Eileen Chang's fans celebrate anniversary

Celebrated author Eileen Chang (1920-1995) still attracts fans to the place where she once lived in Shanghai.

A group of fans and celebrities held an art salon in the café of Eddington House on Changde Road to celebrate the 100th anniversary of her birth. 

Chunzi, a Shanghai writer who published a series of books on Chang’s writings and her connections to the city, and Li Lei, an audio program producer who introduced Chang’s books were invited to take part. Participants shared their views on Chang’s life and work.

Thanks to Chang, Eddington House, also known as Changde Apartments, is perhaps one of the best-known buildings in Shanghai. She first lived in this apartment with her mother and aunt in 1939 but later went to study in Hong Kong. When she returned in 1942, she moved into Room 60 with her aunt, and was a freelance writer until September 1947. Chang completed several novels there. She died in Los Angeles, where she had an apartment, in 1995.

Her novels are mainly based on her experiences in Shanghai with details drawn from city life. Many are love stories set against the backdrop of China’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945).

Ti Gong