Red Fog

Zhang ZipingNanhai Publication Company · ChinaApr 2022

3.1

Word count: 70K words
Chapters: 26

Summary

Red Mist is a novel by Zhang Ziping, published in November 1930 by Lehua Book Company in Shanghai. Zhang Ziping's works reflect the passionate pursuit of freedom in love and marriage by young men and women during the May Fourth era, as well as the constraints imposed on them by stale feudal ethics and the power of money. With an objective and plain writing attitude, a fresh and fluent style, and a sweet, gentle, and tender sensibility, Zhang Ziping's works quickly became widely popular, while also enriching the genealogy of New Literature characters with numerous female figures and securing a place in literary history.

Editor's review

Red Mist is a long-form work by Zhang Ziping from the early 1930s, and its republication offers readers a chance to look back at the love narrative of New Literature after the May Fourth Movement. Zhang Ziping excels at depicting young men and women's pursuit of free love and marriage autonomy in a plain and objective manner, while revealing the dual pressure exerted on individuals by feudal ethics and the power of money. His writing is fresh and fluent, with a sweet, gentle, and tender sensibility; it is easy to read, yet allows one to feel the real struggles of young people of that era between emotion and propriety. The many female characters in the book add a genealogy worth close attention to the gallery of modern literary figures. For readers, the value of this book lies not only in the plot but also in its preservation of an emotional sample from a transitional era: pursuit and constraint coexist, and passion and hesitation intertwine. It is suitable for slow reading in relatively quiet moments, paying attention to dialogue and psychological changes in order to understand the narrative appeal and historical limitations of early New Literature novels.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in early long-form novels of modern Chinese literature
Readers who want to understand changes in young people's views on love and marriage after the May Fourth Movement
Researchers focused on the genealogy of female characters in modern literature
Readers of old-school New Literature who prefer steady plots and fluent prose

Not a good fit for

Contemporary fiction readers who prefer strong plots and fast-paced narratives
Readers who lack patience for the language style and narrative pace of the Republican era

Reading tips

Read the opening chapters first to become familiar with Zhang Ziping's plain and fluent narrative tone, then enter the character relationships.
While reading, pay attention to the situations and choices of female characters, and read them alongside other New Literature works of the same period.
Do not rush to follow the plot; focus on the views on love and marriage and the pressure of money revealed in the dialogue.

About the publisher

Nanhai Publication Company China · Founded in 1988

Nanhai Publication Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literature and arts titles, covering fields such as classical poetry, martial arts fiction, and folk literature. Judging from the more than 1,600 books in the database, the company has released classical poetic works including the Nineteen Old Poems and the Nine Songs, as well as multiple volumes of Huanzhulouzhu's series The Swordsmen of Mount Shu, along with related writings by authors such as Guan Hanqing, Qu Yuan, Zuo Si, and Wang Zhihuan. Its publishing character lies in balancing the organization of classic texts with the dissemination of popular literature, placing poetry anthologies alongside long martial arts novels and presenting a relatively diverse literary profile. Public information is limited, and further details about its editorial practices and series planning remain to be supplemented.

版权信息
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四
五
六
七
八
九
十
十一
十二
十三
十四
十五
十六
十七
十八
十九
二十
二十一
二十二
二十三
二十四
二十五

FAQ

Is Red Mist suitable as an introductory book for understanding Zhang Ziping?

It can serve as one of the introductory reads. It is a novel by Zhang Ziping that reflects his plain and objective writing attitude and fresh, fluent style, and it also deals with the theme of the conflict between young people's freedom to love after the May Fourth Movement and feudal ethics and the power of money. However, whether it works as an introduction still depends on the reader's tolerance for the narrative pace of the Republican era.

What are the main difficulties in reading this book?

The main difficulty lies not in the difficulty of the language but in the historical context. The views on love and marriage, ethical conflicts, and the constraints imposed on young people by the power of money need to be understood against the social background of the early 1930s. In addition, the narrative pace of old-school New Literature is relatively slow, and readers used to fast pacing may need time to adjust.

What is the reading value of the female characters in the book?

The materials show that Zhang Ziping enriched the genealogy of New Literature characters with numerous female figures. While reading, pay attention to the choices and situations of different female characters under the pressure of love, marriage, and money; this helps to understand how New Literature of the time wrote about women and also reveals the author's strengths and limitations in narrative.

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About the author

Zhang Ziping Author · Chinese · 1893–1959

Zhang Ziping (1893–1959) was a native of Meixian, Guangdong, originally named Zhang Xingyi, and a graduate of the Department of Geology at Tokyo Imperial University. In 1921 he co-founded the Creation Society with Guo Moruo, Yu Dafu and others, becoming an important participant in the New Literature movement. His novel Fossil of the Alluvial Period is the first full-length novel in the history of modern Chinese literature. He later became widely popular for his love stories, which often portray the emotional entanglements and marital dilemmas of young men and women, spanning social fiction, youth literature and modern romance. Representative works include Spring at Meiling, Water of the Yotan River, Beyond the Circle of Love and The Last Happiness. During the War of Resistance he collaborated with the enemy, was tried for treason after the war, and died in 1959 at a labor reform farm in Anhui.