Zhang Jie (simplified Chinese: 张洁; traditional Chinese: 張潔; pinyin: Zhāng Jié; Wade–Giles: Chang Chieh, born 1937) is a Chinese novelist and short-story writer. She was one of China's first contributors to feminist fiction.
Her novel Leaden Wings was translated into German in 1982 and published in England in 1987 by Virago Press. Leaden Wings won China's prestigious Mao Dun Literature Prize in 1985 and Her 1998 novel Without a Word received the prize in 2005, making her the first writer to receive the award twice.[1]
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Her work Love Must Not Be Forgotten is a short story based on a thirty-year old woman who discovers the extent of the torture her mother's heart had to endure. Her mother, she finds as she reads her diary after her death, was denied a relationship from a man who loved her back but was unable to express his true feelings since he died in the cultural revolution. The protagonist is single and is loved by a man known for his attractive appearance, Qiao Lin. However, she doubts their compatibility and wonders if a love is or would become present. The story ends: "To live single is not such a fearful disaster. I believe it may be a sign of a step forward in culture, education, and the quality of LIFE."