Selected Works of Shi Zhecun - 60 Literary Masters of the Century

Author: Shi Zhecun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-05-01
Features: When it comes to Shi Zhecun, those who are somewhat familiar with Chinese literary circles would not find him unfamiliar. Since the 1930s, Mr. Shi Zhecun has written numerous novels and essays such as The Head of a General, Evening in the Rain, and Collected Works Under Lantern Light. He is particularly renowned for his psychological analysis novels, with representative works like Evening in the Rain and Spring Sunshine. He meticulously depicts the flow of subjective consciousness and the changes in psychological emotions, pursuing novelty and integrating subjective perception into the description of objects. He uses a fast pace to portray the pathological urban life, becoming one of the main writers of China's "New Sensibility School." This book selects a portion of his brilliant works, allowing us to experience the charm of this "encyclopedic expert" in his moving poetry.
Leading a large entourage and his beautiful wife, walking through the vast mountain valley, the wise monk Dharmarak?a, sitting high on a camel's back, was gently tousled by the desert wind at dawn. His wide sleeves and sash fluttered in the golden sunlight. His wife sat on a camel of the same height, the sunlight illuminating her radiant face, exuding a solemn demeanor. She still retained the grace of a princess of Kucha. She was slightly behind Dharmarak?a, the distance between them being just half a camel. Dharmarak?a turned his head slightly and saw her deep eyes gazing into the distance, as if seeing a mirage amidst the misty mountains ahead. Turning his head a bit more, behind the procession, through the swirling dust, he saw the raven-shaped city of Liangzhou, nestled within a range of high mountains. It was in a large valley, where the sunlight had not yet fully reached, but parts of the highest ramparts, fortresses, towers, and stupas were already outlined with a golden edge. The ruins of some fortresses, which had been destroyed in fierce battles that had ceased only a few days ago, still rose into the sky like white and black embers, standing on beacon towers that the remaining yellow smoke, but none were effective—no relief had come, not even the soldier in charge of the beacons had survived, yet the irrational smoke still lingered.
Looking back from his camel, the wise Dharmarak?a, wounded from the battle, felt a sigh rise in his chest. The cause of the Sanhe King was clearly doomed forever. He thought of the years of painstaking effort by the Lü family, the lives destroyed in this fierce battle, and the noble death of the young Lü Bi, the descendant of the Lü family. Even though the compassionate Dharmarak?a held the Lü family in little regard, he could not help but pity them. But when he thought of the recurring question in his mind, "What had he gained in Liangzhou over the past ten years?" he felt that such a Buddha-despising warrior deserved to die. In these ten years, not only had he not advanced in his spiritual practice, but even because of Lü Guang's disdain for Buddhism, he had been destroyed in his Diamond Body. Since the age of seven, when he followed his mother into monastic life, he had traveled across the countries of Western Regions and had never seen a monk with a wife. Yet now, he was clearly taking his wife to the State of Qin.
Speaking of the State of Qin, it was hard to understand. Would he, like in Liangzhou, be respected and despised by the officials and the high rulers there? No, it was said that the King of Qin was far superior to the Lü family in both father and son—he was a reverer of Buddhism. Therefore, when he ordered Yao Shoude to lead his troops to attack the Lü family, he had instructed him to bring him back to Chang'an safely and had even enfeoffed him as the National Teacher. From the mouths of these attendants, it was likely that the King of Yao would personally come out to welcome him when they reached the city gates.
From this side, the wind blew, the bell of a camel rang, and the sound drifted from the valley to the mountain peak. The rabbits and squirrels in the grasslands along the way were startled and scattered. Dharmarak?a, who had been lost in thought, suddenly came to his senses. He glanced back and saw his bright-eyed cousin—his wife—enjoying the surrounding mountain scenery, her posture graceful in step with the camel's steady gait. He suddenly felt love rise in his heart, as if he were a layman again. This was the kind of love he had often suffered from over the past ten years...