Selected Essays of Ye Lingfeng

Author: Ye Lingfeng
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Ye Lingfeng (1905–1975), originally named Ye Yunpu, also known by the pen names Ye Linfeng, L·F, Linfeng, Yaling, Shuangya, Qin Jingwen, Zuo Mu Hua, Yupin Wu, Shidang, Nanvillage, Renhe, Renke, Fengxuan, and Yanlou. Born in Nanjing, Jiangsu. During his youth, he lived in Jiujiang and Zhenjiang. Graduated from Shanghai Art College. In 1925, he joined the Creation Society and edited the bimonthly magazine Flood. In 1926, he co-founded Fantasy. After Fantasy was banned in 1928, he switched to Gobi, which was also banned by the end of the year, leading him to found Modern Fiction. In 1929, the Creation Society was shut down, and he was briefly arrested. In 1937, with the outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan, he joined the Save the Nation Daily and later moved to Guangzhou with the newspaper. After Guangzhou fell in 1938, he moved to Hong Kong, where he settled until his death in 1975. Over more than three decades, before the Pacific War, he edited the supplements Yanlin for Lido Daily and Xingdiao Daily for Xingdiao Daily. He actively participated in anti-war publicity activities. During the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, he was briefly arrested. Later, he edited magazines and wrote articles such as A Three Hundred-Year Reflection on the Jiaoshen Incident and Su Wu Swallowing the Zhan. He also collaborated with the underground workers of the Kuomintang to gather enemy intelligence for the war effort. After the war of resistance victory, he continued to edit the supplement Xingdiao for Xingdiao Daily until his retirement in his later years. He frequently contributed to newspapers such as Da Gong Bao, Xin Wan Bao, Literary Century, and Ocean Literature. He was invited to Beijing for ceremonies, receptions, and several travel visits to various places. His last wish was to donate his rare collection of the Qianqing edition of the New Anxian County Gazetteer to the state (he had previously rejected offers from outsiders to buy his collection). After his death, his family followed his wishes, donating the collection to the Sun Yat-sen Library in Guangzhou, while the rest of his extensive library was given to the Chinese University of Hong Kong (he was one of Hong Kong's most renowned collectors). His works include novels such as Madam Ju Zi, The Remnants of Nuwa, Jiu Lü Mei, The Virgin's Dream, The Red Angel, My Life, Autobiography of Poverty and Suffering, The Girl of the Era, The Eternal Feminine, Unfinished Confessions, and Lectures on Beauty; essays and sketches such as Chinese Bamboo, Notes on White Leaves, Forget-Me-Not Grass, Reading Notes, Literary Sketches, Late Dawn Notes, Reading Notes from the North Window, Discussions on Flowers, Trees, Insects, and Fish, and Worldly Folklore Talk; and works on Hong Kong such as A Guide to Hong Kong's Local Products, The Legend and Reality of Zhang Baozi, The Lost Hong Kong, Chronicles of Hong Kong's Turbulent Past, and Chronicles of the Fragrant Sea. He also translated A Collection of New Russian Novels, Blaise and Lucie by Roman Rolland, Monte-Carlo by Henryk Sienkiewicz, as well as A Bouquet of Stories, Roses of September, and essays by Kahlil Gibran. This book selects 70 of the author's essays.