Fou Lei

Mingyuan Hu is a British historian.

'A powerfully argued and deeply moving study, linking Shanghai and Paris, of one of twentieth-century China's greatest and most courageous public intellectuals. Uncovering previously unknown primary sources that detail personal relationships in Paris, Hu Mingyuan charts the evolution of Fou Lei's resistance to authoritarianism and the seeds of his tragic demise.' - Claire Roberts, Professor of Art History at the University of Melbourne, author of Friendship in Art: Fou Lei and Huang Binhong. 'Now Hu Mingyuan, a Chinese-British scholar, has published this impeccably researched and deeply sympathetic account of the evolution of Fou Lei's mental world. Throughout the book, Hu is never afraid to think laterally and creatively, infusing a lyrical quality into her writing, a quality which lifts her work far above the run-of-the-mill academic studies of modern Chinese culture.' - John Minford, Professor Emeritus of Chinese at the Australian National University, and Sin Wai Kin Distinguished Professor of Chinese Culture and Translation at the Hang Seng University of Hong Kong. 'This is a ground-breaking biography of twentieth-century China's greatest translator. The discoveries rigorously 'A powerfully argued and deeply moving study, linking Shanghai and Paris, of one of twentieth-century China's greatest and most courageous public intellectuals. Uncovering previously unknown primary sources that detail personal relationships in Paris, Hu Mingyuan charts the evolution of Fou Lei's resistance to authoritarianism and the seeds of his tragic demise.' - Pierre Barroux, former Consul General of France in Shanghai.

• Note on the Present EditionNote on TransliterationNote on Translation Prologue Part I. Shanghai in Revolution1. An Unlived Youth2. Everywhere a Stranger Part II. The Spleen of Paris3. Crisis: Spiritual Torment in Quartier Latin4. Malady: Child of the Century by Lac Léman5. Remedy: The Promise of Tainean Scientism6. Fever: From Werther to Beethoven7. Light: A Willed Metamorphosis Part III. Moralising in Times of War8. A Critic was Born9. On the Novels of Eileen Chang10. Shanghai in Turmoil Part IV. Translating, or the Search for a Brother11. One Who Understands Another’s Music12. Two Artists in a Land of Chimera13. A Gentleman’s Friendship Part V. ‘This Little Dying Greece’14. Creatures of Prometheus15. Unresolved Grief Epilogue IndexAcknowledgements