Recent works and letters of Mei Ling

Author: Me Niang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-14
Features: This book compiles nearly 60 essays and 88 letters by Me Niang, including descriptions of Zhao Shuli, Xiao Hong, Eileen Chang, Guan Lu, Yu Luoke, and Liu Suola, as well as correspondence with renowned Chinese and foreign writers such as Ding Jingtang, Ding Dong, Cheng Youshu, Kamo Shū, and Kishio Kiyoshi. The writing is uniquely captivating and masterfully crafted. In 1942, the Beijing Madingzeng Bookstore and Shanghai Yuzhoufeng Bookstore jointly launched a readers' favorite female writer, where both Me Niang and Eileen Chang won the top prize, earning them the reputation of "Southern Ling (Eileen Chang) and Northern Mei (Me Niang)." Compared to Eileen Chang's independent, aloof, and cold demeanor, Me Niang is gentle, majestic, and resilient. While Me Niang may not be as profound and vivid as Eileen Chang, Eileen Chang also lacks Me Niang's passionate and elegant style. Today, Ling has passed away, and Mei is aging, yet her compassionate spirit and tenacious qualities have only grown stronger through hardship, making her a formidable pen that writes about the vicissitudes of life. One of my reflections is truly astonishing: at that time, she was still a young girl, yet she possessed such profound and distinct compassion for humanity. I have always believed that in the path of literature, one's appearance may vary, but the foundation must be this—she had it, which is why her works have achieved great success and stood the test of time.
—Zhang Zhongxing
I cannot help but feel that she is a hallucinatory woman. A closer expression would be a woman living in longing!
—Kamo Shū
Me Niang, her commitment to the purity of female perspective. She is more appropriately described as one who writes about the consciousness of women's own suffering.
—Wang Deli
Their works show that they are patriotic, brave, and resilient. They are part of the Chinese spirit.
—Norman Smith
Regardless of whether her later achievements surpass her earlier ones, she is still worthy of respect because she understands the meaning of life.
—Bi Xiaomei
Me Niang, a name unknown to many today, is a writer whose works remain somewhat mysterious to the present. This literary talent, who rose to fame in the of China in the late 1930s and early 1940s, once enjoyed the reputation of "Southern Ling (Eileen Chang) and Northern Mei (Me Niang)." Yet, with the passage of time, Me Niang, after the founding of the People's Republic of China, remained silent in the literary world for more than half a century. Recently, at the age of 85, Me Niang published her new book, Me Niang's Recent Works and Correspondence. The book compiles nearly 60 essays and 88 letters, including descriptions of Zhao Shuli, Xiao Hong, Eileen Chang, Guan Lu, Yu Luoke, and Liu Suola, as well as correspondence with renowned Chinese and foreign writers such as Ding Jingtang, Ding Dong, Cheng Youshu, Kamo Shū, and Kishio Kiyoshi. The writing is uniquely captivating and masterfully crafted. And this literary marvel, "many stories from her life journey are also in this book." The book compiles nearly 60 essays and 88 letters, with writing that is uniquely captivating and masterfully crafted.