Zhang Ailing

Zhang Ailing. [Photo: People.com.cn]

Zhang Ailing, or Eileen Chang (1920-1995), was one of the top four female writers of her time. Her most famous works include Lust, Cautionand Love in a Fallen City.

Zhang was skilled at describing tensions between men and women in love. Her portrayal of everyday life in Shanghai of 1940s is remarkable with its absence of the political subtext that characterized the works of many other writers of the period.