First, young men and women love customs.
Writers should reflect folk customs in their works, which requires writers not to simply reflect folk customs by quoting, but to integrate them into the overall structure of the works, which is closely linked with the fate and life of the characters, thus becoming works of art with aesthetic value. Errenzhuan appears many times in Shen Congwen's works, which is one of the folk customs of Xiangxi people. Young people in Xiangxi often get to know each other and fall in love by singing love songs: Zhu of Baierzhai in Dragon Ball sings, and finally wins the heart of the daughter of the owner of the cattle stockade, and gets married and becomes a family; The Mei Leopard in Mei Leopard and Sheep, one in Shannan and the other in northern Shaanxi, sings love songs from morning till night. In the end, Mitsu lost, and she decided to give herself to the leopard and make an appointment to meet in a cave. In the story scene, singing presents the inner world of the characters, shapes the characters, and at the same time, as the content of the story, shows the humanistic environment of the characters' lives. China's traditional male-centered morality since ancient times is reflected in marriage, that is, one-way spouse selection and inequality between men and women. The antithesis custom in ancient Hunan shows a healthy and humane love, which is based on the two-way relationship of equality, mutual love and free choice between men and women.
Second, the superstitious customs of ghosts and gods.
Shen Congwen's novels involve a large number of superstitious customs, which fully embodies the long-standing, mysterious and magnificent Chu witch culture. "The Witch's Love" describes in detail the scene of the witch singing and dancing to entertain the gods: the witch first built a Dojo on the Tian Ping, and at night, Song and Ming, torches and butter candles were lit one by one; The servant Wuyang beat the wild boar skin drum, the wizard wrapped his head in a red scarf, and rubbed a little chicken blood between his eyebrows; Holding a copper fork and carving a silver horn, dancing rhythmically in the middle of the court. And "New and Old" describes an ancient folk custom of execution: after the execution, the executioner "despaired, lowered his head and went straight to the Chenghuang Temple" ... According to the rules, he kowtowed three times in front of the Bodhisattva and quickly hid in front of the immortal. "[1], the county magistrate pretended to be a pilgrim, someone reported the case, the executioner surrendered himself, and then" and "
Third, holiday customs.
Shen Congwen's Xiangxi novels also involve many festivals and customs, such as Lantern Festival, Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival. Although these festivals are similar to other places, they still have the local characteristics of Xiangxi. For example, in Border Town, the author describes the folk custom of dragon boat race in Xiangxi in detail, from people's costumes, costumes to the modeling of dragon boat race, as well as the scene of dragon boat race: dragon boats with their two ends stuck high and their hulls painted scarlet, young rowers with red cloth around their heads and waists, drums and drums, long queues with strings left behind, and countless people on both sides of the strait. The scene of grabbing ducks is almost crazy, and even the players who haven't enjoyed themselves have played in the moonlight for half a night. All these crazy scenes and ancient and healthy customs reflect the people's love for life and pursuit of happiness in western Hunan. Don't the unique local customs and customs of Shui Yuan in western Hunan, and the bold and unconstrained character and psychology of the people in western Hunan have been thoroughly vented in the folk custom of dragon boat racing?
Fourth, life etiquette and customs.
Shen Congwen's works also contain many customs of life etiquette. For example, in Mei Jinbao and the Sheep, young people must take a white lamb to their lover's date. This white lamb not only represents the purity of the woman, but also "can exchange the white sheep for the red blood of the golden virgin." In Mix, the custom of children's birth is also briefly described: Mix gave birth to a big fat boy after becoming an outlaw, and people gave her steamed chicken, Tongjiang rice wine to replenish blood and burn paper to thank God according to the rules. Eating steamed chicken and Tongjiang rice wine is because pregnant women lose too much blood during childbirth, so enriching blood and burning paper to thank the gods is because people think that giving birth to boys is the result of ancestors' blessing. In addition, in Sasha Vujacic, the custom of child bride is described: Sasha Vujacic is twelve years old and her husband is less than three years old. In such a marriage, because of the big age gap between men and women, women are seriously depressed physically and mentally, so there will be dogs singing "Ten-year-old lady and one-year-old woman" and "The heavy slope in front of the charming house, others walk less and walk more, and the iron sandals are worn out, which is not suitable for you" [Source: Internet]