Eighteen Springs

Author: Eileen Chang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Century Literary Collection · Modern Text. The Eighteen Springs primarily portrays the emotional entanglements of urban men and women, which is particularly adept in Eileen Chang's hands. The novel recalls past events from the perspective of the male protagonist Shen Shijun, centering on the joys and sorrows of Shen Shijun and Gu Manzhen. It depicts the love and marriage of several young couples, all thwarted by the chaos of war. Shijun's kindness and weakness, Manzhen's devotion and misfortune, as well as Manlu's selfishness and Zhu Hongcai's shamelessness—all are vividly portrayed in the novel. The main characters experience the sweetness, bitterness, and struggles of war and, in the end, reunite in the Northeast to support the new regime and contribute to the rebuilding of the nation. Although all the lovers remain unmarried, a source of regret, they each find suitable partners and embark on new beginnings. The novel consists of eighteen chapters, with the male and female protagonists and related characters experiencing eighteen springs of separation and reunion, echoing the old tradition of the traditional Peking opera Fen River Bay. The Eighteen Springs may indeed depict the private emotions of young people, but it is also clearly intertwined with the grand narrative of regime change and national reconstruction. Thus, it can be said that The Eighteen Springs is, to some extent, a work illuminated by the spirit of its time, reflecting Eileen Chang's new attempt to handle the relationship between fictional narration and historical progression in her novel writing. This has led some critics to argue that The Eighteen Springs connects two eras and two Eileens—one Eileen of the past and a possible new Eileen.