*The Genesis of Hong Kong: Eileen Chang's Otherland and World* / by Wong Sum-tsun

**From a bespectacled HKU student to a sensational modern writer, Eileen Chang's Hong Kong experience shaped her historical perspective and worldview, forging the legend of Eileen Chang.** In 1939, not yet nineteen, Eileen Chang enrolled at the University of Hong Kong. Two and a half years later, she personally experienced the Battle of Hong Kong and its occupation. Bearing the "personal, intense impact" of her Hong Kong experience, she returned to Shanghai to begin writing. With a series of "Hong Kong Legends," she rapidly rose to prominence as a cutting-edge new female writer. *The Genesis of Hong Kong* focuses on Eileen Chang's connection to Hong Kong, using archival materials as evidence to restore blurred historical images and clarify the humanistic experience during a period of war. Chang's lifelong cosmopolitan perspective originated from the foundational liberal arts education of her university years. The visual impressions of Hong Kong Island's mountains—sometimes clear, sometimes intense—the concentrated reading experiences under bombardment, the confluence of multilingual and multicultural reference systems, the intricate presentation of colonial modernity, and the long, drifting post-war life that began anew in Hong Kong are all etched into the DNA of her writing life. Eileen Chang's Hong Kong experience points to a clarity and tenderness deep within the heart, along with a sharpness and intensity that form the most resonant soul of her writing. ISBN: 978-988-237-275-7 Binding: Paperback Language: Traditional Chinese Pages: 448 Dimensions: 190 x 127 x 29 mm **About the Author** Wong Sum-tsun is a Professor in the Department of Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong. She holds a Ph.D. in East Asian Languages and Literatures from the University of California, Los Angeles, and taught for many years at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she was a Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures and Director of the East Asian Studies Center. Her research areas include 20th-century Chinese literature and audiovisual culture studies. Her representative work is *Women, War, Domesticity: Shanghai Literature and Popular Culture of the 1940s*. **Foreword by Leo Ou-fan Lee | Recommended by Brigitte Lin, David Der-wei Wang, Wong Chi-ping, and Tung Chi-fang** "Restoring Eileen Chang's true self and giving old Hong Kong its due: this book, *The Genesis of Hong Kong*, explores how Eileen Chang's connection to old Hong Kong led to her inability to let go of it. In her literary heart, the fashionable Shanghai writer Eileen Chang always cherished the bespectacled university student Eileen Chang of Hong Kong. Old Hong Kong was a treasure trove of material for Chang's writing; even the voices and scholarship of several teachers at old HKU were incorporated into her historical sense and shaped her worldview. Professor Wong Sum-tsun has meticulously organized a wealth of original materials, sketching out forgotten stories with a novel structure, serene narration, and brilliant prose, delicately weaving together the enduring private whispers and profound melancholy of Eileen Chang's life." **—Tung Chi-fang, Writer** "A long-awaited masterpiece, presenting Eileen Chang in her cosmopolitan humanistic landscape, capturing her birth, rebirth, and evolution." **—Wong Chi-ping, Emeritus Professor, Hong Kong Baptist University; Distinguished Professor, Sun Yat-sen University (Zhuhai)** "Hong Kong forged the legend of Eileen Chang. Professor Wong Sum-tsun delves into historical materials and performs close readings of texts, using a heartfelt approach to recreate the half-century entanglement between a city and a writer. From *Written on Water* to *Little Reunion*, from the HKU campus to the Soong family's drawing-room, the people and events of Hong Kong intertwine, marking Eileen Chang's past and present. The contrast is both fierce and gentle, worldly and melancholic. This book offers a significant breakthrough in Eileen Chang studies and Hong Kong studies." **—David Der-wei Wang, Edward C. Henderson Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and of Comparative Literature, Harvard University; Member of the Academia Sinica** "*The Genesis of Hong Kong* began during our walks on Victoria Peak with Wong Sum-tsun, which lasted for two years, and our conversations were always about Eileen Chang. I read Eileen Chang voraciously, and she wrote about Eileen Chang with all her heart. She poured her soul into writing, and I read every word. The articles were long, yet I found myself worrying that I would finish them too soon. I recommend this book to all readers who love Eileen Chang!" **—Brigitte Lin, Renowned Film Actress and Writer**