Red Mist

Zhang ZipingNanhai Publication Company · ChinaJul 2024

Rating 2.8

Word count: 70K words
Chapters: 26

Summary

Red Mist is a novel by Zhang Ziping, published in November 1930 by Shanghai Lehua Book Company. Zhang Ziping's works reflect the passionate pursuit of freedom in love and marriage by young men and women during the May Fourth period, as well as the constraints placed upon 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, and at the same time, through numerous female characters, he helped complete the genealogy of characters in modern Chinese literature, securing a place in literary history.

Editor's review

Red Mist is a novel by Zhang Ziping published in 1930, bearing the distinct mark of young people after the May Fourth era pursuing freedom in love and marriage. Zhang Ziping's strength lies in a fresh and fluent style and a sweet, gentle, and tender sensibility; he writes about love between men and women without affectation, making the text smooth and easy to enter. At the same time, the work brings to the surface the constraints placed on young people by feudal ethics and the power of money, so that the love story is not merely romance but carries an undercurrent of social critique. The book portrays numerous female characters and has reference value for understanding the genealogy of characters in modern Chinese literature. One caveat: Zhang Ziping's treatment is rather objective and plain, the emotional progression sometimes feels direct, and the arrangement of characters' fates bears traces of the popular long novels of that era. It is suitable as supplementary reading for the history of modern literature, and for readers who want to experience urban emotional narrative around 1930.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in fiction about love and marriage after the May Fourth era
Readers who want to understand Zhang Ziping's style and the portrayal of women in modern Chinese literature
Readers who enjoy fluent, emotionally direct popular long novels
Students who need supplementary author works for modern literature courses

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting deep psychological analysis and complex narrative structure
Readers impatient with old-style emotional entanglements and melodramatic plots
Readers who only read contemporary fiction and find the language of modern literature too unfamiliar

Reading tips

First understand the era's themes of freedom in love and marriage after the May Fourth era, then enter the story; this makes it easier to understand the characters' situations.
Pay attention to the differences among the female character types; a simple character chart can help observe how the author arranges their fates.
Examine separately the interference of money power and feudal ethics in love and marriage; this is where the book's social critique lands.
There is no need to read every chapter closely; read through the story first, then return to the dialogue and narration at key emotional turning points.

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
一
二
三
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 Zhang Ziping's language very distant to read now?

Overall it is not difficult. His style is fresh and fluent, and the sentences are not awkward; the main gap lies in the era's themes and views on love. If the plot progression feels direct at first, place it in the context of popular long novels around 1930 rather than judging it by the standards of contemporary fiction.

Is this book mainly about love or about social problems?

The two are intertwined. On the surface it is a story of young men and women pursuing freedom in love and marriage, while underneath the interference of feudal ethics and money power in love and marriage keeps appearing. Read the emotional line and the external forces constraining emotion together to understand the work's critical intent.

There are many female characters; what should I pay attention to while reading?

Notice the differences in different women's circumstances, choices, and endings, and see whether the author narrates with sympathy, affirmation, or distance. Zhang Ziping used numerous female characters to participate in constructing the genealogy of characters in modern Chinese literature; this is more worth attention than the success or failure of any single character.

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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.