Biography of Shen Congwen

Author: Jin Jiefu (USA)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: There needs to be a biography of Shen Congwen that objectively introduces his life, his experiences, and his thoughts, and evaluates his works. Now, there is a biography of Shen Congwen, but its author is an American. This itself is quite extraordinary. — Wang Zengqi said, "To be fair, I am indeed superior to some so-called writers of the present day. My work is about to surpass everything and rise above it. My works will last longer and spread farther than those of these people. I have no way to refuse." — Shen Congwen, Jin Jiefu's Biography of Shen Congwen is, strictly speaking, a critical biography that combines narration and commentary, with a focus on interpreting Shen Congwen's creative journey and its underlying meaning. Jin Jiefu's focus is on Shen Congwen's "localism" stance on the stage of modern Chinese history, the regional color in his works, and the connection between the two. Their intercausal relationship leads to the varying degrees and changes in regional color in Shen Congwen's works at different periods, as well as the pioneering nature of this "localism" and regional color in their expression. It is worth noting that Jin Jiefu's discovery of the characteristics of Shen Congwen's early creative works in his entire discussion gives a fresh perspective. Jin Jiefu elaborates in detail on the special charm of the rural sentiment, rural wit and humor, and rural wisdom, which originate from the folk life, folk literature, and local language traditions of Western Hunan, in Shen Congwen's early works. This may be due to Jin Jiefu's unique sensitivity to exotic flavors, and all of this is built upon his extensive research into the history and folk customs of Western Hunan, combined with his original professional habits (Jin Jiefu is a historian). As a result, regarding Shen Congwen's early works that take the secular life of Western Hunan as the theme, Jin Jiefu has drawn conclusions that are completely different from those in the past.