Study On Shen Congwen From Ecological Point Of View

21st century is a century of ecology. "Ecology"has become a key word involving human's existence, and ecological problem has been showed a great concern and been a focal point of the people. So, the criticism of literature and art from ecological point of view with modern ecological theory has swiftly become a popular subject and forward project in the sphere of learning. In this paper, the writer holds that a further study and expound of Shen Congwen and his works from ecological point of view with modern ecological theory can yet be regarded as a valuable attempt for the research of Chinese modern and contemporary literature, as well as a significant step of widening the vision and space for literature study. Shen Congwen, a writer full of controversy, is famous for his unique in style and advanced in thought. In the new eras, the study on Shen Congwen has been in the ascendant like a raging fire and has achieved great success. However, the previous comments on Shen Congwen were confined to the spheres of his "curer of humanity", "a local writer"and "a stylistic writer"etc. and neglected the other aspects—his concern and pondering over the ecological problems, as well as his identity of an ecological writer. This paper, combining with the modern ecological theories, from the aspects of natural ecology (man and nature), social ecology (man and man), mental ecology (man and himself), and ecological feminism, carries out a whole and systematic, overall and profound analysis and interpretation of Shen Congwen's thought and works, and exams him from the spheres of Chinese cultural ecological tradition and western ecological ideology. Being an outstanding Chinese writer and thinker of the 20th century, Shen Congwen all along holds an idea of loving and caring the whole human being. He shows a deep concern not only to the existence and development of Chinese nation, but also to the common problems of human being as a whole. His bold and innovative consciousness makes a breakthrough of the narrow "human centralism". With the guidance of the ecological concept of "achieving a harmony and unity between man and nature", he puts forward his unique ecological thoughts and concepts of "God is nothing else but nature", "keeping a harmony between man and nature", "loving every living beings"and "reconstructing interpersonal relations"etc. which review his ideal and pursuit for reconstructing an ecological civilization. The works of Shen Congwen are unique in style with exotic flavor and enjoy long-term but novel and lasting appeal, because they contain modern ecological consciousness of advocating nature, respecting life, praising highly the natural character, and creating an poetic mental homeland of achieving a harmony and unity between man and nature etc. Shen Congwen exams the life in the rural areas and urban districts from the view of a "country man"; his consciousness of a "country man"is his ecological standard and concrete embodiment of his ecological consciousness. In his works, he sedulously strives for constructing two worlds: one is "ecological world", namely "peach blossom world"; the other is "paradise lost world". The former world shows a harmony and unity between man and nature, man and man, and man and himself, while the latter one shows an increasing estrangement and opposition between the natural ecological world full of strong and vigorous wild lives and the human world filled with withering lives and illness. He expresses deep concerns to the ecology of gender differences and the ecological health of feminineness in the two different worlds, and reviews a deep consciousness of ecological crisis and an ideal expectation to construct a harmonious society. Facing the deteriorating ecological problems, Shen Congwen combines the ecological problems with human culture and civilization and points out that the internal cause of ecological imbalance is urban civilization, and ponders upon and tries to find a perfect prescription to cure the ecological illness. At last, he holds that the prescriptions to ecological illness and environmental problems lie in "returning to nature", "having a child's heart", "love and beauty", as well as the "abstract principle"of reconstructing national morality. In short, it can be safely said that Shen Congwen is one of the most successful and influential writers in the history of Chinese modern literature, and a pioneer thinker of ecology in modern China. His essential ecological thought of "achieving a harmony between man and nature"is epoch-making and modern one. His works can be regarded as a symbol of the rising of a new literature and art in the 20s and 30s of the 20th century in China, because they open up a ecological tradition of advocating harmony between man and nature for Chinese modern literature, and provide a new opportunity and vitality to Chinese literature for further thriving and prosper. Meanwhile, Shen Congwen is not only the embodiment of Chinese modern ecological culture, but also a distinguish representative of ecological writer of the world. He makes an active contribution to promote Chinese literature to the outside world.