A 1941 University of Hong Kong transcript portrays a student who was undoubtedly talented but gave little indication of what lay in store for the woman who would become one of the more controversial figures in Chinese literature. Eileen Chang Ai-ling's student records show she scored 92 per cent in Chinese literature, 89 per cent in English and 90 per cent in history. They could hardly predict that she would go on to create works as contentious as Lust, Caution, recently brought to the big screen by director Ang Lee. With the movie adaptation putting Chang back in the spotlight, her alma mater is holding an exhibition to honour the woman who spent two years at its campus. The exhibition, organised by HKU's Project for Public Culture, includes some of her original manuscripts, photographs and documents, including a personal notebook never before seen. Many of the documents have been provided by Roland Soong Yee-long, the administrator of Chang's estate. Chang left her native Shanghai in 1939 to study Chinese and English at HKU's faculty of arts, but her studies came to an abrupt end when the Japanese occupied the city two years later. She returned to Hong Kong in 1952 and worked as a translator before moving to the United States three years later, where she would eventually become a US citizen. Mr Soong's parents, whom Chang lived with in Hong Kong, inherited her entire estate after she died in her Los Angeles apartment in 1995, aged 75. Mr Soong said his parents had 'boxes of correspondence' between themselves and Chang. But he said the author became a 'total recluse' in her old age, refusing to answer the door or phone. He said many of her works included reflections from her time in Hong Kong, and many were partly autobiographical, including parts of Lust, Caution. Set in Shanghai during the second world war, the story focuses on a patriotic woman who is hired to seduce and assassinate a Japanese collaborator but finds herself lured into an affair. Mr Soong said some of the movie's scenes were filmed at HKU. Dean of HKU's arts faculty Professor Kam Louie said while Chang was already well-known among Sinologists, the movie would extend her reach. 'I'm sure that there will be a lot more attention paid to her,' he said. Professor Louie said Chang produced in-depth psychological analysis at a time when this style of writing was not popular in China, 'She's unique in that way.' The exhibition continues until Tuesday in HKU's main library.