Selected Prose Works of Chen Hengzhe

Author: Chen Hengzhe
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-08-01
Features: Most of the new literary works written by Chen Hengzhe from 1917 to 1926 are fables, fairy tales, sketches, and portraits, which can be considered as the period of prose essays. During these ten years, the author compiled her works into a collection titled Little Raindrops, which is a compilation of her early prose masterpieces. At that time, people were not very clear about the concept of prose in literature, often confusing it with fiction. Little Raindrops was called a collection of novels, but in fact, many of them would be better described as prose. For example, the famous A Day, which she revised in 1935, included an "Afterword" where she wrote: "This piece depicts the trivial life of a freshman at an American women's university in the dormitory. It lacks structure and purpose, so it can only be considered a sketch, not a novel. However, its portrayal is very faithful, and since it was my first attempt at depicting human relationships, I felt it still had some value to preserve." Most of the other pieces are also fairy tales, fables, or her own portrayals of the petty affairs of her friends. There is one piece that the author intentionally wrote as a novel, which is A Woman in the Wujiang Gorge, but she failed in this attempt. Most of the well-written pieces are prose.
Excerpt: Such a forward-looking young woman, in my imagination, could never be placed in that high-walled, sky-piercing Confucian old mansion. We also had dinner at the Kong residence, where the stuffed thin pancakes were delicious, and the apricots were sweet like peaches. The drinks included Fenjiu and fresh grape juice, both local products. After a full meal, we thanked the host and returned to Mingxian School to rest. In the morning of the fourth day, we visited Mingxian School again. Between the dormitory and the school lies a cemetery, where dozens of teachers and followers who perished in the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 are buried, including both Chinese and foreigners. They were killed on two dates: July 31 of the same year and August 15 of the same year. At that time, the governor of Shanxi was Liu Xian, which led to such a brutal massacre. The coffins of these martyrs were originally scattered, but later, thanks to the financial contribution of Mr. Kong, they were transported and buried together. It is said that after the peace talks of 1900, the church organizations used the compensation money for the martyred foreign teachers to establish this school. With the private financial support of Mr. Kong and his own efforts, Mingxian became a well-known and successful school in the region. The part I visited was the core farm and factory of Mingxian. My impressions of these places were their pragmatism, and the close cooperation between the farm and the factory. The head of the farm was Ms. Maor (norer), an American who had been here for thirteen years. She was a hardworking and diligent person, committed to practical implementation. In terms of animals like chickens and sheep, she used crossbreeding to improve local products. However, due to differences in climate and soil, Western seeds failed here. Therefore, she focused on local seed selection and the improvement of farming methods and tools, resulting in significant progress in both the quantity and quality of agricultural products. The head of the factory was Mr. Li, a short and energetic man from Guangdong with a talent for mechanics. The farming tools used by the farm were one of his achievements. (I saw an American farming tool that originally cost eighty yuan. After his modifications, the one produced in his factory not only cost only eighteen yuan but was also more practical. According to Mr. Li, such tools have gradually been adopted in Shanxi.) Isn't this a good example of cooperation between the factory and the farm? Additionally, the wool from the farm was woven into woolen fabric by the factory, another successful outcome of their cooperation. (The woolen fabric is a bit rough and sells for five jiao per foot. Clothes made from woolen yarn cost only one or two jiao per piece. However, there is still room for improvement in their design and color.)