Fire and Song (Chinese Modern Literature, Scholars, and War)

Author: Zhang Quanzhi
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-01-01
Features: The lifestyle of scholars, their professional requirements, and the long-established personal qualities determine that they will live in two worlds: one is the real world, and the other is a world of rationalization or poeticization. However, military struggles are driven by immediate practical interests and are often accompanied by intrigue and bloodshed. The internal order of military groups is also a strict hierarchy, which cannot tolerate the independence and freedom that intellectuals are passionate about. But what makes intellectuals particularly unbearable is the destruction and waste of life in military struggles. Thus, all this that scholars, upon joining military groups, will inevitably fall into an inescapable spiritual dilemma.
Regarding the War of Resistance Against Japan, Shen Congwen also harbored a hidden expectation: he hoped that this war could purify the soul of the nation and bring the nation and the country back to life. Just as "some fish can only grow in turbulent waters," "war makes the human soul coarse," this might be the beginning of a nation's rebirth. Shen Congwen has always regarded "recreating life" and "recreating the nation" as his creative mission, a mission that is both lofty and practical, both concrete and abstract. After the war broke out, Shen Congwen saw the hope of "recreation" in the nation's performance in the war. It seemed that he felt that while war was destroying this nation, it was also bringing it rebirth.
The lifestyle of scholars, their professional requirements, and the long-established personal qualities determine that they will live in two worlds: one is the real world, and the other is a world of rationalization or poeticization. However, military struggles are driven by immediate practical interests and are often accompanied by intrigue and bloodshed. The internal order of military groups is also a strict hierarchy, which cannot tolerate the independence and freedom that intellectuals are passionate about. But what makes intellectuals particularly unbearable is the destruction and waste of life in military struggles. Thus, all this that scholars, upon joining military groups, will inevitably fall into an inescapable spiritual dilemma.
Regarding the War of Resistance Against Japan, Shen Congwen also harbored a hidden expectation: he hoped that this war could purify the soul of the nation and bring the nation and the country back to life. Just as "some fish can only grow in turbulent waters," "war makes the human soul coarse," this might be the beginning of a nation's rebirth. Shen Congwen has always regarded "recreating life" and "recreating the nation" as his creative mission, a mission that is both lofty and practical, both concrete and abstract. After the war broke out, Shen Congwen saw the hope of "recreation" in the nation's performance in the war. It seemed that he felt that while war was destroying this nation, it was also bringing it rebirth.