Weilong’s Desires Shown in Aloeswood Incense: The First Brazier

Zhang Ailing is an author who coldly faces reality. In her novels, she intricately details everyday life involving human relationships and well describes the inner world of individuals. Zhang Ailing uncovers depraved instincts by frankly exposing even the negative tendencies that appear in the lives of women instead of concealing them. She consciously observes the lives of women, paying attention to their feminine characteristics and mediocre aspects, specifically exploring women’s consciousness. Aloeswood Incense: The First Brazier is a short story serialized in Violet magazine in 1943. This novel depicts the protagonist, Weilong, who gradually loses her dignity while living with her aunt, Madame Liang. In Zhang’s novels, female characters generally make subjective statements and are quite self-aware. However, Weilong in Aloeswood Incense: The First Brazier is different. Weilong consciously walks the path of corruption. Zhang Ailing suggests that the reason women lead tragic lives in her works lies in the deep-rooted dependency and uncontrollable desires inherent in female nature. In Aloeswood Incense: The First Brazier, Weilong the protagonist experiences alienation and confrontation in her life, showing a tendency to wander around in search of new environments and new people to fulfill her desires. The novel also explores how human desires respond to social demands.