Selected Prose Works of Shi Zhecun

Author: Shi Zhecun
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Publish Date: 2004-08-01
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[Shi Zhecun] (1905–) Modern writer and literary translator. Original name Shi Qingping, pen names Anhua, Li Wanhe, etc. Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province. At the age of eight, he moved with his family to Songjiang, Jiangsu (now part of Shanghai). During his middle school years, he enjoyed reading Tang poetry and wrote classical verse. In 1922, he entered Hangzhou Zhejiang University and the following year joined Shanghai University, where he began literary activities and creative writing. In 1926, he transferred to the French Special Class at Zhendan University and, together with classmates Dai Wangshu, Liu Naoou, and others, founded the magazine Ying Luo (Jade Net). In 1927, he returned to Songjiang to teach at a middle school. From 1928, he worked as an editor at Shanghai Xian Bookstore and Shuimo Bookstore, participating in the editing of magazines such as Wugu Lichè (Untracked Train) and Xin Wenyi (New Literature). Starting in 1932, he served as the editor-in-chief of the major literary monthly Xiandai (Modern), becoming a professional literary figure. In 1935, he was hired by Shanghai Magazine Company to co-edit the Chinese Literary Masterpieces Series with Ai Ying. From 1937, he held associate professor and professor positions at universities in Yunnan, Fujian, Jiangsu, and Shanghai, among others, with a period of time spent living in Hong Kong. After the reorganization of academic institutions in 1952, he served as a professor at the Chinese Department of East China Normal University and joined the Chinese Writers' Association. Before 1937, in addition to his editorial work, he primarily wrote short stories, poetry, and translated foreign literature. During the War of Resistance against Japan, he wrote essays. From 1950 to 1958, he translated 2 million words of foreign literary works. After 1958, he devoted himself to the study of classical literature and inscribed artifacts. Published short story collections include Shangyuan Deng (Lanterns of the Lantern Festival), Jiangjun de Tou (The General's Head), Li Shishi (Li Shishi), Meiyu zhi Xi (Evening in the Rain), Shan Nü Xing Pin (The Virtuous Woman's Conduct), and Xiao Zhen Ji (Little Collection). Published essay collections include Deng Xia Ji (Collected Essays under the Lantern) and Dai Dan Lu (Record of Waiting for Dawn), as well as numerous academic works and translations. Shi Zhecun is renowned for his psychological analysis novels, with representative works such as Meiyu zhi Xi (Evening in the Rain) and Chun Yang (Spring Sunshine). He focused on depicting the flow of subjective consciousness and the changes in psychological emotions, a sense of novelty, integrating subjective perception into the description of objects, and using a fast pace to portray the pathological urban life, becoming one of the key figures of China's "New Sensory School." Shi Zhecun's essays are simple—yet thought-provoking in their simplicity. His works are unpretentious—yet they are the result of extreme brilliance ultimately returning to authenticity. While his essays may lack widely celebrated masterpieces, they are not short of gems in the realm of modern essays. If one reads them carefully and savors them, they will find the works endlessly rewarding, and more importantly, they will get to rediscover a knowledgeable and profound writer through these words.