A Study Of Nation-state Imagination And Female Images In Shen Congwen’s Novels

Literature participates in the construction of the nation-state by imagining the nation and building identity.It has been argued that in the context of the modern national crisis,modern Chinese literature participated in the construction of the modern Chinese nation-state,and that the imagination of a new nation-state is the most important theme of modern Chinese literature.The study found that the image of women in Shen Congwen’s novels and their construction are an important part of Shen’s imagination of the nation-state.The ’Xiang Xi women image’ and ’new women image’ in Shen’s novels are his ideal projections of the character and spirit of women,and of the nation as a whole.These images of women not only reflect Shen’s constant concern for social reality and the fate of the nation,but also present Shen’s imagination of the Chinese nation’s past and his hopes for its future at a time of national crisis,fully demonstrating his identification with the Chinese nation.In the process of portraying female images,Shen Congwen invokes a variety of ideological and cultural resources,including the fine traditional Chinese culture,Western modern thought and Nation-state Thought,to construct the female images in his novels on three levels:physical,moral and cultural.These female figures are a fusion of Han and Miao cultures,showing the excellent moral character and cultural spirit shared by the Chinese nation.This not only helps to build an identity for the Chinese nation,but also helps to enhance the cultural confidence of the Chinese nation.Therefrom,it has inspired us to think about how contemporary minority literature can participate in forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.