Chang Hsiu-ya

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In this Chinese name, the family name is Chang.

Chang Hsiu-ya (Chinese: 張秀亞; September 16, 1919 – June 29, 2001) was a renowned female writer from Taiwan, also known by her baptismal name Cecilia (則濟利亞). She used pen names such as Chen Lan (陳藍), Chang Ya-lan (張亞藍), Hsin-ching (心井, literally “Well of Heart”), and others. Born in Cang County, Hebei Province, China, her family moved to Tianjin when she was seven years old.[1] She later came to Taiwan in 1948. She served as a professor at Providence University and Fu Jen Catholic University's Graduate Institute. She is particularly well-known for her prose.[2]

Career[edit]

Chang Hsiu-ya began publishing works in children's weekly magazines when she was nine years old. At the age of 15, she published poems in the literary weekly of the Yi Shi Bao (益世報) magazine. At 17, she published her first book, By the Banks of the Talung River (大龍河畔).[3] In 1948, she started publishing under the pen name Hsin-ching in Taiwan.[4] In 1952, she published her first prose collection in Taiwan under her real name, Wild Pansy (三色堇).[3]

Chang excelled in poetry, prose, and fiction, with a dreamlike writing style. Her life experiences led to a shift in the themes of her prose, focusing on simple character sketches and everyday life. In the 1970s, her prose became more philosophical and reflective, incorporating literary criticism.[5] Taiwanese scholar Frances Chang (張瑞芬) considers Ode to Narcissus (水仙辭), Lake Water and Autumn Oranges (湖水・秋橙), and Below the Northern Window (北窗下) as the three peaks of Chang’s prose craftsmanship.[6]

Reception[edit]

Chang Hsiu-ya was not only a significant figure in women's literature, but was also hailed by poet Ya Hsien (瘂弦) as a "master of beautiful writing". Ya believed that Chang was an artist full of nativist colors.[3] Chen Fang-ming (陳芳明) pointed out that "her noteworthy creative technique lies not in localization, but in the tireless pursuit of imagination."[7]

Reference[edit]

  1. ^ Chang, Hsiu-ya (1981). "苦奈樹——我的生活及文藝道路" [The Bitter Neem Tree - My Life and Literary Path]. 三色堇 [Wild Pansy]. Taipei: Er-ya Publishing. pp. 133–150.
  2. ^ Feng, Te-ping (2005). "全集，作家的文學生命" [Complete Works, the Literary Life of a Writer]. 永不凋謝的三色堇——張秀亞文學研討會論文集 [The Eternal Tricolor Violet - Chang Hsiu-ya Literature Conference Proceedings]. Tainan: National Museum of Taiwan Literature. pp. 5–7.
  3. ^ a b c Ya, Hsien (2005). "張秀亞，台灣婦女寫作的燃燈人──從早期學私生活的發韌到「美文」創作版圖的完成" [Chang Hsiu-ya, the Lightbringer of Women's Writing in Taiwan - From Early Studies of Private Life to the Completion of the 'Beautiful Literature' Creative Landscape']. 張秀亞全集1・總論 [Chang Hsiu-ya Complete Works 1 - General Introduction]. Tainan: National Museum of Taiwan Literature. pp. 5–26.
  4. ^ Fu, Rujian (2005). 張秀亞散文研究 [A Study of Chang Hsiu-ya's Essays]. Taipei: Graduate Institute of Chinese Literature, National Chengchi University. pp. 33–38, 196–200.
  5. ^ Shi, Xiaofeng (2005). "作家的「隱性宣言」——張秀亞散文創作理論及其實踐" [The Writer's 'Implicit Declaration' - Chang Hsiu-ya's Theory and Practice of Essay Writing]. 永不凋謝的三色堇——張秀雅文學研討會論文集 [The Eternal Tricolor Violet - Chang Hsiu-ya Literature Conference Proceedings]. Tainan: National Museum of Taiwan Literature. pp. 207–211.
  6. ^ Zhang, Ruifen (2005). "張秀亞的散文美學及其文學史意義" [Chang Hsiu-ya's Aesthetics of the Essay and Its Literary Historical Significance]. 張秀亞全集2・導讀 [Chang Hsiu-ya Complete Works 2 - Introduction]. Tainan: National Museum of Taiwan Literature. pp. 42–43.
  7. ^ Chen, Fang-ming (2003). "在母性與女性之間" [Between Maternity and Femininity]. 霜後的燦爛——林海音及其同輩女作家學術研討會論文集 [The Brilliance After Frost — Lin Hai-yin and Her Contemporary Women Writers' Academic Conference Proceedings]. Taichung: National Cultural Heritage Preservation Center. p. 300.
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