Eileen Chang (September 30, 1920 – September 8, 1995), also known as Zhang Ailing or Chang Ai-ling, was one of the most influential modern Chinese writers.Chang is noted for her fiction writings that deal with the tensions between men and women in love, and are considered by some scholars to be among the best Chinese literature of the period. Chang's portrayal of life in 1940s Shanghai and Japanese-occupied Hong Kong is remarkable in its focus on everyday life and the absence of the political subtext which characterised many other writers of the period. The Taiwanese author Yuan Qiongqiong drew inspiration from Eileen Chang. The poet and University of Southern California professor Dominic Cheung commented "had it not been for the political division between the Nationalist and Communist Chinese, she would have almost certainly won a Nobel Prize".Chang's enormous popularity and famed image were in distinct contrast to her personal life, which was marred by disappointment, tragedy, increasing reclusiveness, and ultimately her sudden death from cardiovascular disease at age 74.
September 8, 1995, Los Angeles, California, United States
Place Of Birth
Shanghai, China
Profession
Writer
Spouse
Ferdinand Reyher (m. 1956–1967), Hu Lancheng (m. 1944–1947)
Parents
Huang Suqiong, Zhang Zhiyin
Movies
Lust, Caution, Eighteen Springs, Red Rose White Rose, Rouge Of The North, Flowers of Shanghai
Star Sign
Libra
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Fact
1
She studied English at a private high school, very rare for Chinese females of her time.
2
When she was only one semester short of graduating college in Hong Kong, she was forced to drop out due to financial issues and Hong Kong's sudden Japanese takeover.
3
Her paternal grandmother was the daughter of the 19th-century statesman Li Hongzhang - a high-ranking official in China's last dynasty, the Qing.
4
Parents divorced when she was ten years old.
5
Her roots were from Shanghai, China. She spent a few years of her childhood in Tianjin. Her family then moved back to Shanghai and she considered herself a genuine Shanghainese.