Near the tea cave at the junction of Sichuan and Hunan, beside the White Pagoda of Xiaoxi, there lived the hero Cui Cui and her grandfather's old boatman. There is a ship called Shunshun in Chadong City. He has two sons, the first is Tianbao, and the second is Nuosong.
During the Dragon Boat Festival, Cui Cui went to watch the dragon boat race and met the handsome young sailor Nuo by chance, which left a deep impression on Cui Cui. At the same time, Tianbao, Nopa's younger brother, also fell in love with Cui Cui and proposed to the matchmaker in advance. Tianbao told Nuo that he fell in love with Cui Cui a year ago, and Nuo told Tianbao that he fell in love with Cui Cui two years ago. Tianbao was taken aback. But at this time, the local group always took Xinmo as his dowry and wanted to betroth their daughter to Northong. I would rather inherit a broken ship than marry Cui Cui.
The two brothers did not follow the local custom to win or lose, but expressed their feelings by singing folk songs in a fair and romantic way, so that Cui Cui could choose from them. Northon is a good singer. Tianbao knows that he can't sing as well as his younger brother, and he is disheartened. He resolutely set sail for business.
Bixi only heard the song from Nuo all night. Later, the song never sounded again. The old boatman couldn't help asking. He thought it was the boss who sang it, but he learned that singers are talents. After telling the truth, the boss went into business. A few days later, the old boatman heard that the boss's boat on the water had an accident and drowned.
The boat at the dock is always smooth sailing, and the old boatman has become cold because of the death of his son Tianbao. Captain Shunshun doesn't want Cui Cui to be Nuo's daughter-in-law. The old boatman had to go home depressed. Cui Cui asked him, but he didn't say anything. It rained heavily at night, mixed with frightening thunder. The next day, Cui Cui got up and found that the boat had been washed away and the white tower behind the house had collapsed. Cui Cui went to find his grandfather, but found that the old man had died when it was thundering ... Veteran Yang enthusiastically came to accompany him and made a living by ferrying, waiting for Nuo's return.
Border Town is Shen Congwen's masterpiece, and it was selected as one of the top 100 novels in China in the 20th century, ranking second only to Lu Xun's Scream. Based on the tea cave in the border town between Sichuan and Hunan in the 1930s, it depicts the unique customs of western Hunan with beautiful strokes of lyric poems and essays. The pure love story of Cui Cui, a boatman girl, shows the goodness and beauty of human nature. Due to the aesthetic art of Border Town, the novel Border Town has a unique position in the history of modern literature in China.
Shen Congwen (1902- 1988), formerly known as Shen Yuehuan, was born in Fenghuang County, Hunan Province. He is Han (his father is Han), but some are Miao (Shen Congwen's grandmother is Miao) and Tujia (Shen Congwen's mother is Tujia). A famous modern writer, a researcher of historical relics, and a representative of Beijing-style novels. His pen names are Xiu Yun Yun and Chen Jia.