Meng Jiangnü

Zhang HenshuiJan 2023

3.3

Word count: 58K words
Chapters: 24

Summary

A novel by Zhang Henshui, a leading Republican-era writer of the Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies school, written between 1955 and 1957 and adapted from the traditional folk tale Meng Jiangnü.

Editor's review

This late novel by Zhang Henshui, based on the Meng Jiangnü story, deserves to be read as an old subject retold in a new way. Rather than stopping at the surface of the legend of the Great Wall crumbling under her weeping, the author uses a novelist's craft to expand an orally transmitted tale into a narrative with the texture of lived life and human warmth, bringing Meng Jiangnü back from a symbolic figure to a concrete situation. Zhang Henshui excels in popular fiction: his prose is lucid and his plot unfolds naturally, making for an easy read that nonetheless reveals, in its details, a concern for the fate of ordinary people. For readers familiar with the folk tale, the book offers a fresh angle for understanding the legend; for those unfamiliar with Zhang's fiction, it is an accessible entry into his late work. Best read in installments on quiet evenings, attending to the narrative rhythm and the characters' speech, to appreciate how an old story is reset in the technique of the modern novel.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in novels adapted from Chinese folk legends
Literature enthusiasts curious about Zhang Henshui's later fiction
Readers of popular fiction who prefer plain narration and clear character relationships
Student readers seeking short-length supplementary reading

Not a good fit for

Avant-garde readers expecting a subversive rewrite or strong experimental style
Academic readers interested only in monographs on myth criticism and folklore studies
Readers who prefer fast-paced genre fiction with intense conflict

Reading tips

Read a synopsis of the folk tale of Meng Jiangnü first, then compare how Zhang Henshui adds or cuts plot elements.
Read in installments following the chapter rhythm, noting changes in character relationships after each section.
Pay attention to the difference between narrative language and character dialogue to appreciate the author's restraint in handling an old subject.

版权信息
一焚书
二窥园
三许婚
四步月
五生离
六长亭
七分担
八沙漠
九补工
十东行
十一搜囊
十二恶耗
十三饮恨
十四埋骨
十五盼儿
十六长眠
十七寻夫
十八指路
十九狂风
二十觅迹
二十一恸哭
二十二同埋
后记

FAQ

I haven't read any other works by Zhang Henshui. Can I start with this one?

Yes. The book is adapted from a widely known folk tale, and most readers will be familiar with the characters and background, so no prior knowledge of the author's other works is needed. The prose is mainly popular narrative and easy to get into. If you want to explore Zhang's fiction further afterward, you can read his better-known works for comparison.

Is this novel very different from the folk legend of Meng Jiangnü?

It still uses the Meng Jiangnü story as its basic framework, but as a novel it expands characters' circumstances, everyday details, and emotional threads, making the sketchy parts of the legend concrete. Readers can see it as a novelistic retelling of the folk tale rather than a complete rewrite from scratch. For specific additions and omissions, refer to the text itself.

Is this book suitable as supplementary reading for children?

It can serve as supplementary reading for understanding adaptations of folk legends, but parents or teachers are advised to look through it first to judge how well the child can accept the characters' fates and the emotional descriptions. For younger children, you might recount the legend's outline first and then read selected chapters rather than insisting on reading it all.

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About the author

Zhang Henshui Author · China · 1895–1967

Zhang Henshui (1895–1967), originally named Xinyuan, was a native of Anhui and a writer of serialized chapter fiction, recognized as a representative author of the Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies school. Over his lifetime he wrote more than a hundred novels, and this library holds as many as 436 of his works. His writing uses the traditional chapter form as its framework, with intricate plots and large casts of characters; he excels at portraying social manners and human feelings amid social change and romantic entanglements, in language that is accessible and fluent, earning him a broad readership. His representative works include Ti Xiao Yin Yuan (A Smile of Woe), Jin Fen Shi Jia (The Golden Family), Chun Ming Wai Shi, and Ba Shi Yi Meng (Eighty-One Dreams), among which the first two have circulated especially widely in many editions. His subjects center on social novels and modern romance, with some allegorical and satirical works, giving him an important place in the history of modern popular literature.