Network Zhang Ailing

Author: Ge Tao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: Following Network Lu Xun, the People's Literature Publishing House has also published Network Zhang Ailing. Similarly, the authors are not a single person but a group—a band of heroes and heroines who conceal their real names, soaring and drifting across the internet, gathering and speaking alone. They comment on Zhang Ailing's person and works with both solemnity and humor, devoid of the rigid formality and tedious style of traditional literary criticism. Lively and insightful writings are scattered throughout the book like flying flowers and scattered jade. This book compiles posts about Zhang Ailing from numerous websites, including the "Zhang Ailing Fan's Lounge" on NetEase Culture Channel, (Rongshu Tree), Qingyuan Academy, Luojia Mountain and Water, Sina, and more. These posts are carefully selected and organized into albums such as "Voices of Zhang Ailing Fans," "Reading Lessons," "Zhang Ailing's Love Affairs," "The World of Fame and Fortune," "Disliking Zhang Ailing," and "Parodies and Satires." The discussions cover every aspect of Zhang Ailing, with each album featuring brilliant articles. For example, the "Reading Lessons" album includes both close-reading critiques of famous works inspired by the New Criticism movement and articles that reveal the deep fascination of "Zhang Ailing fans" with her works, such as "Traces of Wu Dialect in Zhang Ailing's Writings," "The Details in Zhang Ailing's Works," and "The Worldly Zhang Ailing." The critical essays are equally engaging, such as the article "Five Reasons to Dislike Zhang Ailing," which claims she is: aesthetic, meticulous, precocious, heartless, and short-tempered. The arguments are well-reasoned. In the "Zhang Ailing's Love Affairs" album, netizens seem like her close friends, praising and lamenting her life experiences, personality, passionate love affairs, and the seven years before and eight years after her marriage. They understand her deeply. One netizen describes Zhang Ailing's decisive and detached attitude toward life as if it were the name of a traditional Chinese herbal medicine: "Solo Talk." The description is spot-on and brilliant. The "Parodies and Satires" album is particularly entertaining, with parodies of Love in a Fallen City and Red Rose and White Rose being especially noteworthy, capturing her "Zhang-style" perfectly. The article "Copying Zhang Ailing" blends justice with humor, making it both amusing and thought-provoking. The "World of Fame and Fortune" album places Zhang Ailing in the context of Chinese and world literary history, comparing her with (Lu Xun), (Qian Zhongshu), (Bing Xin), (Sanmao), (Haruki Murakami), and D.H. Lawrence, even drawing parallels with the pop star (Faye Wong). It's truly lively and unconventional.
Particularly noteworthy is that some fans have become aware of a certain "dangerous undertone" in Zhang Ailing and the "banal tendencies" of the "Zhang Ailing fever." They remain vigilant and resist being "Zhang Ailing-ized"—whether in terms of life choices or simply in writing. They maintain a critical stance while acknowledging her. This is understandable. Since C.T. Hsia included Zhang Ailing in a dedicated chapter of his literary history and after Mr. Ke Ling's "distant tribute," Zhang Ailing has moved from the literary margins to her current status, where she is sold alongside high-end cosmetics in large shopping malls. It has been 20 years since then, and the fans should also retain a sense of clarity amidst their fascination.