Lust, Caution (novella)

"The Spyring" redirects here. For the general concept of a spy ring, see Espionage.
Lust, Caution
Author Eileen Chang
Translator Julia Lovell
Publication date
 1979
Published in English
 2007

Lust, Caution (Chinese: 色，戒; pinyin: Sè, Jiè) is a novella by the Chinese writer Eileen Chang, first published in 1979. It is set in Shanghai, Republic of China during World War II. Reportedly, the short story "took Chang more than two decades to complete".[1] The film Lust, Caution by Ang Lee was based on this novel.

Working title

In 2008, Hong Kong magazine Muse released an unpublished English manuscript by Elieen Chang, which was clearly an earlier draft of Lust, Caution.[2] The original title typewritten in English, was The Spyring or Ch'ing Kê! Ch'ing Kê! The manuscript was dated to the 1950s and was bequeathed to Chinese-American translator Roland Soong upon Chang's death. Soong decided to release the manuscript when Lust, Caution the movie hit the cinemas.[3]

Plot summary

In China, during the Japanese occupation in World War II, a young student and former actress named Wong Chia Chi has agreed to be the central figure in the assassination of a Japanese collaborator, Yee. Using the alias of Mak Tai Tai (Mrs. Mak) and the fictional Mr. Mak, Chia Chi befriends Mr. Yee's wife, Yee Tai Tai, and eventually seduces her husband in order to kill him. However, she falls in love with him and just before her comrades try to kill him, she warns him. He escapes and has the whole group executed, including Wong Chia Chi.

Characters

English translations

Lust, Caution was first translated into English by Julia Lovell and published in 2007.[4]

  1. Lust, Caution (色，戒). Translated by Julia Lovell. New York: Anchor Books, 2007. ISBN 978-0-307-38744-8.
  2. Lust, Caution: The Story, the Screenplay, and the Making of the Film. Translated by Julia Lovell. New York: Pantheon Books, 2007. ISBN 978-0-375-42524-0.

Adaptations

For the 2007 film by Ang Lee, see Lust, Caution.

In 2009, an abridged version of Lust, Caution was read by Greg Wise as part of a series of online Jackanory style online films for The Carte Noire Readers.[5]

References

  1. ↑ Robert Wilonsky, http://www.citypages.com/2007-10-03/movies/the-spy-who-shagged-yee accessed: 6 December 2009.
  2. ↑ Peng Hsiao-yen, Whitney Crothers Dilley (2014). From Eileen Chang to Ang Lee: Lust/Caution. Academia Sinica on East Asia. Peng Hsiao-yen, Whitney Crothers Dilley (Routledge). pp. 1–2 and footnote. ISBN 9781317911036.
  3. ↑ "The Spyring and 'Lust, Caution'". ESWN Culture Blog. EastSouthWestNorth. Retrieved 2015-12-06.
  4. ↑ Zhang, Ailing; Lovell, Julia; Lee, Ang; Schamus, James (2007-01-01). Lust, caution: the story. New York: Anchor Books. ISBN 9780307387448.
  5. ↑ MSN Entertainment


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 03, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.