Lust, Caution

Lust, Caution is a novella by the Chinese writer Eileen Chang, that was first published in 1979. It is set in Shanghai during World War II. Reportedly, the short story "took Chang more than two decades to complete." It was adapted into in 2007 by director Ang Lee.

Original Story

Lust, Caution was based on Chang's English short story, The Spyring, which was finished in the 1950s but remained unpublished until March 2008 when it appeared in .

Characters

* Wang, Jiazhi alias Mrs. Mak
* Mr. Yee
* Mrs. Yee
* Mr. Mak
* Kuang Yu Min
* Old Wu
* Lai Shu Jin

Plot summary

In China, during the Japanese occupation in WW II, young woman Mak is a member of a resistance group who plot to kill a Japanese collaborator, Yee. Mak starts a love affair with Yee for this purpose. However, she really falls in love with him, and just before her comrades try to kill him she warns him. He escapes and has the whole group executed, including Mak.

English translations

Lust, Caution was not published in English until 2007.

# Lust, Caution Translated by Julia Lovell. New York: Anchor Books, 2007. ISBN 978-0-307-38744-8
# Lust, Caution: The Story, The Screenplay, and the Making of the Film. Translated by Julia Lovell. New York: Pantheon Books, 2007. ISBN 978-0-375-42524-0

The original story in English, ''The Spyring'', was published by in March 2008.