1980s. This volume is the most complete collection. In the 1920s and 1930s, Mr. Zhang published Cool Talk and The Art of Ascending the Literary World, both of which were his unique series of thematic essays. The Art of Ascending the Literary World is his masterpiece, which was recently reprinted by several publishers. Cool Talk, however, was only partially selected for reprinting. This volume includes both books in full and also selects essays he has published in the past two decades.