Zhang Yunhe (张允和, July 25, 1909 – August 14, 2002) was a Chinese writer and scholar of ''

kunqu Kunqu (), also known as Kunju (), K'un-ch'ü, Kun opera or Kunqu Opera, is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera. Kunqu is one of the oldest traditional operas of the Han nationality, and is also a treasure of Chinese traditional cult ...

'' opera. She was the wife of linguist

Zhou Youguang Zhou Youguang (; 13 January 1906 – 14 January 2017), also known as Chou Yu-kuang or Chou Yao-ping, was a Chinese economist, banker, linguist, sinologist, Esperantist, publisher, and supercentenarian, known as the "father of Pinyin", a system ...

Life

Early life and marriage

Zhang Yunhe was born on July 25, 1909, in

Hefei Hefei (; ) is the capital and largest city of Anhui Province, People's Republic of China. A prefecture-level city, it is the political, economic, and cultural center of Anhui. Its population was 9,369,881 as of the 2020 census and its built-up ( ...

Anhui Province Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...

, to educator

Zhang Wuling Zhang Wuling (; 1889–1938) was a Chinese educator. Zhang was noted for promoting Chinese women's education and Chinese educational equality, he founded Suzhou Leyi Girls' School and Pinglin Middle School in Suzhou, Jiangsu. He was the father o ...

and his wife Lu Ying. Her family was native to

Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...

, and her father was the founder of Suzhou Leyi Girls' School and Pinglin Middle School in Suzhou. Her parents had married in 1906, and she had six brothers and three sisters. Her elder sister Zhang Yuanhe was a ''kunqu'' scholar, her younger sister Zhang Zhaohe was a writer and the wife of novelist

Shen Congwen Shen Congwen (28 December 1902 – 10 May 1988), formerly romanized as Shen Ts'ung-wen, was a Chinese writer who is considered one of the greatest modern Chinese writers, on par with Lu Xun. Regional culture and identity plays a much bigger rol ...

, and her youngest sister Zhang Chonghe was a poet and ''kunqu'' singer. Yunhe suffered from heart disease at a young age. In 1933, she married linguist Zhou Youguang. The next year, she gave birth to a son, Zhou Xiaoping. The two later had a daughter, Zhou Xiaohe, who died of

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

at the age of six. During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal ...

, she was sent to study

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the founder of the People's Republic of China (PRC) ...

's writings at a cadre school. While at the cadre school, she studied the various language versions of ''

Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung ''Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung'' () is a book of statements from speeches and writings by Mao Zedong (formerly romanized as Mao Tse-tung), the former Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, published from 1964 to about 1976 and wid ...

''.

Later life

In 1996, Zhang initiated the revival of the family publication "''Water''" (水) and took on the role of editor-in-chief. After 1998, she published three books, "''Passionate people are immortal''" (多情人不老), "''The last scholarly lady''" (最後的閨秀) and "''Old stories of Zhang family''"(張家舊事), and prepared the publication of "''Kunqu Diary''" (崑曲日記). On August 14, 2002, Zhang Yunhe died of heart disease at the age of 93.

References

{{Reflist Chinese writers Chinese scholars 1909 births 2002 deaths People from Hefei People from Suzhou