Intellectuals From The Country - Shen Congwen

Shen congwen, one of the greatest Chinese writers in the 20th century, is well-known for his abundant literary works and rich life experience. Therefore, large quantities of experts carry out research on him who is regarded as "a countryman", while, in this thesis, I will refute this kind of idea and try to make a panoramic analysis of his literary activities, viewing him as "an intellectual from the countryside". As far as I am concerned, Mr. Shen is a countryman in the emotional sense, however, in his rational spirit, he serves as an intellectual. With reference to his life experience and circumstances of his literary creation, I analyze the concrete reasons of the emergence of his double identities, and I define the connotation of his double identities both as a countryman and an intellectual. From the contradiction of his double identities, I respectively analyze the influence of its harmonious and struggling aspects upon Mr. Shen's literary conceptions. Furthermore, I dwell on the impact of the conflict of his ration and emotion on his literary production, scrutinizing his world of "Xiangxi" with the sight of development. And then I explore the relationship between his psychology of cultural tolerance and literary production. Finally, I conclude that "an intellectual from the countryside" is the accurate description of Mr. Shen, which greatly influenced his literary creation.