Cross your shadow

Author: Zhang Jie
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-01-01
Features: Some say Zhang Jie is the last angel in the dreamlike swamp, she speaks not, her deep eyes gaze at you, and a strange, pipe organ-like melody blows over, making you feel the vast treasure trove of moonlight in her heart. Thanks to her genuine and pure spirit and sensibility, she has been writing stories from her heart with excellence. The three books by Shanghai writer Zhang Jie—The Girl Who Knocks on the Door, Crossing Your Shadow, and Songs of the Mysterious Garden—are grandly launched by Children’s Publishing House (Shanghai), branding them as “Moonlight Novels.” Describing Zhang Jie’s novels in terms of moonlight is truly appropriate and accurate. Zhang Jie’s novels predominantly use the third-person perspective, which gives her writing a sincere, innocent, and graceful tone, allowing readers to quickly resonate with their hearts. Her rejection of the filth of the adult world, her disappointments and frustrations in human interactions, her confusion about life, and her melancholy struggles to express herself—these sensitive emotions of teenage growth coexist with their deep appreciation for pure and beautiful things, creating a rich and ethereal aesthetic effect. Overall, Zhang Jie’s novels possess a transcendent and ethereal beauty, which is related to the author’s perspective on life and her choice of material. The author holds a “both simple and infinite” ideal of perfection, and her curiosity, confusion, and questioning of life are all rooted in this ideal. She feels pained by any flaws in human nature but also forgives them. The psychology of teenagers is like the dense, rolling clouds in the sky, but their gracefulness comes from an inner stability. Something too smooth can leave a sense of simplicity after reading. When an author’s expression and writing are overly fluent, it is usually because they have fully mastered what they want to convey, and they appear confident and effortless on the page. Yet such fluent writing and works are now far too common. A critic once advised writers to restrain their fluency when they feel it is too smooth. Maturity can also be cliché; overly smooth writing risks being flat in effect. It is a joy to discover that Zhang Jie has avoided this maturity and excessive fluency. Zhang Jie’s writing is beautiful and precise, but when she constructs a certain mood in her works, it is not from a position of superiority but from immersion in the scene. When she depicts confusion, it is not to resolve it through description but often to express it while still being confused. I believe the most outstanding aspect of Zhang Jie’s work is not its reflections on ideas but the vividness of the images themselves. As a common literary adage goes: “Image is greater than thought.” Only when the work itself is rich can its ideas truly resonate. Even, I believe, it is better for an image to be “rough” or “imperfect” than to be conceptualized or emaciated, especially for children’s literature. For the current state of our literature, ideas have become too much, too empty, and too. Zhang Jie’s strength lies in her literary potential, which is a natural cultivation, born from her sincere attitude; it is also a talent. Her vivid dialogues, dynamic conflicts, lively scenes, and ethereal thoughts—all their successful portrayals stem from these two reasons: both talent and cultivation. Because of her sincerity, she empathizes completely, standing fully in the other’s perspective and expressing it; because of her talent, she brings it to life. Thus, Zhang Jie can not only create sensitive and beautiful teenage characters like herself but also successfully portray characters like troubled boys, as seen in the excellent novel When the Flowers Bloom. The poetic appreciation of human nature and the vitality of life coexist in Zhang Jie’s works. The lively, mischievous, energetic, and rebellious spirits of boys and girls sometimes appear in a seemingly robust and strong manner, which surprises one of the contrasts with the author’s delicate and slender image. But this is not surprising at all. With the support of a broader and stronger vitality, the poetic expression of human nature is not delicate or frail but powerful. Vitality itself is also poetic, just as important and precious as the author’s sensitivity. When an author’s compassion aligns perfectly with their writing theme, or when the narrative perspective they choose just enough expresses their emotions, more exquisite works emerge. I believe Evening Tea and Fragrance, Worldly Smoke, Bathed in Sunlight, Children of Paradise, and When the Flowers Bloom, including the novel The Girl Who Knocks on the Door, are the most outstanding among Zhang Jie’s works. They possess excellent narrative rhythms, harmonious unity of form and content, balanced and lingering structures—even when placed alongside adult literary works, they are outstanding. Coincidentally, most of them are written in the third-person perspective, which makes me wonder if the third-person narrative allows Zhang Jie to remain calm and in control. Perhaps the moment the author finds the right narrative perspective, their artistic conception also matures instantly.