Immigrant of the Day: Eileen Chang (China)

Eileen Chang (1920–1995) was a writer. Her works are considered by some scholars to be among the best Chinese literature of the period.  Chang’s work describing life in 1940s Shanghai and occupied Hong Kong is remarkable in its focus on everyday life.

Born in Shanghai, Eileen Chang wrote her debut short novel in 1932. In 1939, Chang received a scholarship to study in the University of London, though the opportunity had to be given up due to the ongoing war in China. She went on to study literature at the University of Hong Kong. Just one semester short of getting her degree, Hong Kong fell to the Empire of Japan on December 25, 1941.

In the spring of 1943, Chang made a fateful trip to meet an editor to give him her writtings. The rest was history: Chang became the hottest writer in Shanghai in 1943-1944. It was during this period when her most acclaimed works, including Qing Cheng Zhi Lian (倾城之恋) and Jin Suo Ji (金锁记), were penned.

Chang then left for the United States in the fall of 1955, never to return to Mainland China again. Chang became a U.S. citizen in July 1960.

Chang held short-term jobs at Radcliffe College (1967) and UC Berkeley (1969-1972). Chang relocated to Los Angeles in 1972. Three years later, she completed the English translation of The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai. She became increasingly reclusive in her later years.

KJ