Zhang
Ailing (Eileen Chang)
"Love in a Fallen City"
We might ask in good faith which of the
cities is referred to in the title of the story: Hong Kong or Shanghai. Hong
Kong is heavily influenced by it's colonial
history, and the story of course ends with the World War II Battle
of Hong Kong. At the other end is a Shanghai
which seems quite resolutely mired in pre-revolutionary forms and tradition..
While Zhang Ailing
is known in her later work for criticism of communist society, "Love
in a Fallen City seems to be more concerned with the affect of the centuries
old culture of the family and the neo-Confucian society.
Look at aspects of tradition and the family. what kind of a
picture of China do we get from the narrative? To answer that, see the character
of various of the family members. Even more striking, whaqt do we learn of
the position of women in he traditionalChinese social order. Look at the position
of Liusu--called back to the husband's family to do the mourning ceremony
and help choose the inheritor, despite 7 years of divorce. The almost marriage
to the man who needed help with 5 children. Look at the matchmaking and the
courtship.
a Love story, yes. But after how much deferral, and why this deferral. and
the extraordinary circumstances under which love blooms. Question: would this
love have been even possible if the city of Hong Kong had not been bombed
to bits? Or even if the bombing had been a single day later?
More notes on the reading.
A kind of essay question.
"Love in a Fallen City" is powerful in its depiction of the plight of Liusu and her strategies to survive the confines of the Chinese family social codes. Part of the force of the story comes in the depiction of Liusu's sensitivity to her surroundings, which are often beautifully depicted: colors, views from windows, natural and manmade objects, clothing, the transformation of the city by war--all help to shape the form of the narrative and the formation of our heroine. Discuss two or three of the images that you feel are most central to determining the characterization of Liusu and the choices she makes in her quest to survive. You would discuss the image, the beautiful manner of its presentation, the impact on the reader, and the impact on the characters (though this is a suggestion and not a formula).
The beginning of Zhang Ailing's story "Love in a fallen City" is a mention of "saving daylight," and the story continues with a great number fo references to time, history, etc. Construct an essay around the notion of how time is employed in the narrative, and how this influences the reading of the story.