Half a Lifelong Romance

Half a Lifelong Romance
cover of 2014 English translation published by Penguin Classics
AuthorEileen Chang
Original title半生緣
TranslatorKaren Kingsbury
LanguageChinese
Set in20th-century Shanghai and Nanjing
Publication date
1948
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese半生緣
Simplified Chinese半生缘
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinBàn Shēng Yuán
Publication placeChina

Half a Lifelong Romance (半生緣) is a Chinese novel by Eileen Chang. It was initially serialized in a Shanghai newspaper Yi Bao (亦報) in 1948, under the title Eighteen Springs (十八春). The novel was published as a book in 1950. In 1966, Chang edited the book in the United States and republished it under the title Half a Lifelong Romance in Taiwan.

The novel was under the heavy influence of John P. Marquand's work, H. M. Pulham Esq. Chang transplanted and adapted the synopsis, character settings, important scenes, and dialogues from Marquand's work.

The novel was translated into English in 2014 by Karen S. Kingsbury.[1][2]

  1. ^ "'Half a Lifelong Romance': a 1930s Shanghai love story". The Seattle Times. 2016-04-10. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  2. ^ Sala, Ilaria Maria (2015-01-22). "Eileen Chang's 'Half a Lifelong Romance' Gets an English-Language Translation". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-09-20.