On "Wild Thinking" In Shen Congwen 's Novels About Xiangxi

As a prolific writer, Shen Congwen has written a large number of novels in hislifetime. If we categorize them by style, it can mainly be separated into city theme andxiangxi theme. Novels of these two themes vividly expressed the author’s sentiment,mainly intense disgust and resentment toward city, and deep love and appreciation forxiangxi. His xiangxi novels are undoubtedly his most brilliant literary work. Thispaper attempts to use Shen Congwen’s xiangxi novel as basic topic, and do analysisthrough the interdisciplinary perspective of cultural anthropology. By examining thenovel, we can search for the concrete manifestation of “savage thought”, and discoverthe novel’s special characteristics and potential value. We will also uncover theauthor’s unique belief and aspiration, from which we can search for the “prescription”he gave to cure modern civilization, through a kind of lively and ideal “culturalmodel”. Besides this, as a meticulous social observer and sincere recorder of history,Shen Congwen wrote novels that reflect the real xiangxi to a certain degree. Theinterpretation of his novel from anthropology perspective provided us with importantreference to grasp the original lifestyle of xiangxi.From the subjectivity the author showed throughout his work, this paper willfirst find the root of the author’s savage thought, analyze the influence of xiangxi’sprimitive nature of life on his thinking, and find outhow Shen Congwen conceived his work with his unique mode of thinking. Secondly,using methods of cultural anthropology, I will investigate xiangxi themed novels ingeneral, and discuss from details on how Shen Congwen constructed the system of“savage thought” in his novel. Finally, I will explore the value of “savage thought”from the angle of cultural metaphor.“Savage thought” is in contrast of “civilized thought”. It represents a kind ofprimitive form of life, a quaint and beautiful type of human nature. Village peoplewith “savage thought” expressed free and exuberant energy. Comparing to the ailinghumanity and shriveled vitality in modern civilization, village people showed more ofthe glamour of life. By conveying materials on the spiritual cultures of xiangxi tribes, Shen Congwen constructed a new cultural system. He excavated the modern remainsof “savage thought” and raised it to a level that gave it healing function. ShenCongwen hoped for a new cultural integration, the creation of a new “pattern ofculture”. He wished to save modern civilization with this kind of new “pattern ofcultural”, and create a new type of humanity to build a strong national character.