Ziye
1933 novel by Mao Dun
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Ziye (子夜), or known by its English translated title as Midnight (Midnight: A Romance of China, 1930), is a 1933 novel by Chinese author Mao Dun. It is a realist depiction of life in contemporary Shanghai. In addition to the full edition, there were also abridged editions of the novel in publication.[1] The novel depicts the wealth and modernity of modern-Shanghai, influenced by foreign colonialism and capitalism; however, Western modernity frightens the protagonist's father, who is a member of the Chinese landed gentry from the countryside.[2]
Mao Dun depicts the modernity of Shanghai with "purple" prose, like "three 1930-model Citroens", electric lights, Browning rifles, and "Grafton gauze" flannel suits. The novel also uses English terms like "beauty parlors" and a "neon" sign with the words "Light, Heat, Power!", which appears on the first page. The other English is from two plays by Shakespeare: Love's Labour's Lost and The Tempest, as well as Scott's Ivanhoe and three references: a headline, an expression, and the Roman Emperor Nero.
