Red Rose, White Rose

There were two women in Zhenbao's life: one he called his white rose, the other his red rose. One was a spotless wife, the other a passionate mistress. Isn't that just how the average man describe a chaste widow's devotion to her husband's memory - as spotless, and passionate too? Maybe every man has had two such women - at least two. Marry a red rose and eventually she'll be a...

There were two women in Zhenbao's life: one he called his white rose, the other his red rose. One was a spotless wife, the other a passionate mistress. Isn't that just how the average man describe a chaste widow's devotion to her husband's memory - as spotless, and passionate too? Maybe every man has had two such women - at least two. Marry a red rose and eventually she'll be a mosquito-blood streak smeared on the wall, while the white one is 'moonlight in front of my bed'. Marry a white rose, and before long she'll be a grain of sticky rice that's gotten stuck to your clothes; the red one, by then, is a scarlet beauty mark just over your heart. In Eileen Chang's eloquent and evocative novella, Zhenbao is a devoted son, a diligent worker, and guarded in love. But when he meets a friend's spoilt, spirited, desirable wife, he cannot resist her charms, or keep their relationship under his control. As he succumbs to passions and resentments, "Red Rose, White Rose" is both sensual and restrained.

张爱玲（1920-1995），中国女作家。祖籍河北丰润，生于上海。1943年开始发表作品，代表作有中篇小说《倾城之恋》、《金锁记》、短篇小说《红玫瑰与白玫瑰》和散文《烬余录》等。1952年离开上海，1955年到美国，创作英文小说多部。1969年以后主要从事古典小说的研究，著有红学论集《红楼梦魇》。已出版作品有中短篇小说集《传奇》、散文集《流言》、散文小说合集《张看》以及长篇小说《十八春》、《赤地之恋》等。