About Shen Congwen's "Border Town"

Part 1#

I have seen the "Preface" written by Shen Congwen for "Border Town" a long time ago (as far as I can remember). I will paste it below:

For farmers and soldiers, I have an indescribable warmth and love, which can be seen everywhere in all my works. I never hide this feeling. I grew up in the small town described in the works, and my grandfather, father, and brothers all served in the military; those who died died in their official positions, and those who didn't die would inevitably spend their whole lives in their official positions. From my perspective, I narrate their loves and hates, joys and sorrows, even if my writing is clumsy and sometimes deviates from the topic. Because they are honest and upright, and their lives are both extraordinary and ordinary in some aspects, their personalities are both beautiful and trivial. When I write about them, I naturally write honestly in order to make them more human and relatable. However, as a result, this work may become useless. Because it seems too far away for educated people who grew up in cities. They need a different kind of work, and I know that.

According to the current trend, literary theorists, critics, and most readers are easily displeased with this kind of work. The former claims that it is "outdated" and tells people that China does not need this kind of work, while the latter is "too worried about being outdated" and is currently unwilling to read this kind of work. This is naturally true. What does "outdated" mean? A somewhat rational person may never understand, but who isn't afraid of being "outdated"? I have something to say: "This book is not written for the majority." Those who have read three to five books on literary theory and criticism, or have read a lot of classical and modern world masterpieces, often do not allow their experiences in "being knowledgeable" to extend to knowing a little bit about another place and another thing in China. Therefore, this work may be in line with certain current literary theories, and critics may praise it in various ways, but this kind of criticism is still an insult to the author. Since they do not want to understand the true loves and hates, joys and sorrows of this nation, they cannot explain the merits and demerits of this work. This book is not written for them. As for literary enthusiasts, whether they are university students or high school students, who are concentrated in densely populated cities, they often spend a precious part of their time reading newly published literary books in China. They are controlled and dominated by a habit formed in collaboration with theorists, critics, clever publishers, and gossip writers in the literary world, and their lives are really far away from the world mentioned in this work. They do not need this kind of work, and this book does not hope to reach them. Theorists have literary theories from various countries to refer to, so they don't have to worry about having nothing to say; critics have authors and works that owe them a little favor or grudge, which is enough for them to criticize for a lifetime. Most readers, regardless of their tastes and beliefs, have works to read. Because they care about the general public of readers, aren't there many people who claim to be for the general public of readers and always spin like tops? This book may not be abandoned by the majority of leading theorists and critics, and the majority of readers who are led do not completely abandon it, but the author of this book has long abandoned this "majority".

This book is only intended for "those who have left school or have never had the opportunity to approach school, who know some Chinese characters, live in a certain position in society, and are extremely concerned about the benefits and drawbacks of the entire nation in space and time." They truly know what the rural areas are like now and want to know what the rural areas were like in the past. They would also be willing to learn about the rural areas and soldiers in a small corner of the world from this book. The world I write about may be completely unfamiliar to them, but their tolerance and enthusiasm for seeking comfort and knowledge from a book will definitely allow them to read this book calmly. I am not going to stop there, I am also preparing to give them a comparative opportunity to mention the civil war of the past twenty years in another work, to show what some ordinary people have become in the midst of change, and how they have become something new after losing their original simplicity, diligence, peace, and integrity due to the ravages of war and opium. They have become impoverished and lazy! When this nation is led by history towards an unknown destiny, I will narrate the worries of some small characters in the midst of change, as well as the ideas and desires of "survival" and "how to survive" that arise from insufficient nutrition, in a simple manner. My readers should be rational, and this rationality is based on their concern for the changes in Chinese society, their understanding of the past greatness and current decline of this nation, and their lonely engagement in the great cause of national rejuvenation. This work may only give them a sense of nostalgia, or it may only make them laugh bitterly, or it may even give them a nightmare, but at the same time, perhaps it can also give them courage and confidence!
April 24, 23rd year of the Republic of China. Note: The "Preface" was first published on April 25, 1934 in the 61st issue of the literary supplement of Tianjin's "Da Gong Bao" newspaper, signed by Shen Congwen.

Today I accompanied my grandmother to the hospital, and I took a look at "WeChat Reading" and found that Shen Congwen had another "Preface" -

I will also paste it here:

Note: This article was originally written by the author on the sample book of the first edition of Shanghai Life Bookstore, and has never been published in the "Complete Works of Shen Congwen" published by Beiyue Literature and Art Publishing House.

When I entered Sichuan with the army, passing through Chamao, staying for two days, I passed through the city gate of Yuma with horse dung, and stayed in a small temple for one night. On the small boat in Hejie, I played several times. On the day of departure, it was drizzling, and it took about four miles to cross the river. I heard the extremely sad cries of cuckoos. On that day, I climbed up the cotton hill, about twenty-five miles high. On the way, I saw several people killed in a road robbery. The mountain top fortress had been burned for many days. From September 22nd to Qingdao Laoshan, I saw a procession of family members of the deceased in the village, with a little girl leading the way with a spirit banner. Because of the agreement with Zhaohuo, I will write a story to introduce what I saw. In September, I got married in Ping, and I wrote the first chapter under a small tree in the courtyard of Dazi Camp, using a small square table. It was published in the "National News Weekly". I returned to Hunan in winter to visit my mother, and it took forty days round trip. I stayed in my hometown for three days and returned to Beiping to continue writing. When my mother died twenty-three years ago, I was filled with sadness when the book was published. Many of the living for the past twenty years have turned to dust, and the dead are as faint as smoke in the memories of the living. But the characters in the book are combined with individual lives, as if they can never die. In fact, the work can never die. It is because of the influence of several characters in individual lives and several impressions in individual lives. From Wen Congwen, Beiping, 37th year of the Republic of China

In the words of Shen Congwen in the "New Preface", it is "rare".#

I can't remember the first time I read the "Old Preface", but I vaguely remember the feeling. However, I just finished the reading comprehension in my first year of high school, so it is still clear.
I have read a few pages of "Border Town" before, but I only glanced at the "Preface" and then went straight to the main text. So when I read the "Preface" carefully, I felt very "rare". How could such an elegant and fresh novel have such an intense "Preface"? The text also mentions:

Literary theorists, critics, and most readers are easily displeased with this kind of work.

This made me even more curious.

Part 2#

Professor Xu Zidong from Lingnan University#

Actually, even earlier, I have seen Xu Zidong's "Three People Walking Together" and various lectures, which also mentioned Shen Congwen. I vaguely remember a few sentences like "Shen Congwen is a left-wing writer, but he wrote 'Border Town'" and "the greatest novel (literary work) of the 20th century".
I have a good impression of Xu Zidong and have read a few pages of his book. In fact, I am most excited when I watch his various lectures.
Now, I am going to watch the video, but since I haven't read the novel, I will still just take a quick look - I watched the entire video in the afternoon - I didn't really read it.
I'm going to watch the video now...

Starts talking about Shen Congwen at 39:50.
Actually, this video is a statement about "Rereading 20th Century Chinese Novels".

Part 3#

Let me add a few words as well. I talked to my Chinese teacher, but it was still unclear.

chat
I actually sent it without organizing my words properly, as I'm not good at this. It can be said to be regrettable. I don't plan to continue the conversation because there won't be any results or meaning in continuing.

I clicked on the video and found that the first half was about Lao She's "Rickshaw Boy". I read it a long time ago, but I don't plan to skip it. I think it's better to finish watching it.

Today, I also found "[Critique of Reactionary Literature and Art] by Guo Moruo](https://site.douban.com/widget/notes/7255476/note/237064366/)" and "On Guo Moruo - Published in the first issue of "Rising Sun" in 1930".
Since I mentioned the links, I might as well share a few more.

While reading Guo Moruo's article, I saw his evaluation of Xiao Qian's "Where is Chinese Literature Going?" in "Da Gong Bao" - Guo Moruo said Xiao Qian is a "noble orchid", and there is also "Shen Congwen | General and Special". So I Googled it. I found that Nankai University has the "Da Gong Bao (Full-text Retrieval Edition)", but the electronic library of Nankai University is only open to internal personnel, so I had to give up. Then I found the "National Library of China", but it seems that there are two websites and the accounts and resources are different.

Actually, the "Da Gong Bao" resources of Nankai University come from the National Library of China. It's strange that the National Library of China does not have a complete collection.
Well, finally, I'm done.

Part 4#

August 12, 2024
I still haven't finished watching that video - I finished watching it in the afternoon, but I just happened to watch the part about Shen Congwen. I'm a bit fickle.

In the eyes of Ba Jin and Cao Yu, Chinese society is too corrupt. After "Midnight", there will be a "Sunrise". The decline of tradition is without suspense, and revolution is bound to come. But Shen Congwen feels that the order of rural human relationships is still beautiful, and the question is whether it can continue to exist in modern society.

Excerpt from Xu Zidong's "Rereading 20th Century Chinese Novels" in "Doubts about Modernity in Shen Congwen's 'Border Town'?"

I think this explanation makes sense. It can be seen as the motivation or reason for Shen Congwen's "Preface" and why this novel is great.