Eileen Chang: Tierce of Life "Eclipse & Nexus"
AUDIO GUIDE (THE HISTORY OF EILEEN CHANG in Part Three) IS AVAILABLE IN 2 LANGUAGES: CHINESE & ENGLISH, SCROLL DOWN TO THE PAGE BOTTOM, SELECT LANGUAGE AND TAP 'READ CONTENTS'.
Eclipse & Nexus
The tree in this work is the same as in “Slim & Long”. Burning of this tree symbolizes the cycle of life: death, rebirth, and the continuity thereof....
This work is based on Chang’s 2009 novel “Little reunions”, she described how she relates to her ancestors: “She love them. They have never interfered with her life, only living silently in her blood, and they will die once more the day she die”.
Inkjet prints on Tyvek paper
2 photographs, Photo size: 91cm(w) x 183cm(h)
Inkjet prints on Tyvek paper
Historical Background:
Chang decided to move back to Hong Kong in 1952 because she was under pressure from a changing communist regime. At the time, she took inspiration from the communist land reform movement and wrote “The Rice-sprout Song” and “Naked Earth” in 1955 and 1956 respectively, probably her only politics related works.
Chang re-married in 1956 to American Ferdinand Reyher and moved to Los Angeles. She was naturalized as a US Citizen in 1961 and lived a simple life thereafter. Her husband passed away in 1967.
The Hong Kong-based art critic Stephen Soong commissioned Chang to write screenplays for the booming Hong Kong movie industry, so between 1953 and 1961, Chang wrote many noted screenplays such as the 1962 “The Greatest Love Affair on Earth”. Soong and his wife provided a lot of help to Chang, even finding a flat for Chang to live near their apartment on Kai Yuen Street. They became lifelong friend thereafter.
In 1975, Chang started her semi-autobiographic novel “Little Reunion” which eventually took over 10 years to complete. Then in her 50s, she took inspirations from her life experience to create a piece of literature that is arguably her best work. One reason for the time it took was that Chang continually seek input from the Soong couple through letters between the US and Hong Kong. The novel was not published until after her death as Chang was never fully satisfied with it. After her death, the Soong couple had their reservations about publishing it so it wasn’t until 2009, after the passing of the Soong couple, that their son Ronald Soong published “Little Reunion”.
Chang passed away in 1995 in the US. According to her wish, her friends scattered her ashes in the Pacific Ocean on her birthday.
缺丶圓
被燃燒的樹是跟 “細丶長” 相同的一棵樹，意味著死後再重生，生生不息的意思。
作品是以張最後一部作品為藍本, 《小團圓》 她形容她跟早先的關係是: 她愛他們。他們不干涉她，只靜靜的躺在她血液裡，在她死的時候再死一次。
噴墨打印, 杜邦纸
2 張, 尺吋: 91厘米(寛) X 183厘米(高)
歷史背景:
張於1952年重回香港, 當時張受到土地改革運動影響,在1955及1956年分别寫下 《秧歌和》 和 《赤地之戀》 兩部作品。也只有這兩部作品是跟政治有關的。 後來, 張在香港認識了宋淇(文化電影評論者), 因宋淇在香港的工作關係, 張從1953-1961年, 8年間為香港電影業寫下多部劇本.
1956年, 張跟美國作家賴雅結婚, 成了美國公民. 這是她第二段婚姻. 在美國她生活平淡, 直至1995年在美國洛杉機住所離世, 享年75歲。
《小團圓》 是她最後寫的作品, 1975年開始寫, 但一直未有出版, 直到2009年, 她離世後14年才出版。
AUDIO GUIDE (THE HISTORY OF EILEEN CHANG in Part Three) IS AVAILABLE IN 2 LANGUAGES: CHINESE & ENGLISH, SELECT LANGUAGE AND TAP 'READ CONTENTS'.
