Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
Home> Volumes> Volume CHR Vol.67> Article
Research Article

The Mapping of Shanghai’s Concession Space in the Spatial Writing of Eileen Chang’s Novels

Yuzhu DuCollege of International Education, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, China*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

Taking the space of Shanghai’s Concession as the research field, this study explores the symbolic meaning of the concession space in Eileen Chang’s novels and her critique of colonial modernity. Through literary analysis and close reading of texts, the thesis focuses on public space, domestic space and spiritual space in Eileen Chang’s novels, revealing how her spatial writing maps out the process of Sino-Western cultural conflict, the penetration of colonial power, and the alienation of the individual’s spirit. The study finds that through the juxtaposition of spatial symbols and metaphors, Eileen Chang deconstructs the myth of modernity in the Concession. Her spatial narratives not only present the cultural hybridity of the Concession in Shanghai, but also profoundly reveal the structural oppression of colonial modernity on human nature and the social structure, and provide a de-romanticized critique of Chinese urban literature. It provides a critical perspective of “de-romanticization” for Chinese urban literature.

Keywords: Eileen Chang; Shanghai; Concession; Spatial Writing; colonial modernity
Published: June 13, 2025
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2025.BO24000
Volume: CHR Vol.67
pp. 159-169
Download PDF

References

  1. Li, Y. D. (2005) Rental Culture and Literature of the Thirties [D]. Shandong University.
  2. Li Y. (2015) Shanghai urban space and the aesthetics of popular fiction 1890-1930 [D]. Huazhong University of Science and Technology.
  3. Chen J. (2017) On the Spatial Narrative in Eileen Chang’s Blockade[J]. Journal of Xiangyang Vocational and Technical College,,16 (06):125-128.
  4. Yu, C.L., Lian B.B. (2022) From Eileen Chang to Ge Liang: The Flux of Urban Imagination[J]. Chinese Literature, (02):92-97.
  5. Fan, G. (2022) Study on the Polycentric Characteristics of Shanghai’s Public Concession Governance[J]. Research on Chinese Economic History, (06):137-152.
  6. Lv, X. T. (2021) Soliloquy in a Closed Environment: The Element of Private Space in Eileen Chang ’s Novels[J]. Masterpiece Appreciation, (09):27-30.
  7. Li, Y. D.(2013) Spatial Power and Literary Writing in the Shanghai Concession[J]. Journal of Southwest University (Social Science Edition),2013,39(02):112-121+175. DOI:10.13718/j.cnki.xdsk. 2013.02.005.