A Novel Comparision Between Zhang Ailing And Wang Anyi On Their View Of Feminism

Zhang Ailing and Wang Anyi, two of the remarkably brightest in the history of Chinese female literature, appear frequently in critic's articles and in the reader's mind. Why are the two writers mentioned by the critics together? Is there any reason that makes the two women living half a century apart appear at the same time? The main reason is two common points: Shanghai and women of Shanghai.Zhang Ailing who lived in the 1940s in Shanghai, writes mainly about the profane female. Her writing style is quite different from that of the Jacbinical women writers Binxin and Dingling living in an age of the May 4 Movement. Zhang Ailing, taking a rational and calm eye, distinctively described a kind of professional wife's life on a crowd of declining aristocratic women. In The Most Charming Love, the heroine, Bai Liusu, had a long shot gamble so as to get a marriage by remaining young. In The Gold Shackles, the heroine, Cao Qiqiao, was nearly mad and metamorphic because of the heavy gold shackles. In The Remaining Fragrant Crumbs, the First Praying Alter, another heroine, Ge Weilong, unfortunately fell into the upper circles of society which was addicted to the pleasures of song, seeking sensual pleasures, and so on, in order to make a living. None of the heroines were independent economically and marriage was their second life. What's more, marriage was the only way for them to change their fate. In this sense to seek a backer as their home shelter and to make an appropriate marriage is their strongest wish. Zhang Ailing described this nearly in a cold way in some degree. She unveiled their authentic but helpless miserable situation and their slavish essence. Based on the description, she drew the outline of the pictures of the female slavish group in a male -dominant society.Wang Anyi, another famous woman writer, continues to write about the common life in Shanghai. She lived in the 1990s in Shanghai;she was concerned about the changes and spiritual world of the fringe woman in Shanghai. She narrated the daily life of Shanghai women in view of civilian life. Her novel has the features of generosity, understanding and warmth of human beings. Take Time Passin,g for example, the heroine, Ouyang Duanli is a noble lady who does herself proud. After her family was searched and her property confiscated, she spontaneously shouldered the responsibility of life and naturally became the backbone of her family. In Forever Regret, the heroine Wang Qiyao brought up her daughter alone after her lover left her. The last example is Meitou ('the way to call young girls in some Chinese districts). She did business herself through long-distance transportation. The aboveheroines showed people the features of the smartness, capability and grittiness of Shanghai women. They are the heroines among common Shanghai women.When writing, both the writers chose themes far away from the mainstream, instead, they focused on the life scene of the common life. This essay tried to compare the similarity and difference between the two writers living half century apart while in a common place, Shanghai from three perspectives: inventing themes, shaping literature figures and their artistic style in view of feminism and tried to reveal the reasons. Finally she drew the outline of the psychological experience of Shanghai women in the course of liberating themselves.