Faith And Thought:The Problem And Predicament Of Humanity In Shen Congwen’s Literary Writing

From the perspective of "Faith" and "Thought",this paper studies the problem of humanity in Shen Congwen’s works and divides Shen Congwen’s works into two periods: in 1940 s as the dividing line,the early stage is from 1924 to 1939,and the late stage is from 1940 to the death of Shen Congwen.And the same time,this paper makes a comparison between the humanity in Shen Congwen’s works and the western theory of humanity,including the meaning of ancient Greek humanity and the Enlightenment period,for discussing the literary and cultural significance of humanity in Shen Congwen’s works.Many Chinese writers have been thinking about the topic of humanity,however,Shen Congwen left his own unique mark in Chinese modern literature by his special life background and life experience.In the two completely different spaces in the countryside and the city,"no faith" makes Shen Congwen to think about everything in a independent view and possible to maintain a proper distance from the mainstream of society.Whether "the characteristic of eunuch" in the urban world of Shen Congwen’s works or the health humanity in the rural environment,there are all the seen and thought of Shen Congwen.Before 1940 s,most of Shen Congwen’s works are devoted to the description of the humanity in Xiangxi and the distorted humanity in city,however,in the process of exploring the complexity of humanity,his plight also follows.Shen Congwen’s plight is the the contradiction between the complexity of humanity and the limitation of his exploration of humanity.But after 1940 s,there is an obvious change in the style of Shen Congwen’s works.Shen Congwen’s works are from the novel to the profound abstract of the emergence of a large number of prose.In this period,Shen Congwen looks at the lives of more abstract and philosophical level.Before 1949,under pressure from all sides,Shen Congwen eventually abandoned writing,but his enthusiasm of social concern and for the future of mankind never reduced.Although Shen Congwen has gone almost 30 years,his objective observation and persistent expression of human nature is a rare treasure in the history of Chinese modern literature,even in today which is a highly developed urban civilization is still worth learning from.