In 1995, 74-year-old Zhang Ailing died at her home in Los Angeles, USA, and was only found a week later.
Eileen Chang has a pivotal position in the history of modern Chinese literature, and has been involved in novels, essays, and screenplay reviews, especially her novels, which are in a class of their own and elevate realistic fiction to a new dimension.
Zhang Ailing's original name is Zhang Lang, born in 1920, her family background is very strong, her grandfather held an important position in the late Qing government, her grandmother is the daughter of Li Hongzhang, Zhang Ailing got a good education, she began to write novels at the age of seven, and began to contact painting, English and piano at the age of eight, and read a lot of literary masterpieces.
In 1939, Zhang Ailing was admitted to the University of London, due to the frequent wars at that time, there was no way to go to report, so she could only choose the University of Hong Kong to study.
In 1955, Zhang Ailing chose to move to the United States, where her talent was not well displayed, due to the differences between Chinese and Western cultures, no company was optimistic about her works, and it didn't take long for her to start running around for a living, and she couldn't calm down to create with peace of mind.
In 1956, Zhang Ailing moved to New England to live, where she met a playwright Lai Ya, Lai Ya was 29 years older than her, the two admired each other, and officially married after half a year together, Zhang Ailing finally had a support in a foreign country.
Song Qi and his wife are Zhang Ailing's best friends, but also her loyal fans, they have always had correspondence, when they learned of Zhang Ailing's embarrassing situation in the United States, the couple did not hesitate to lend a helping hand and sent her a large sum of money, which was tantamount to a charcoal in the snow for Zhang Ailing at that time, and also gave her the courage to continue to persevere.
After stabilizing her life, Eileen Chang published several novels and wrote screenplays for films in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and moved to Los Angeles five years later after the death of her husband Laiya in 1967.
On September 8, 1995, Zhang Ailing passed away at her home in Westwood District, Los Angeles, because she lived alone, so she was found a week later.
In fact, when Zhang Ailing was young, she still liked her younger brother very much, when she was ten years old, after her parents divorced, Zhang Ailing lived with her father, and after her father remarried, the relationship between Zhang Ailing and her stepmother has been very bad.
Once, Zhang Ailing was locked in the house and grounded by her father because of her stepmother, and it didn't take long for her to start getting sick.
During this period, the younger brother has always been very indifferent, and has never helped his sister say a good word, and since then, Zhang Ailing's attitude towards her younger brother has changed, and it is not difficult to understand why her younger brother was not mentioned in her will.
In Zhang Ailing's heart, Song Qi and his wife are her real relatives, because in her most difficult time, only they are willing to help her unconditionally get through the difficulties.
