Zhang Ziping

Zhang Ziping (born April 9, 1893, Meixian [now Meizhou], Guangdong province, China—died December 2, 1959, Anhui province) was a Chinese author of popular romantic fiction and a founder of the Creation Society, a literary association devoted to the propagation of romanticism.

After receiving a classical Chinese education and attending an American Baptist mission school for three years, Zhang Ziping went to Japan to continue his studies. He took a degree in geology in 1922 but chose to pursue a literary career. While in Japan he met Guo Moruo and other Chinese writers, with whom he founded the Creation Society and edited the group’s magazine. At this time Zhang’s first novel, Chongjiqi huashi (1922; “Fossils in Alluvial Deposits”), was published; it is a love story with certain autobiographical aspects. After a brief flirtation with political themes in support of the Chinese republic, he returned to his romantic literary philosophy. He became famous for his novels and short stories, which typically describe the thwarted love affairs of adolescents, as in the short-story collection Meiling zhi chun (1928; “Spring in the Mei Mountains”). During the Sino-Japanese War (1937–45), he worked with the Japanese and, after their defeat, was tried in 1947 and again in 1955 by the Chinese on charges of collaboration.