| Zhang Ailing wrote many well-known short stories while she lived in Japanese occupied Shanghai, such as "The Golden Cangue" and "Love in a Fallen City." Nevertheless, she only published two short stories after the Communists took over Mainland China, "Eighteen Springs" and "Xiao'ai." "Eighteen Springs" was later expanded into the novel At the Edge of Destiny, but "Xiao'ai" was left unchanged. "Xiao'ai" was later published in different locations, and each location's version is different from the original Yibao version with pro-Communist content. This thesis discusses the context of the novelette "Xiao'ai" against the background of the author's life and the political events of the time, followed by analyses of the three major female characters from "Xiao'ai." An appendix includes a complete translation of one of the more popular versions of "Xiao'ai," and a second appendix contains a translation of the pro-Communist content omitted from this version. |
