Selected Prose Works of Su Xuelin

Author: Su Xuelin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Su Xuelin's prose writing can be broadly categorized into three types: family-themed prose, landscape prose, and philosophical prose. It must be admitted that certain ideas expressed by Su Xuelin in her essays, such as her vilification of the Communist Party and her attacks on Lu Xun, are ones we cannot agree with. However, her profound loyalty to the Chinese nation, her insightful perspectives on certain issues, and her unique artistic style have also allowed us to gain much inspiration and enlightenment. Things are often complex, and one must avoid oversimplifying them. A Taiwanese reader once said her work Green Sky "is filled with warmth of human affection and the fragrance of humanity." The emotions expressed in Su Xuelin's early essays primarily revolve around romantic love and mother-daughter affection. Such feelings are deeply rooted in close familial bonds, unlike ordinary relationships. On the dedication page of Green Sky, Su Xuelin wrote: "For Jianzhong—our wedding." On the dedication page of Thorns and Heart, she wrote: "With my blood and tears, a bone-deep sense of guilt, and eternal longing, I wrote this book to commemorate my beloved mother." Reading Green Sky and Thorns and Heart, you will discover that the author's passion and maternal love are intertwined. In expressing her deep love for her family, she also reveals a soul burdened by traditional constraints yet striving for personal liberation. Su Xuelin's marriage was arranged by her family, and there was no love between the couple before the wedding. Although they exchanged letters, their differing interests and personalities caused her great conflict and distress. Su Xuelin longed for ideal love, but out of love for her mother, she could not bear to hurt her in matters of the heart. Ultimately, she sacrificed her own desires to comply with her mother's wishes. The Story of the Little Silver-Winged Butterfly personifies insects, symbolizing her own love story.
A friend of Xingqiu, Ms. Lu Fangshu, is an extremely insightful philosopher whose emotions are rarely stirred. Yet, after attending a year of middle school in France, she unexpectedly met a fellow countrywoman she vaguely recognized. Overjoyed as if meeting a long-lost relative, she confided in her the hardships of her life abroad, shedding countless tears. During the summer break, returning to Lyon felt like a long-travelled guest finally arriving at home, filling her with a sense of liberation. Everyone teased her, saying she was like a child-bride who had run back to her family. "Are the French mistreating you?" "No, they treat me very well, but I still feel so lonely, an indescribable loneliness." Indeed, those who live abroad often feel this kind of loneliness, this indescribable loneliness. At the University of California, Berkeley, Bai Lang loved her as a mother, yet her longing for home only grew stronger. She eagerly awaited news from her homeland, even though the news was often filled with misfortune—her mother's discomfort, her younger brother's death, her third brother's severe neurological disorder diagnosed as incurable, her father losing his job, the collapse of the stone bridge in her hometown due to flooding in the spring, the partial destruction of the dam project, or the severe drought this autumn, drastically reducing the harvest, or the theft at home.