caption movement death_date death_place birth_name pseudonym birth_place influences influenced birth_date period spouse genre image article_title name occupation alma_mater
in hong kong -lrb- 1954 -rrb- mandarin and butterfly -lrb- 鴛鴦蝴蝶派 -rrb- -lrb- disputed -rrb- 8 september 1995 los angeles , united states zhang ying -lrb- zh-hans 張煐 -rrb- liang -rrb- jing -lrb- zh-hans 梁京 -rrb- -lrb- rarely used shanghai , china cao xueqin , zhou shoujuan , zhang henshui yuan qiongqiong 30 september 1920 1932 -- 1995 hu -lrb- 1956 -- 1967 -rrb- lancheng -lrb- 1944 -- 1947 -rrb- ferdinand reyher literary fiction zhang ailing 1954.jpg eileen chang
 eileen chang novelist , essayist , screenwriter st. mary 's hall university of hong kong
eileen chang

eileen chang -lrb- september 30 , 1920 -- september 8 , 1995 -rrb- , also known as zhang ailing or chang ai-ling , was one of the most influential modern chinese writers .
chang is noted for her fiction writings that deal with the tensions between men and women in love , and are considered by some scholars to be among the best chinese literature of the period .
chang 's portrayal of life in 1940s shanghai and japanese-occupied hong kong is remarkable in its focus on everyday life and the absence of the political subtext which characterised many other writers of the period .
the taiwanese author yuan qiongqiong drew inspiration from eileen chang .
the poet and university of southern california professor dominic cheung commented `` had it not been for the political division between the nationalist and communist chinese , she would have almost certainly won a nobel prize '' .
chang 's enormous popularity and famed image were in distinct contrast to her personal life , which was marred by disappointment , tragedy , increasing reclusiveness , and ultimately her sudden death from cardiovascular disease at age 74 .
