Zhang Henshui
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Zhang Henshui
Zhang Henshui 张恨水 (1895 - 1967) was the penname of a prolific popular novelist Zhang Xinyuan 张心远. Born in Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, Zhang began working as a reporter in Wuhan at the age of twenty-two. It was in Wuhan that he took up his penname and completed his first novel Elergy to the Southern Country 南国相思谱. His work took the form of the classical Chinese novel, written in colloquial Chinese and using classical Chinese poetry as chapter headings. Zhang departed for Beijing in 1919 to work as a newspaper editor publishing the highly successful novel, An Unofficial History of Beijing 春明外史, in serial form between 1924 and 1929. His use of realistic dialogue, and his way of interposing people from different social strata proved immensly popular to Chinese readers of the time. His best works include A Family of Distinction 金粉世家, 1927-32 and Tears and Laughter 啼笑因缘, 1930. In 1935, Shanghai Express, his novel about the relationship between a wealthy banker and a mysterious and outspoken young woman who meet on a train, was China’s most read novel by her most popular author. The romantic style of Zhang Henshui and other authors of the time clashed with the more serious and political writers of the May 4th movement who derided their work as sentimental entertainment, labelling them ‘Mandarin Duck and Butterfly literature’ (referring to the frequent use of poetry in which lovers are compared to mandarin ducks and butterflies). Arguably, however, Zhang Henshui tried to dignify the genre by retaining the form and language of the old-style Chinese novel, but assimilating techniques and content from May Fourth writing in an effort to modernize traditional fiction. In fact, his later writing took a more serious and political tone. Published in 1941, Eighty-One Dreams 八十一梦 is perhaps the most representative of his 40-odd novels set during the War of Resistance against Japan and uses parables and dream sequences to satirize the corrupt bureaucracy. At the height of his popularity he was working on six novels in serialization at the same time as working as journalist and editor and supporting a large extended family through his writing. It is estimated that throughout his life Zhang wrote a total of some 40 million Chinese characters in over 110 novels. He died of a brain hemorrhage in 1967 in Beijing. Works available in English: Madam White Snake (Myra Ellis). Singapore: Federal Publications, 1981. Shanghai Express: A Thirties Novel (William A. Lyell). Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1997. The Eternal Love: The Story of Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai (S.R. Munro). Singapore; Hong Kong: Federal Publications, 1991. Sources for this biography: Wikipedia entry for Zhang Henshui, Baidu entry for Zhang Henshui, Review of Shanghai Express, translated by William A Lyell, on Amazon
All history to be found here: Zhuanta
BEIJING, Jan. 25 --The word "hutong" is synonymous with history, and Zhuanta is the prototypical example. This lane has born witness to events as far back as the Yuan Dynasty, 700 years ago. During that time, as well as in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Zhuanta was an entertainment center where up to 10 different opera troupes flourished. In early 1900, it was occupied as the headquarters of the Boxers (aka the Righteous and Harmonious Fists) during the Yi Ho Tuan Movement, a drive to expel foreign influences from the city. The old Guan Yu Temple. (Photo: Global Times/Yin Yeping) The old Guan Yu Temple. (Photo: Global Times/Yin Yeping) After the retaliatory Eight Nation Alliance arrived and took control of the city, the hutong was significantly damaged, resulting in the evacuation of the opera players. Soon afterwards, Zhuanta was taken over by ordinary residents. Zhuanta has also harbored more recent celebrities like Lu Xun and Zhang Henshui, two writers from recent history. But Zhuanta's most obvious landmark continues to be the brick tower for which the hutong is named. While the residents and homes surrounding it have evolved constantly, this single tower remains as a legacy to its long history. A monument for a monk The owner of the tower was an old monk named Wan Song who lived during the early Yuan Dynasty. A monk since the age of 15, before settling in Beijing Wan traveled the country to study Buddhism, and was thus considered quite erudite in his old age. After his death in 1246, people built the brick tower to commemorate this respectable monk. But Wan's story is not quite so cut and dry. He's also linked to YeLü Chucai, the senior assistant of Genghis Khan who later became prime minister of the Yuan Dynasty. Wan was his lifelong tutor, and his advice to manage a country with Confucianism and a heart with Buddhism had a great influence on Ye's governance. For a time after Wan's death, the tower's significance was forgotten, and individuals moved in to open inns and meat stores. Some nearby residents even used the bricks of the tower for knife grinding. But during the Ming Dynasty, a traveling monk from the south named Le Yan passed through. Realizing the true story of the tower, he bought it and funded its reconstruction with donations, living there as its safeguard until his own death. Le Yan's reconstruction of the 10-meter tall, nine-floor tower would not be its last; a more recent one was in 1976, to repair damage after the Tang Shan earthquake. Fortunately, the tower's original Yuan Dynasty style has been preserved. Although it is situated at the entrance of the hutong, the tower currently is not easy to find. A 50-year-old woman surnamed Zhang, who has lived in the area for decades, explained that new reconstruction commenced in 2008 but has yet to be completed. According to Xicheng district's website, the tower is leaning three degrees to the northeast. That and the consideration of potential shifting due to construction of Subway Line 4 prompted the city to erect scaffolding around the tower for support. Xu Wei, the vice president of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference of Xicheng district, said that the stabilized tower will be partially reconstructed and also observed to see if the subway has an impact on it before it's reopened to the public. The writers' home Zhuanta Hutong, as mentioned, was also home to writer and noted house-hopper Lu Xun, who moved into No. 64 (which is now No. 84) after splitting up with his brother, Zhou Zuoren (see last week's HOTW). The small, shabby door and narrow yard in the corner of the hutong hardly seem like a suitable residence for one of China's most well known writers, but when Lu moved there in 1923, he was going through a rough patch. His poor financial condition meant he had to squeeze into the three-room house with his mother and wife; the two women occupied the side rooms, while Lu stayed in the middle room, which was used as a living room during the day and his workroom at night. Still, he managed to accomplish masterpieces like Zhu Fu (Blessing) during this period. The modern neighbors are unfazed. "You should go to the Lu Xun museum not here," an old man living in No. 64 said. "All the houses in this siheyuan were completely reconstructed 2 decades ago." Lu only spent a year in Zhuanta, but the writer Zhang Henshui lived in No. 43 spent half his life in this hutong. In 1946, Zhang came from Nanjing to Beijing to organize the Beijing version of the Xin Min Newspaper. He bought around 30 houses for newspaper staff to work and live; the back door of the paper's siheyuan opened onto Zhuanta. In his article "Hei Xiangxing" ("A Walk in a Dark Lane"), Zhang wrote of falling into a world of darkness and quiet, with only a few far away lights to remind one of the distance of the main street. Visit Zhuanta in the evening, and it's very easy to see what he meant. While the atmosphere remains the same, Zhang's old place has been completely razed. Apart from a few old locust trees, nothing of the houses remains. Invisible opera houses and temples However quiet it is now, the hutong was once considered one of the busiest places for opera activities, where songs and music played from morning till night during the last three dynasties. There were approximately 20 theaters, some large enough to accommodate audiences in the thousands. That's all history now; the music is long gone. Not far from the tower, some private small restaurants and stores have replaced the original inns that occupied 50 meters of roadside from the entrance. Some migrant workers finish their day's work having dinner and beers in a noodle restaurant. The lights are on in other stores, but no one's shopping. Many people pass by on the main road, but none seem to see the hutong entrance, and no one bothers to enter. If they did, they might happen across one door in particular, with a note reading "Historical Remains Under Official Protection." A 60-year-old woman who was born and raised in the hutong explained that this was the old Guan Yu Temple. "Actually, the original temple was there when I was young, but it was thoroughly razed during the Cultural Revolution and nothing else remains," she said. In that case, the note's claim seems farfetched or is but a sign of a burst of attention to heritage that has come decades too late.
2008 Boob-tube buzz: Less trash, more taste
Fresh ideas Tu Yaolin, sitcom producer and scriptwriter, says it was getting to be a headache to come up with fresh story lines for "Old Uncle" after more than 1,000 episodes. More than 12 million yuan (1.6 million U.S. dollars) have been invested in costumes and sets of the period. "It aims to convey the distinctive flavor and cultures of the city," Tu says. Another weekly nostalgia program "Flowery Years" on Monday nights will feature casual and amusing chats between old artists in various fields and young "flowery boys" from the "My Hero" TV contest. It will also air excerpts from popular classic TV dramas and entertainment shows over the past 50 years. Every Wednesday evening, a "fashion reality show" called "Looking Younger" will show how ordinary middle-aged people take on a new, more youthful appearance after attending a one-week beauty course. SMG's Film and TV Drama Center will present two new drama series, "Love without Regret" and "A Beautiful New World." The first starring Gao Yuanyuan and Du Chun centers on a legendary family of bakers and cake makers in the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). "A Beautiful New World" starring Fan Bingbing and Hong Kong actor Julian Cheung is a romance unfolding against the backdrop of trendy Xintiandi. In summer SMG will present a highly anticipated TV drama "Paradise of Dreams," adapted from Zhang Henshui's novel of the same name. The story set in the 1930s Shanghai revolves around the struggle of a poor young man in the big city and the business war between two large families. Radio programs too will see changes in the new year. Shanghai Media Group's newly open FM107.2 is city's first dedicated storytelling radio channel. In addition to stories based on classics, swordsman novels and popular online serials, it will present the radio versions of popular TV dramas and new films like Feng Xiaogang's "Assembly." The radio programs will run concurrently with airings on TV or in cinemas. The group's Oriental Children's Channel has officially changed its name to Haha TV. Next summer, the channel will continue hosting its traditional summer camps for kids to get to know about nature and Chinese society and culture. (Source: Shanghai Daily)
Knowledge Graph
Examples
1 The names, effects, characters and languages of them possess distinct features, and Zhang Henshui(Henshui Zhang) adopted a skillful way of describing to depict them vividly.
2 Concerning books on social science and literature, " Shuli Zhao's complete works " and "Henshui Zhang's complete works " once were candidates for the China's National Books Award
3 The works of Zhang Henshui(Henshui Zhang) are widely popular south and north in twenties and thirties and then have a mixed reception among which denounce is in the predominant position over a long period of time.