Outside the Window
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  • Outside the Window
  • Chiung Yao
  • Published by: N/A
  • Level: Intermediate
  • First Published in: 1963

The first novel by Chiung Yao, a popular Taiwanese romance writer. It has been adapted for television numerous times, most famously in a 1973 production starring Brigitte Lin Ching.

REVIEW BY Tina Kim Book EXPERT
Review posted: 27/03/2014

Outside the Window (窗外) is the first novel by Chiung Yao, a popular Taiwanese romance writer. It has been adapted for television numerous times, most famously in a 1973 production starring Brigitte Lin Ching. Most of Chiung’s works have been translated into different languages and have received wide acclaim from literary critics, helping to establish her international fame. TV adaptations of her works have attracted a high number of viewers and are known for their unrealistic plots, dramatic twists, and dreamy romances. Chiung read Chinese literature extensively when she was young, and her exposure to the early classics resulted in constant references to Chinese poetry and literary works in her own fiction.


"Most of Chiung’s works have been translated into different languages and have received wide acclaim from literary critics, helping to establish her international fame."


A semi-autobiographical novel, Outside the Window depicts a forbidden student-teacher relationship and its tragic consequences. It covers the school life of the female protagonist, Jiang Yanrong, her on-and-off relationship with her teacher Kang Nan, her failed university entrance exams, her marriage to another man, and her subsequent divorce. It ends on a sad note, with Jiang unable to face Kang, who is now old and battered, even though she has filed for divorce in the hopes of reuniting with him. Chiung describes girls’ emotions with such sensitivity, detail, and authenticity, that her novels move readers deeply, as they are taken on an emotional journey and let the protagonist’s heartbreaks tear their own hearts into pieces.

References to poetry endow elegance to the text and reinforce the sentimentality and melancholy of the female protagonist. Chiung wrote five poems for her novel, and each bears a heavy resemblance to the works of the Tang poets (who wrote during the Tang dynasty, from 618 to 907). Translating these poems to English would be a daunting task, since their brevity and subtlety would be lost. Chiung’s poetry also includes idiomatic references, extensively using four-word phrases such as “夢繞魂牽” and “情深不渝,” making it even harder to translate. Symbols are also used, the most prominent one being the moon, which evokes romanticism, blissfulness, tranquility, and hope. When Jiang first becomes enamored with her teacher, the environment is described as follows: “銀色的月光透過了淡綠的窗帘 … 溫柔的夜風輕扣著她的窗檻” (Silver moonbeams seep through the emerald blinds … the tender wind hangs on the lattices). It is only when she sees the arc of the moon in the clouds (雲層中的一彎明月) that she feels the indescribable love buried deep within her chest.


"A timeless classic, Outside the Window will continually be read around the globe by teenage girls with a taste for heartwarming love and romantic fantasy."


In the latter half of the novel, when Jiang is arguing with her husband, whom she has coerced into marrying, the moon appears again to illustrate their differences. Jiang accuses her husband of being insensitive to her emotions, claiming he has great difficulty in understanding her love for literature. She scolds him, arguing that if he knew why the moon was beautiful then their marriage would be much richer. Li replies that he will never be able to understand her sensitivity and that he is not Kang Nan, which leads to a fight between them. The moon is one of the many symbols that Chiung deliberately uses to contrast the two lovers and assert where Jiang’s heart truly belongs. A timeless classic, Outside the Window will continually be read around the globe by teenage girls with a taste for heartwarming love and romantic fantasy.


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