Say it A Thousand Times: Eileen Chang

Author: Chen Zishan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: The 25 articles collected in the book were originally published in newspapers, magazines, and books both domestically and abroad. Readability is their common characteristic. Reading Mr. Chen Zishan's research, it is perhaps one of the rare cases where one does not need to sit up straight. I believe this is mostly due to his writing style, which to some extent inherits the path of traditional scholars' notes or literary and historical essays. Although, due to the style and linguistic sense, it is not as elegant and concise as the old tradition of writing inscriptions to accompany the appreciation of famous paintings or the observation of rare books, its function is often the same. For example, the articles I particularly enjoy, such as "Zhang Ailing Translates The Old Man and the Sea," "Winning the Award for The Dream of a Genius," and "Unveiling the History of Zhang Ailing Research," are excellent in both evaluation and research, solving specific problems while also bringing a touch of interest or emotion. Because one does not need to sit up straight, readers might misunderstand or fall into the danger of overlooking the academic significance within. Therefore, the question at the end of "A Few Things About Zhang Ailing's Play Love in a Fallen City" about the lack of success in adapting outstanding modern Chinese novels into plays in the history of modern Chinese literature, and the points in "Five Topics on Zhang Ailing" about the significance of Zhang's novels in bridging pure literature and popular literature, are all scholarly reflections that extend from specific points to broader perspectives. Modern literature has developed to this point, and the interpretation of its meaning can indeed be said to be well-documented by predecessors. Of course, individual, comparative new perspectives and insights will always emerge, proving that all history is contemporary history; but from another dimension, the will to (restore) the essence of history still firmly roots in the hearts of those dedicated to scholarship, which must rely on scholars like Mr. Chen Zishan, who meticulously sift through and select (as seen in "Searching Through the Vast Ocean of Newspapers: A Record of Recovering Zhang Ailing's Lost Writings," which beautifully demonstrates some of his methods). Therefore, "Endless Zhang Ailing" not only brings us closer to Zhang Ailing but also allows us to contemplate broader issues, such as the similarities and differences between modern and classical literature in terms of research, whether there is a need for separate works on modern literary source studies to outline the various problems and methods of modern literary research, and so on.