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In a Bronze Mirror: Eileen Chang’s Life and Literature

Eileen Chang's grandmother and her mother, [s.d.]

Eileen Chang's grandmother and her mother， [s.d.]. When my grandmother was 18 years old, she took this picture with her mother. It seems like she's baring a laugh. It's probably the Caucasian photographer under the black cloth. -- "Dui Zhao Ji", p 033; 张爱玲的祖母与她母亲的合照，[s.d.]. "我祖母十八岁的时候与她母亲合影。她仿佛忍着笑，也许是笑钻在黑布下的洋人摄影师。-- 对照记，p 033

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1. Eileen Chang Fashion ca.1944 Eileen Chang, ca. 1944. In 1944, my friend Zhang had sent someone to take my picture and I wore this Chinese-style dress. After a few shots, I was asked to take different kinds of pictures and thus, I wore a robe on the outside of the dress. -- "Dui Zhao Ji", -- p 067; 张爱玲的照片, ca. 1944."一九四四年业余摄影家童世璋与他有同好的友人张君，名字一时记不起了，托人介绍来给我拍照，我就穿那件唯一的清装行头，大袄下穿着薄呢旗袍。拍了几张，要换个样子。单色呢旗袍不上照，就在旗袍外面加件浴衣，看得出颈项上有一圈旗袍领的阴影。（为求线条简洁，我把低矮的旗袍领改为连续的圈领）"-- 对照记，p. 067
2. Eileen Chang's grandmother and her mother, [s.d.] Eileen Chang's grandmother and her mother， [s.d.]. When my grandmother was 18 years old, she took this picture with her mother. It seems like she's baring a laugh. It's probably the Caucasian photographer under the black cloth. -- "Dui Zhao Ji", p 033; 张爱玲的祖母与她母亲的合照，[s.d.]. "我祖母十八岁的时候与她母亲合影。她仿佛忍着笑，也许是笑钻在黑布下的洋人摄影师。-- 对照记，p 033
4. Eileen Chang with Xianglan Li, ca. 1943 Eileen Chang with Xianglan Li, ca.1943. In 1943, I met the celebrity Li Xianglan(originally Japanese). I wanted to take a picture with her but I was too tall and it wouldn't have looked good so someone found a stool for me to sit down and she had to stand beside me. In the book "Yu Yun", it talks about this cloth. -- "Dui Zhao Ji", p. 065; 张爱玲和李香兰的照片, ca.1943。"一九四三年在园游会中遇见影星李香兰（原是日本人山口淑子），要合拍张照，我太高，并立会相映成趣，有人找了张椅子来让我坐下，只好委屈她侍立一旁。《余韵》书中提起我祖母的一张夹被的被面做的衣服，就是这一件。是我姑姑拆下来保存的。虽说[陈丝如烂草]，那裁缝居然不皱眉，一声不出拿了去，照炎樱的设计做了下来。米色薄绸上潵淡墨点，隐着暗紫凤凰，很有画意，别处没看见过类似的图案。"-- 对照记，p. 065
5. Eileen Chang's grandmother and her daughter and son, [s.d.]
10. Eileen Chang with Ying Yan， ca. 1944
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2. Untitled Speech, Radcliffe Institute, 1969, page 1 An untitled speech possibly delivered at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University on April 1, 1969. According to an essay by Phong Chang, Eileen Chang delivered an English speech titled中國翻譯作為文化影響的橋樑 at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University on April 1, 1969. See Phong Chang (張鳳), “張愛玲在哈佛：滿是蒼涼的因緣”, http://chinesewritersna.com/review/?page_id=10102.
3. Letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, 1965 A letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, 1965. In this letter dated October 31, Eileen Chang discusses about her novel "Yuan Nu" with Hsia. She also expresses her interest to translate the Chinese classic novel "Hai Shang Hua" into English. In this letter, Eileen Chang mentions the Chinese author Nie Hualing whom she has heard of. The USPS 5 cents-envelope with dated stamp of 1 Nov 1965 Washington DC is addressed to "Mr. C.T. Hsia, 415 W. 115th St. Apt. 22, New York, N.Y. 10025" from"Chang, 1315 C St. SE, #22, Washington, D.C. 20003."; 張愛玲寄給夏志清的信與信封, 1965. 這封信註明10月31日寫的. 張愛玲於此信中與夏志清討論她的作品"怨女", 並表示對翻譯中國小說"海上花"有興趣. 信中也提到曾聽過作家聶華苓的名字. 信封上有五分錢的郵票, 郵政戳印日期為1965年11月1日華盛頓, 並有收件人地址"Mr. C.T. Hsia, 415 W. 115th St. Apt. 22, New York, N.Y. 10025" 及寄件人地址"Chang, 1315 C St. SE, #22, Washington, D.C. 20003."
4. Letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, March 1966 A letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, 1966. In this letter dated March 31, Eileen Chang thanks Hsia for assisting her to apply for Radcliffe Independent Study to support her translation work of "Hai Shang Hua". At the same time, she is frustrated with the amount of work involved in publishing her works. The envelope has USPS 5 cents-stamp, dated stamp of 1 Apr 1966 Washington DC, is addressed to "Mr. C.T. Hsia, 415 West 115th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025" from "Reyher, 1315 C St. SE, #22, Washington, D.C. 20003."; 張愛玲寄給夏志清的信, 1966. 這封信註明3月31日寫的. 張愛玲感謝夏志清幫助她申請工作(Radcliffe Independent Study)來翻譯"海上花". 另外也表達出對一些出版瑣碎雜事的煩惱. 信封上有五分錢的郵票, 郵政戳印日期為1966年4月1日華盛頓, 信封上有收件人地址"Mr. C.T. Hsia, 415 West 115th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025"及寄件人地址"Reyher, 1315 C St. SE, #22, Washington, D.C. 20003."
5. Letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, July 1966 A letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, 1966. In this letter dated July 8, Eileen Chang mentions that she will apply for a fellowship in September to translate "Hai Shang Hua". She also discusses about translating "Jin Suo Ji" with Hsia, and asks Hsia to handle publishing "Yuan Nu" for her in Taiwan. The envelope has USPS 5 cents-stamp with dated stamp of 9 July 1966 Washington DC is addressed to "Mr. C.T. Hsia, 415 West 115th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025" from address "Reyher, 1315 C St. Se, Apt. 22, Washington, D.C. 20003." The back of the envelope has a note saying "books has been received, thank you."; 張愛玲寄給夏志清的信, 1966. 這封信註明7月8日寫的. 張愛玲提到九月申請譯"海上花"的fellowship. 也跟夏志清討論翻譯"金鎖記", 並請夏志清在台灣時處理出版"怨女"事宜. 信封上有五分錢的郵票, 郵政戳印日期為1966年7月9日華盛頓, 並有收件人地址"Mr. C.T. Hsia, 415 West 115th Street, New York, N.Y. 10025" 及寄件人地址"Reyher, 1315 C St. Se, Apt. 22, Washington, D.C. 20003." 信封背面寫有一句"書剛收到, 謝了."
6. Letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, September 1968 A letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, 1968. In this letter dated September 24, Eileen Chang mentions these two Chinese actors Huang Zongying and Zhao Dan. She also discusses about Chinese classics novel "Hong Lou Meng" with Hsia. She also would like Hsia to mention the methods used in Chinese poetry and Chinese painting when he writes the preface for "Hai Shang Hua". The envelope has USPS 6 cents-stamp with dated stamp of Sept 26, 1968 Boston, Mass.31 is addressed to "Mr. C.T. Hsia, 415 West 115th St., Apt. 22, New York, N.Y. 10025" from address "Chang, 83 Brattle St., Apt. 43, Cambridge, Mass. 02138."; 張愛玲寄給夏志清的信,1968. 這封信註明9月24日寫的. 張愛玲提到上海演員黃宗英及趙丹. 也與夏志清討論中國經典小說紅樓夢. 張希望夏寫"海上花"的序時提一声中國詩與畫的手法. 信封上有六分錢的郵票, 郵政戳印日期為1968年9月26日波士頓, 並有收件人地址"Mr. C.T. Hsia, 415 West 115th St., Apt. 22, New York, N.Y. 10025" 及寄件人地址"Chang, 83 Brattle St., Apt. 43, Cambridge, Mass. 02138."
7. Letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, March 1968 A letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, 1968. In this letter dated March 30, Eileen Chang says that "Roube of the North" does not receive any response due to lower exchange rate of pounds. She also want Hsia to write a preface for her if "Hai Shang Hua" can be published by "Columiba Press". The envelope has USPS 6 cents-stamp with dated stamp of 31 Mar, 1968 Boston, Mass. is addressed to "Mr. C.T. Hsia, 415 West 115th St., Apt. 22, New York, N.Y. 10025" from address "Reyher, 83 Brattle St., Apt. 45, Cambridge, Mass. 02138."; 張愛玲寄給夏志清的信,1968. 這封信註明3月30日寫的. 張愛玲提說"Rouge of the North"可能因為英鎊貶值的關係沒有什麼回響. 如果"海上花"能由"Columbia Press"出版,希望夏志清能夠寫篇序.信封上有六分錢的郵票, 郵政戳印日期為1968年3月31日波士頓, 並有收件人地址"Mr. C.T. Hsia, 415 West 115th St., Apt. 22, New York, N.Y. 10025" 及寄件人地址"Reyher, 83 Brattle St., Apt. 45, Cambridge, Mass. 02138."
8. Letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, June 1969 A letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, 1969. In this letter dated June 15, Eileen Chang informs Hsia that she has sent him 3 copies of her collection. She also congratulates Hsia for wining the Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship. She is applying for the National Endowment Fund herself. She has not finished translating the last fourteen chapters of "Hai Shang Hua". She also asks Hsia to write prelude for her book.; 張愛玲寄給夏志清的信, 1969. 這封信註明6月15日寫的. 張愛玲告知夏志清已寄上三本"全集". 也恭喜夏志清得了哥根漢研究基金. 自己另外提到申請國家人文學科研究基金的事. "海上花"還有十四回沒譯完. 也請夏志清幫忙寫序.
9. Letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, September 1979 A letter from Eileen Chang to C.T. Hsia, 1979. In this letter dated September 5, Plaks is mentioned in her letter. Eileen Chang also mentions that she is impressed by Zhiqing's talent after she reads his "Chong Hui Qian Zhongshu". Zhang thinks that "Hai Shang Hua" treats men and women equally. She has finished translating 46 chapters. The envelope has USPS 15 cents-stamp with dated stamp of 6 Sept 1979 Los Angeles is addressed to "Professor C.T. Hsia, 415 115th St., Apt. 22, New York, N.Y. 10025" from address "Chang, 1825 N. Kingsley Dr., # 305, Los Angeles, CA 90027."; 張愛玲寄給夏志清的信,1979. 這封信註明9月5日寫的. 張愛玲說Plaks的理論是最典型的洋人故弄玄虛, 但李歐梵還稱讚他. 她還提到她看了志清的"重會錢鍾書",十分感嘆他的淵博. 信中還提到陳衡哲, 張認為"海上花"氣質好,並寫得男女平等與不殘酷 , 張已譯了四十六回. 信封上有一個十五分錢的郵票, 郵政戳印日期為1979年9月6日于加州洛杉磯, 並有收件人地址"Professor C.T. Hsia, 415 115th St., Apt. 22, New York, N.Y. 10025" 及寄件人地址"Chang, 1825 N. Kingsley Dr., # 305, Los Angeles, CA 90027."
10. Eileen Chang's grandmother and her daughter and son, [s.d.]
11. Eileen Chang's grandmother and her mother, [s.d.] Eileen Chang's grandmother and her mother， [s.d.]. When my grandmother was 18 years old, she took this picture with her mother. It seems like she's baring a laugh. It's probably the Caucasian photographer under the black cloth. -- "Dui Zhao Ji", p 033; 张爱玲的祖母与她母亲的合照，[s.d.]. "我祖母十八岁的时候与她母亲合影。她仿佛忍着笑，也许是笑钻在黑布下的洋人摄影师。-- 对照记，p 033

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1. Eileen Chang Fashion ca.1944 Eileen Chang, ca. 1944. In 1944, my friend Zhang had sent someone to take my picture and I wore this Chinese-style dress. After a few shots, I was asked to take different kinds of pictures and thus, I wore a robe on the outside of the dress. -- "Dui Zhao Ji", -- p 067; 张爱玲的照片, ca. 1944."一九四四年业余摄影家童世璋与他有同好的友人张君，名字一时记不起了，托人介绍来给我拍照，我就穿那件唯一的清装行头，大袄下穿着薄呢旗袍。拍了几张，要换个样子。单色呢旗袍不上照，就在旗袍外面加件浴衣，看得出颈项上有一圈旗袍领的阴影。（为求线条简洁，我把低矮的旗袍领改为连续的圈领）"-- 对照记，p. 067
2. Eileen Chang's grandmother and her mother, [s.d.] Eileen Chang's grandmother and her mother， [s.d.]. When my grandmother was 18 years old, she took this picture with her mother. It seems like she's baring a laugh. It's probably the Caucasian photographer under the black cloth. -- "Dui Zhao Ji", p 033; 张爱玲的祖母与她母亲的合照，[s.d.]. "我祖母十八岁的时候与她母亲合影。她仿佛忍着笑，也许是笑钻在黑布下的洋人摄影师。-- 对照记，p 033
4. Eileen Chang with Xianglan Li, ca. 1943 Eileen Chang with Xianglan Li, ca.1943. In 1943, I met the celebrity Li Xianglan(originally Japanese). I wanted to take a picture with her but I was too tall and it wouldn't have looked good so someone found a stool for me to sit down and she had to stand beside me. In the book "Yu Yun", it talks about this cloth. -- "Dui Zhao Ji", p. 065; 张爱玲和李香兰的照片, ca.1943。"一九四三年在园游会中遇见影星李香兰（原是日本人山口淑子），要合拍张照，我太高，并立会相映成趣，有人找了张椅子来让我坐下，只好委屈她侍立一旁。《余韵》书中提起我祖母的一张夹被的被面做的衣服，就是这一件。是我姑姑拆下来保存的。虽说[陈丝如烂草]，那裁缝居然不皱眉，一声不出拿了去，照炎樱的设计做了下来。米色薄绸上潵淡墨点，隐着暗紫凤凰，很有画意，别处没看见过类似的图案。"-- 对照记，p. 065
5. Eileen Chang's grandmother and her daughter and son, [s.d.]

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Gender and Sexuality/Desire, Longing, and Ill-Fated Romance Originally published in 1944, Red Rose White Rose was adapted to a film by Stanley Kwan 50 years later. Scenarios in it resonated with Chang’s upbringing and it also reflected Chang’s value of love in some ways. Chang delineated the dilemma that the traditional man faced when he encountered two women and she revealed the paradox that male made decisions at every turn. Two women in the novel symbolled the different gender stereotypes in terms of social values in China at that time. They were the incarnations of the woman who was bound by China's traditional cultural identity versus the independent woman. It is interesting if we place her work along with the First-wave feminism, which held during 1860 to 1945. Chang was nurturing feminism in the East. Chang mentioned that Lian Huan Tao, Chuang Shi Ji, as well as Yin Baoyan Song Hua Lou Hui were produced during her prolific period. These pieces of work were drafted after Red Rose White Rose. It took her a while to make up her mind to publish them.

Chang mentioned her another work Rouge of The North a few times between her correspondence with Hsia. Rouge of The North portrays a distorted change of a woman, Yindi, in a dramatic way. Yindi, who marries the blind, bedridden son of a rich and noble family has no power in speech. The twisted domestic relation, the unsatisfying family life, and the exacting dictates of her husband's mother, leaves Yindi in a hopeless situation. After her demanding mother-in-law passed away, she moved out of the big house with her son. Absurdly though, when her son gets married, Yindi has become a perverted mother-in-law and inflicted pain on others. She constantly blames and emotionally tortures her daughter-in-law in a vicious and brutal way. Chang expounds the tragedy across three generations, conveying her idea that marriage is attributed to women’s plight. While holding a negative perception of marriage, in one letter written to Hsia regarding Rouge of The North, Chang implies that “our generation is impoverished with a love life in youth.” The disbelief in marriage, and the yearning for true love, both occur in Chang’s mind.

First published in 1948, Eighteen Springs shows Gu Manzhen’s ill-fated romance through the entanglement with characters, demonstrating the inescapable fate of women in the 1940s. A pessimistic fatalism was revealed that women do not get to choose who they can settle with their lives. Something is destined. Longing for unattainable love is a juxtaposition of sublime and tragedy. In her correspondence to Hsia, Eileen Chang suggests Eighteen Springs would be suitable for film adaptation because it carries a strong dramatic turn. She envisions the leading actress playing two sisters, Manzhen and Manlu, to make a contrast. In 1997, Ann Hui directed the film Eighteen Springs, based on the novel by Chang.
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