A Calligraphic Paper Umbrella by Eileen Chang (Zhang Ailing, 1920–1995), Berkeley, 1970

A green paper umbrella inscribed in ink by the celebrated Chinese writer Eileen Chang (Zhang Ailing, 1920–1995). Written continuously around the canopy is the celebrated line from Jiang Jie’s Song-dynasty lyric Yu Meiren (Listening to the Rain): “Let the rain drip before the steps until dawn” (一任阶前、点滴到天明). The umbrella is further inscribed, “Presented to Mr. Xiao K,” signed “Zhang Ailing,” and dated “1970, Berkeley” (柏克莱). This intimate presentation piece was given by Zhang during her residence in Berkeley, California, and descends from the family of the Berkeley collector who received it. Significantly, this sale also includes a calligraphic work by Professor Chen Shixiang, likewise dedicated to the same recipient, firmly placing the umbrella within Zhang Ailing’s Berkeley intellectual circle.

Few figures in twentieth-century Chinese literature experienced a life as brilliant and as solitary as Eileen Chang. Rising to fame in wartime Shanghai during the 1940s, she became one of the defining voices of modern Chinese fiction through works such as Love in a Fallen City, The Golden Cangue, and Lust, Caution. Her celebrated marriage to Hu Lancheng (1906–1981) ended in betrayal and separation, an emotional wound that echoed throughout her later writings. Leaving Shanghai in 1952, she relocated first to Hong Kong and then, in 1955, to the United States, where she married the American writer Ferdinand Reyher (1891–1967). The couple lived modestly, often struggling financially, and after Reyher's death in 1967, Zhang spent the remaining twenty-eight years of her life largely in seclusion.

In 1969, Zhang accepted an invitation from the eminent scholar Professor Chen Shixiang (1912–1971) to join the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, as a Senior Research Associate. The appointment appeared to offer a fresh beginning, yet it ultimately became one of the most difficult chapters of her later life. Differences over her research methods, difficulties in adapting to academic conventions, and complicated personal relationships within the Center gradually isolated her. Following Chen Shixiang's death in 1971, Zhang left Berkeley after her research project remained unpublished. Whether regarded as a resignation or an effective dismissal, the experience marked a profound disappointment and further deepened the sense of isolation that characterized her later years.

Against this historical backdrop, the present umbrella assumes exceptional documentary and emotional significance. Executed in Berkeley in 1970, at the very center of this turbulent period, it preserves not only Zhang Ailing's unmistakable brushwork but also a deeply personal literary choice. The line “Let the rain drip before the steps until dawn” expresses quiet endurance, loneliness, and the passage of time—sentiments that mirror her own life with remarkable poignancy. The happiest years of Zhang's life had long disappeared with wartime Shanghai; what remained was exile, widowhood, financial hardship, and an increasingly solitary existence. The inscription therefore reads not merely as a quotation from classical poetry, but almost as an autobiographical reflection upon a lifetime marked by brilliance, disappointment, resilience, and quiet sorrow.

Surviving presentation pieces written and dedicated by Zhang Ailing during her Berkeley residence are exceptionally rare. Together with the accompanying calligraphy by Professor Chen Shixiang to the same recipient, this umbrella offers an extraordinary glimpse into one of the most important intellectual circles of Chinese émigré culture in Northern California during the early 1970s. It stands not merely as a literary autograph, but as an important historical witness to the final creative chapter of one of the greatest writers in modern Chinese literature.

Approximate dimensions: 11 5/8 in. H × 11 1/2 in. diameter.

References:

Zhu, Yong. “Eileen Chang in Berkeley” (《伯克利的张爱玲》). Wenxuecity.
https://www.wenxuecity.com/blog/202511/38115/11788.html

“Eileen Chang's Major Setback: In 1969, She Was Dismissed by the University of California” (《张爱玲人生的一次重大打击：1969年，她在美国被加州大学炒了鱿鱼》). Sohu.
https://www.sohu.com/a/437714875_405849

张爱玲（1920–1995）题绿色纸伞，1970年，伯克利，赠“小K先生”

绿色纸伞，伞面沿伞骨以毛笔环书宋代蒋捷《虞美人·听雨》词中名句“一任阶前、点滴到天明”，下署“送小K先生”，款“张爱玲”，并题“七〇，柏克莱”。此作为张爱玲1970年旅居美国加州伯克利期间赠友之物，由伯克利藏家后代保存并释出。本场同时征集有陈世骧教授赠予同一上款人的书法作品，进一步证明此伞与张爱玲伯克利时期的学术交游及生活圈密切相关。

张爱玲是二十世纪中国文学史上最重要的作家之一，也是命运最富传奇色彩的文学人物之一。二十世纪四十年代，她以上海为舞台，凭借《倾城之恋》《金锁记》《沉香屑》等作品迅速奠定中国现代文学经典作家的地位。然而，她与胡兰成（1906–1981）的婚姻却以背叛和离散收场，成为其一生最深刻的情感创伤。1952年，张爱玲离开上海赴香港；1955年远赴美国，与美国作家、诗人赖雅（Ferdinand Reyher，1891–1967）结婚。夫妻二人长期生活清贫，却始终相濡以沫，直至赖雅于1967年病逝。此后，张爱玲开始长达二十八年的独居生活。

1969年，应著名汉学家陈世骧（1912–1971）教授邀请，张爱玲来到美国加州大学伯克利分校中国研究中心，担任高级研究员，从事现代汉语政治术语及《红楼梦》等课题研究。对于长期漂泊、经济拮据的她而言，这似乎意味着人生重新开始的机会。然而，伯克利却成为她晚年最沉重的一次打击。她既难以适应美国学术机构对于论文写作的规范要求，也受到研究中心复杂人际关系的困扰。陈世骧认为她的研究写作更接近文学随笔，而非传统学术论文；双方对于研究方向和论文形式逐渐产生分歧。1971年陈世骧去世后，张爱玲离开伯克利，其研究成果亦未获发表。无论视为主动离职还是事实上遭到解聘，这段经历都成为她晚年人生的重要转折，使她此后更加远离公众，走向长期而彻底的隐居生活。

正是在这样的背景下，这件1970年题写于伯克利的纸伞，具有格外深刻的意义。伞面所书“一任阶前、点滴到天明”出自蒋捷《虞美人·听雨》，原词借听雨抒发人生盛衰、悲欢聚散之感。对于张爱玲而言，这一句词几乎成为她一生命运的写照。她最辉煌的岁月留在了上海，也随着那段失败的爱情渐渐远去；留给她的，则是漂泊异乡、丧夫、贫困、孤独，以及晚年在美国漫长的沉默。伞本为避雨之物，而她却偏偏题写“听雨”之词，使器物与文字形成耐人寻味的呼应，也让这件作品超越普通题赠，而成为一种含蓄而克制的自我表达。

今天回望张爱玲的一生，人们记住的是她惊人的文学才华，却常常忽略她晚年的孤独与坚韧。她于1995年独自逝世于洛杉矶寓所，数日后才被邻居发现。她笔下关于人生无常、繁华消逝与人性幽微的书写，最终也成为她自己人生最真实的注脚。

因此，这件题伞远远超越了一般文人题赠作品的意义。它不仅是张爱玲极为罕见的伯克利时期亲笔墨迹，更是目前所见少数能够明确对应其1970年伯克利生活、交游及学术环境的重要实物。结合本场同时释出的陈世骧赠同一上款人的书法，更完整地重现了张爱玲晚年在伯克利中国研究中心周围的人际网络。作品兼具文学史、文化史、华人移民史及张爱玲研究的重要价值，是研究张爱玲美国时期生活与创作不可多得的重要文献。

约尺寸：高11 5/8英寸（29.5厘米）；伞面直径11 1/2英寸（29.2厘米）。

参考文献：

祝勇：《伯克利的张爱玲》，文学城（Wenxuecity）。
https://www.wenxuecity.com/blog/202511/38115/11788.html

《张爱玲人生的一次重大打击：1969年，她在美国被加州大学炒了鱿鱼》，搜狐（Sohu）。
https://www.sohu.com/a/437714875_405849

Contact Asian Art Department for condition report.