Theory Of The Home Returning For Shen Congwen’s Prose

The first chapter of my thesis mainly explores the motivation of returning home of Shen Congwen in different time and different levels. The first two sections mainly are the analysis of Shen Congwen’s homesick writings in the first ten years in cities. The writings are about the beautiful memories of Xiangxi, by this, he can find a sense of belonging, presence and superiority for compensation. And the following two sections discuss the returning motivation of Shen Congwen’s twice returning home practice in body level. If the returning motivation of the first time is more about writing about himself and people in the course of his life, then the motivation has turned from personal to the ethnic groups for the second time of his returning after four years.The second chapter mainly explores the shaping of the image of countryside in the perspective of Shen Congwen’s returning from. By Shen’s shaping,the image of Xiangxi goes through a process from the experience of "Enchantment" to "Disenchantment".In the first two sections, to some degree, Shen Congwen has a men tal contradiction of self-esteem and self-contempt. So he showes off poetic country de liberately. He put focus on the aspeces of rural tranquility and the beautiful sides of hu manity. Then he shows a natural countryside against the city by the later "Records of t he Trip to Xiangxi"which is without change and pollution. The third and fourth sectio n describes a rural image of "anti-Taoyuan","anti-mysterious" and "anti-evil". The Xian gxi which used to be full of divinity and mysterious, which is quite poetic, via the trip, finally secularized. From the perspective of secret intellectual of the author, Xiangxi begins the "Disenchantment" process.The third chapter mainly discusses the "lyric" from Shen. The theme "lyric" kee ps company throughout his life. The "country lyric" nourishes the "Xiangci" topic. Fr om natural to society, Shen is always full of tenderness, experiencing the landscape an d enjoy the world. All the objects are kind of emotional arousal of his expression. The uneven comparison between the natural scenery and the tragicomedy of human life, which make the beautiful more beautiful and the sad more sad. Shen Congwen expres ses his deep grief and depression in the abstract form of "beauty is melancholy". Furth ermore, his further thinking on culture, personal ambition, responsibility for the count ry, concerns on social reality and the destiny of the nation are contained in "his emoti on". When he is disappointed about the Xiangxi youths and local leaders, he feels sad and painful because he know the future of Xiangxi is dangerous and hopeless. His stro ng ambition for reconstruction of national morality dies out gradually. It also means th at "Xiangxi world" which he is once proud of is destroyed by the reality. He fails to h ave the dream of the reconstruction of hometown come true.