倾城之恋《Love of Selfish People—Analysis of Love In A Fallen City》

True Love is Fallen—Analysis of Love in A Fallen City

Love in A Fallen City by Zhang Ailing seems to be a romantic love story however it tells a sad story in my view. As the characters in the story did not love each others truly the entire process of love and marriage looked more like a trade. Zhang Ailing portrays Bai Liusu and Fan Liuyuan as selfish people thus their so called love is just to get what they need instead of chasing love.

Zhang Ailing was born in Shanghai. Her works frequently deal with the tensions between men and women in love and describe life in 1940s Shanghai and occupied Hong Kong. Love in a Fallen City was one of her most famous works with a beautiful name which at first suggested readers that the love of Bai and Fan cause Hong Kong to fall. But in fact the fallen of Hong Kong helped them to get married. We can see from the author’s perspective that they are not fall in love with each other deeply as Zhang satirized their love as fallen. The “fallen city” used to describe beauty in ancient Chinese literature and it first appeared in Records of the Grand Historian related to Li Yannian’s sister who was a lady with exception beauty (Li Yannnian). It seemed that their love is splendid but Bai wants to get a marriage while Fan pursued platonic love. As Zhang said “He was just a selfish man and she was just a selfish woman” (CP p. 277) they tried to exchange what they really need with their “love”.

Bai Liusu who was 28 and divorced could not love someone as purely as a young girl because she needed a new marriage to help her move out the Bai residence. She knew her families did not want her to stay in home for economic reasons. When she returned from the ball with Fan she felt Baoluo who was her female cousin hated her. “It doesn’t matter how great a woman is: if she can’t get the love of a man she can’t get the respect of women.”(CP p.256) To win other woman’s respects she decided to go with Mrs.Xu to Hong Kong to see whether she could win the love of Fan. “It she won she would get the prize that everyone was watching with greedy tiger eyes—Fan Liuyuan—and all her stifled rancor would be washed away.”(CP p. 257) We can infer that Bai has not fall in love with Fan as she treated the whole trip as a gambling. She did not even trust Fan as she felt he was always lying to women. Liusu was poor girl as she had no choice but to gamble all her life and prouds on a man. In order to get a solid marriage she had to “trade” her beauty Chinese style and true heart with Fan.

The initial destination of Bai was to get married with Fan. After spending some time with Fan in Hong Kong she thought “Clearly he did want her but he wasn’t willing to marry her.”(CP p. 267) It definitely disappointed her that made her angry. When the night came Fan called her and told her “I love you” then asked her if she loved him. He mentioned the verse in The Book of Songs: “Life death separation—with thee there is happiness thy hand in mine we will grow old together.” But Bai said “Why not go ahead and just say flat-out that you don’t want to marry me and leave it at that!”(CP p. 268) She did not know why Fan said these words to her because all her attentions focused on one question about marriage and responsibility which decided her destiny. Marriage was so important to her that made her lose the ability to love someone without counting the profit she can earn from the relationship. She would lose the trade with Fan because she misunderstood the rules. Fan repeated again and again that he needed her to understand him by saying “I don’t understand myself—but I want you to understand me!”(CP p. 263) But it is obvious that Liusu knew few things about him. “It turned out that what Liuyuan cared about is spiritual love.” She agreed since spiritual love leads to marriage. (CP p. 264) The only problem is: the man always says things that the woman doesn’t understand. But Liusu didn’t care as she was sure she is much more at adept than the man in all housing things. Life was plain in her view and she thought she had prepared well for it.

The second time she went to Hong Kong was totally different. Although she returned unhappily Fan still sent her a ticket asking her to come to Hong Kong. She felt she was so cheap and “tears dropped from her eyes. Crying made her lose her self-control; she found she could not bear it any more.”(CP p. 271) In my opinion her tears were for her lost youth and beauty rather than her love about Fan. She must seize the last opportunity to get married with Fan or she will get nothing except other’s tease and abuse. When they kissed each other maybe even had relationship Bai considered seriously whether she hold his heart. But she still insisted “what she wanted from his was financial security.”(CP p. 272).Maybe true love was not so important to Liusu. The more realistic problem was what if she gets married how her life would be. All these paragraphs showed that Bai had no hope of love while wishing could marry someone and live a peaceful life. Someone could be anyone who liked to provide her a family and financial security. Bai was just an ordinary selfish woman in Shanghai in that time river. Before the war everything about her was as usual as other women’s.

Fan Liuyuan a totally different person from Liusu was back from England. He “went through some hard times but at last he got the right to inherit his father’s wealth.”(CP p.253) He grew up in foreign country but he thought “Real Chinese women are the most beautiful woman in the world.”(CP p. 261) Bai attracted him by her real Chinese style especially her bowing the head. This action always provides man a sense of protection to woman. Fan not only loved the beauty of Bai but also wanted to get her understand.

He wandered many years and felt lonely. By said “Someday when human civilization has been completely destroy… If at that time we can meet at this wall then maybe Liusu you will honestly care about me and I will honestly care about you.”(CP p.263) Fan expressed his feeling that they did not love each other truly at the moment. He used to have many dreams about his motherland China; however he found all the things about China just disappointed him. He talked to Liusu “I know you’re not happy. You’ve certainly seen more than enough of these awful people and awful things all around us.”(CP p. 263) He thought Bai had the same feeling as him and treated her as a real friend who can understand and comfort him. Maybe he also found some characteristics of mother on Bai which made him feel warm and easy.

Fan was a real playful boy more than a commonly good person. Although lots of pretty young girl liked him he was attracted by Bai Liusu as he saw the same flimsy conflicted and lonely heart with him. He regretted his past and said “If…if you had known me before then maybe you could give me for the way I am now.”(CP p. 263) He put him so low to gain Bai’s forgiveness. All the things he did have reasons so he tried his best efforts to make Liusu understand him. He said to her “I don’t understand myself—but I want you to understand me!”(CP p. 263) How could Liusu understand him when he even didn’t know himself? In fact he knew Bai didn’t understand his thoughts but he was so lonely that he wanted to try an impossible method to win someone’s understand and true heart. Maybe he had not loved Liusu so deeply but at least he wanted her sincerely.

He did not even touch Liusu though they always go for a walk till midnight. It proved that he really wanted to have a proper relationship with Bai instead of playing with her. When he mentioned the verse in The Book of Songs he just wanted to interpret how small and weak people were when compared to the great forces in the world. He wanted to marry someone who loved him not someone intended to tell him what to do. He talked to Liusu rudely by saying “Basically you think that marriage is long-term prostitution.”(CP p. 263) but it is true about Liusu. Bai used her so-called love to trade for his promise of marriage and financial security.

Fan still loved Bai so he asked Liusu to come to Hong Kong again. After the stay with Liusu he left for England and promised to come back. The story was ordinary if stopped here. Bai and Fan are selfish people who try to gain what they need. Maybe their marriage is proper but could not be “fallen city”.

The war happened in Hong Kong gave the couple a chance to find they need to treasure each other. Just as Zhang wrote “there is no place for individualists but there is always room for an ordinary married couple” (CP p. 276) they get married. Thanks to the fallen of HK Liusu got her desired result. “She realized in this uncertain world money land all the things that last forever all unreliable.” (CP p. 276) The war made people think the meaning of life and love. Nothing lasts forever and no exceptions. Liusu found what she can rely on was this breath in her body and this person sleeping next to her. Fan Liuyuan was the unique one who can care about her and she was also the unique one to Liyuan. So “she crawled over to him hugging him through his quit.”(CP p. 276) The same situation happened on Fan. “He reached out from the bedding and grasped her hand. They looked and saw each other saw each other entirely. It was only one moment of deep understanding but this moment was enough to keep them happy together for a decade or so.”(CP p. 277) I really like this paragraph because it improved their so-called love to real love successfully. But the love was like the feeling of family more than lovers. They abandoned the tricks of love when only life left facing the war. They did not need trade because what they desired was not as important as life itself.

When they decided to get married Liuyuan said “we were too busy falling I love how could we possible find time to really love?”(CP p. 278) It proved their previous love was more like a trade. But did they really love each other? Liusu was somewhat saddened about Liuyuan did not try to tease her anymore as he treated her as family. It sounded good when husband treated wife as family but why Liusu felt sad? The answer is easy to see. Couple should love each other not only because they must live together but also because they understand and appreciate each other from heart. But the love between Bai and Fan began with a trade rather than attraction of individuals.

Zhang said the defeat of Hong Kong had given victory to Liusu. Compared to Zhang’s other novels Love in a Fallen City has a happier ending. But is a marriage without true love happy? In the eyes of Zhang all people live in the world are selfish chasing their own profits. Absolutely pure love seemed never appear in her novel perhaps because of Zhang’s real life experience. Love in the uncertain world is as weak as a tender flower which can not stand fierce wind. Although love is a splendid thing selfish people care more about life. The “love” between Bai and Fan is they need each other to rely on and it is a tragic that true love is fallen just as Hong Kong.