Night deepens: Classic Library

Author: Zhang Henshuizhu
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-08-01
Features: The Deep Night is one of Zhang Henshuizhu's most outstanding long novels, written during his peak creative period. It is a 41-chapter traditional Chinese narrative novel. In the 1940s, Shanghai Baixin Bookstore, which sold the book under the title The Great Collection of Zhang Henshuizhu's Masterpieces, introduced The Deep Night as follows: This book tells the story of an orphan girl who learns to act after becoming a disciple, enduring layer upon layer of hardship to become a famous actress. Due to her youth and naivety, she falls into temptation. It fiercely exposes the evils of society, such as gambling, prostitution, and indulgence. The novel also vividly depicts the romantic and amusing tales of love, jealousy, and pleasure between men and women, particularly in its delicate portrayal. The prose and plot intertwine, creating a tense and passionate narrative with a rich cast of characters. The film company Guohua Film Production Company adapted the novel into a movie, showcasing its brilliance. The novel portrays the emotional entanglement between Che Yi'er and the singing girl Wang Yuerong, with a plot full of twists and turns that grips the reader. It delves deeply into human nature, offering a profound and insightful examination. The psychological portrayals of the male and female protagonists are especially delicate. It is particularly noteworthy that "The Deep Night" was originally the name of a musical piece in the opera The Farewell of Lady Yu (from The Farewell of King Xiang and Lady Yu), where Lady Yu performs a sword dance. Zhang Henshuizhu ingeniously weaves this erhu melody throughout the novel, serving as a thread that ties together the joys and sorrows of the male and female protagonists and drives the plot forward. Not only are most scenes set in the deep night, but the novel's overall tone is dark, cold, and sorrowful. "The Deep Night" symbolizes the tragic fate of Che Yi'er and Wang Yuerong, revealing the cruelty and darkness of society. In terms of its clever conception, complete structure, and rich character development, The Deep Night surpasses A Love So Beautiful in its superiority. Zhang Henshuizhu's novels blend the ordinary with the elegant, the elegant with the amusing, making them thought-provoking, captivating, and deeply influential on society and readers. His works are worthy of repeated reading, appreciation, study, reference, and inheritance. The novel tells the story of an orphan girl who learns to act after becoming a disciple, enduring layer upon layer of hardship to become a famous actress. Due to her youth and naivety, she falls into temptation. It fiercely exposes the evils of society, such as gambling, prostitution, and indulgence. The novel also vividly depicts the romantic and amusing tales of love, jealousy, and pleasure between men and women, particularly in its delicate portrayal. The prose and plot intertwine, creating a tense and passionate narrative with a rich cast of characters!