Eileen Chang exhibition in Hong Kong reveals the woman behind the Chinese literary icon
Photos, letters, manuscripts and even furniture at the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature preserve Chang’s legacy 30 years after her death
From correspondence about her short story ideas to worried messages about her deteriorating health to designs for a new qipao she wished to purchase, the woman behind the icon that is Eileen Chang Ai-ling is revealed at a new exhibition in Hong Kong.
The exhibition, which marks the 30th anniversary of Chang’s death, features objects including previously unreleased photographs, original manuscripts and even furniture that belonged to Stephen and Mae-fong Soong – the couple were Chang’s close friends and she often visited their home in Hong Kong.
Rebecca Leung Mo-ling, a professor and director of HKMU’s Tin Ka Ping Centre of Chinese Culture, was instrumental in spearheading the exhibition.
Chang’s writing depicts “individuals navigating the tensions between tradition and modernity, East and West, and personal desires versus societal expectations – issues that remain profoundly relevant today”, Leung tells the Post.