Chinese Literature - Li-hua Ying 2010

YE LINGFENG (1905—1975)
The Dictionary

YE LINGFENG (1905—1975). Novelist and essayist. Born in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, Ye studied painting in Shanghai in the 1920s and was a member of the Creation Society, sharing similar interests with the other Creationists, particularly Yu Dafu, whom Ye greatly admired. He edited several literary journals, including Hongshui (Flood), Xiandai xiaoshuo (Modern Novel), Xiandai wenyi (Modern Art), and Wenyi huabao (Art Pictorial). In 1930, he joined the Left-wing Association of Chinese Writers but lost his membership the following year due to lack of participation in its activities. Ye moved to Hong Kong in 1938 and continued to edit newspapers and magazines until his death in 1975.

A prolific writer, Ye published numerous novels, collections of short stories, and essays. Early in his career, Ye wrote romantic tales, such as Hong de tianshi (Red Angel) and Wei wancheng de chanhuilu (Unfinished Confessions). Later, especially after settling in Hong Kong, he showed a keen interest in local history. Neng bu yi jiangnan (Memory of the South of the River), Xianggang fangwu zhi (A Local History of Hong Kong), and Xianggang jiushi (Legends of Hong Kong) are some of his representative works. See also SPOKEN DRAMA.