Mud Paint Collection

Author: Shen Congwen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-04-01
Features: The entire book depicts fragments of 1930s China's suffering, serving as Shen Congwen's "Les Misérables." In the towns, everything is rotting, emitting suffocating odors, and the poor live like pigs and dogs. In the mountainous rural areas, the land is desolate, with ten households out of nine empty. Farmers have become beasts of burden. "The land is scorched," as the saying goes, and this is a vivid illustration. Shen Congwen's brilliant, non-"pastoral" writings are often overlooked. Before his passing, he had a wish to carefully select his works and publish a series of compact little books. It wasn't about how exquisite or luxurious they were, but about clear handwriting and a simple yet elegant style that was comfortable to read. The small size made them easy to collect, carry, and flip through. This selected edition differs from previous compilations. At the beginning of each small booklet, we have added texts beyond his past works—essays, diaries, self-reflections, unfinished pieces, and primarily letters—all recently collected and organized, most of which have never been published. Regardless, these chapters either reflect the author's views on society, literary creation, and historical and literary research at the time, or reveal his circumstances, inner conflicts, joys, sorrows, and frustrations. Publishing them may help readers gain a broader understanding of his works, his character, and the historical context of that era.