| Ziye | |
| Author: | Mao Dun |
| Title Orig: | 子夜 |
| Orig Lang Code: | zh |
| Title Working: | Chinese: 夕阳|italic=no (Xiyang) |
| Country: | China |
| Genre: | Realism |
| Set In: | Shanghai |
Ziye (子夜), or known by it English translated title as Midnight: A Romance of China, 1930, is a 1933 novel by Chinese author Mao Dun. It is a realist depiction of life in contemporary Shanghai. In addition to the full edition, there were also abridged editions of the novel in publication.[1] The novel depicts the wealth and modernity of modern-Shanghai, influenced by foreign colonialism and capitalism. However Western modernity frightens the protagonist's father, who is a member of the Chinese landed gentry from the countryside.[2]
Mao Dun depicts the modernity of Shanghai with "purple" prose, like "three 1930-model Citroens", electric lights, Browning rifles, "Grafton gauze" flannel suits. The novel also uses English terms like "beauty parlors" and a "neon" sign with the words "Light, Heat, Power!", which appears on the first page. The other English is from two plays by Shakespeare: Love's Labour's Lost and The Tempest, as well as Scott's Ivanhoe and three references: a headline, an expression, and the Roman Emporer Nero.