Han Bangqing

Han Bangqing (Chinese: 韓邦慶; pinyin: Hán Bāngqìng; Wade–Giles: Han Pang-ch'ing; 1856–1894),[1] also known by the given name Ji (寄), courtesy name Ziyun (子雲), and pseudonyms Taixian (太仙), Dayi Shanren (大一山人), Hua Ye Lian Nong (花也憐儂), and Sanqing (三慶), was a late-Qing dynasty Chinese writer from Lou County, Songjiang Prefecture, Jiangsu (now a district of Shanghai).[2]

In this Chinese name, the family name is Han.
Traditional Chinese韓邦慶
Simplified Chinese韩邦庆

Biography

As a child he went with his father to live in Beijing.[3] He failed at the imperial examinations many times,[1] even though he had a reputation as a prodigy in his childhood,[2] and eventually wrote for the newspaper Shen Bao in Shanghai. In 1892, he started what can be considered China's first for-profit literary magazine, the Wonderbook of Shanghai (海上奇書; Haishang qishu), which lasted eight months,[3] and in which he published his novel Shanghai Hua in instalments.[1] The novel has been widely acclaimed as a classic (particularly by Lu Xun, Hu Shih, and Eileen Chang) but is little read today, likely due to its being written entirely in Wu Chinese, unintelligible to Mandarin speakers.[1]

It was translated into Mandarin and English by Eileen Chang. After Chang's death in 1995, the translation was discovered among her papers and published in English as The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai in 2005 after revision by Eva Hung.[1][3]

Not long after publication of the novel, in 1894, Han Bangqing died, age 38.

References
  1. Downer, Lesley. "Pleasure Houses." The New York Times. November 20, 2005. Retrieved on March 27, 2015.
  2. Wang, David Der-wei. "Foreword." In: Han Bangqing (2005). The Sing-song Girls of Shanghai. Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231122689. Google Books PT9.
  3. "Chinese Literature from 1841 to 1937." The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature. Ed. Kang-i Sun Chang and Stephen Owen. Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press, 2010. 439. Print.
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