Chinese Literature - Li-hua Ying 2010

ZHANG XIAOFENG (1941— )
The Dictionary

ZHANG XIAOFENG (1941— ). Prose and fiction writer and playwright. Born in Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, Zhang Xiaofeng moved to Taiwan at the age of eight. She graduated from Dongwu University and has taught at universities in Taiwan. Zhang is primarily known as a prose writer. Her lyrical essays, noted for their classical elegance, are highly regarded and very popular in all Chinese-speaking communities. She has published numerous essay collections including Ditan de na yi duan (At the Other End of the Carpet), Bu xia hong tan zhi hou (After Stepping Off the Red Carpet), Ni hai meiyou ai guo (You Have Not Loved), Cong ni meili de liuyu (From Your Beautiful River Valley), Chu xue (The First Snow), Yige nüren de aiqing guan (A Woman’s Perspective on Love), and Shengjing zhi tapian (The Rubbings of the Bible). Her essays express her love of Mother Nature, her sentimental attachment to the homeland, her appreciation of the value of life, and her persistent inquiry into the meaning of existence. In her works, the Chinese humanistic tradition and the Christian ideal of compassion are seamlessly blended, giving her prose a high degree of cultural refinement and universal appeal and making Zhang one of the best prose writers in modern Chinese literature.

In addition to her famous prose work, Zhang has written plays, including He shi bi (Mr. He’s Jade) and Wuling ren (The Man from Wuling), and acted in them. She has also published several collections of short stories, including Hong shoupa (Red Handkerchief) and Mei lan zhu ju (Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum). See also SPOKEN DRAMA; WOMEN.