Here: Zhang Ailing City Map

Author: Chunzi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-11-01
Features: Shanghai is a city unlike any other; it is not Paris, not Dublin, and not renowned for literature. Yet literature is indeed an important cultural landscape of the city. In this landscape, Eileen Chang stands as a tree, pure and ethereal. The words here tell the story of a woman's encounter with a city, serving as a map of the city. Holding a book by Eileen Chang and visiting the house where she once lived is like stepping onto a film set. The book serves as the voiceover and the plot, with characters brought to life and given a place within the narrative. As a writer and radio host, Chunzi has spent over a decade tracing the traces of Eileen Chang in Shanghai, documenting the inseparable connection between her and the city through words and photographs. This book is a collection of essays with vivid emotional undertones, entirely reflecting Chunzi's personal writing style. Since she is not a member of academia, she is free from its rigid constraints. In "Here—Eileen Chang's City Map," she effortlessly pours out her elegant yet slightly melancholic prose, sharing her research, reflections, and imaginative musings. Chunzi grew up in Shanghai from a young age, harboring a deep affection for the city, especially its past. This intense "nostalgia" is clearly reflected in "Here—Eileen Chang's City Map." One might say that Chunzi devoted years of effort to pursuing the Eileen Chang she envisioned. Through this book, she expresses her profound love for Eileen Chang while also conveying her longing for Shanghai.