By the Water, Reflecting Flowers – The Legend of Eileen Chang

Author: Wei Kefeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-11-01
Features: In 1920, in a traditional garden villa in Shanghai, a baby girl was born. With a loud cry, this girl connected to three noble families seemed to announce her identity and the era she would witness. She was named Zhang Ying, but only gained another name—Zhang Ailing—when her mother secretly took her to register for a transfer to Huangshi Primary School. In the turbulent times, the illustrious lineage of her ancestors and the scholarly atmosphere of her family allowed Zhang Ying to grow up witnessing endless splendor and decline, experiencing the ups and downs of life. Her early wisdom and keen mind transformed these stories of rise and fall into words that were both breathtaking and sorrowful. Zhang Ailing, the ever-flowering legend in the literary world; her childhood artistic awakening, her youthful maturity and rebellious spirit; as well as her romance with Hu Lanqing, which once made her "bloom from the dust but ultimately wither"; and her later years of withdrawing from the world, solitary and aloof—her rich life was like a flower's reflection in water, seemingly real yet illusory.