What is the most ideal life for us people? Green trees, earth, and blue sky, what a beautiful world this is. What "Border Town" shows us is this scene: "There is a small stream. There is a small white tower by the stream. Under the tower lives a single family. This family only has an old man, a girl, and a yellow Dog. The small stream flows around the mountain peak and merges into the big river of Chadong for about three miles. If one crosses the stream and walks over the hill, one will reach the edge of Chadong City. The stream is like the back of a bow, and the mountain road is like a bow string. , so there is a slight difference between the distance and the distance. The creek is about twenty feet wide, and the river bed is made of large stones. Even if the water is so quiet that a pole cannot fall to the bottom, it is still clear and transparent, and you can count the fish swimming in the river. ."
The short story "Border Town" is a work written by the famous writer Shen Congwen in 1933. This "Border Town" is the most intensely filled with Mr. Shen Congwen's style of Western Hunan. "Border Town" is an excellent novella in the history of Chinese literature that expresses local sentiments. It is set in Chadong, a border town at the junction of Sichuan and Hunan in the 1930s. It depicts the beautiful story of a lyrical poem and a short essay. The unique customs and customs of western Hunan; the love tragedy of the boatman girl Cuicui highlights the kindness and beauty of human nature and the clarity and purity of the soul.
"Border Town" is set in the Chadong area of ??western Hunan in the late Qing Dynasty. It starts from the "Xiaoxi" ferry. The stream flowing around the mountains merges into the Chadong River, unfolding the story of "Cui Cui", a girl at the wilderness crossing. "A touching love story with the brothers "Tianbao" and "Nuosong" in Shanchenghe Street. Mr. Shen Congwen's extremely beautiful and fluent language describes the quiet and beautiful mountain villages along the Baihe River and the rich customs and customs of the border towns in western Hunan like a poem: "Most of the people near the water are among the peach and apricot flowers. In spring, you only need to pay attention to any peach blossoms." There must be homes everywhere, and wine can be sold wherever there are homes. In the summer, the purple cloth clothes and trousers that are dried in the sun can be used as flags for people's homes. When autumn and winter come, there are no houses on the cliffs or on the waterfront. Everything is unclear. Yellow mud walls and black tiles..." These are full of natural simplicity and vivid descriptions, giving people extremely beautiful enjoyment. As the story unfolds, "Border Town" describes the prosperous and peaceful dock market of Hejie, and the simple, honest, kind and trustworthy folk customs of western Hunan. Although there is "a battalion of soldiers stationed at the old general's office" and a local "Lijin Bureau (tax collection)" in He Street, they do not seem to exist. There are "five hundred households" in Linlinlanglang, and there is busy work everywhere. , quaint shops and leisurely life scenes. "When the boat came, I watched countless trackers from a distance on the opposite river beach...bringing small snacks such as candies, etc., but when they came to the shore, they brought them into the city to exchange for money. My lord, let's hatch a nest of chicks. Raising two pigs, asking the boatman to make a pair of gold earrings, and bringing back two feet of official green cloth, a jar of good soy sauce, and a double-made Mobil lampshade will occupy the hearts of most housewives." On the river street, even the prostitutes were impressed by the worldly customs, "Always so honest... They always tied their hearts tightly to a person far away. When they dreamed, they always dreamed that the boat was approaching the shore and a person was rocking. He swayed from the gangplank to the shore and ran straight towards me." These objective and vivid descriptions reflect Mr. Shen's profound foundation in life in Fenghuang County. His detailed observation of life in "River Street", his familiarity with the folk customs of western Hunan, and his intuitive and reverie close-ups capture wonderful moments, giving people a vivid Live life scenes. Although there are three religions and nine schools on "River Street", as well as "trackers", "boatmen", "prostitutes" and other people living at the lowest level, as an outstanding writer of the "new culture" at that time, perhaps because of the theme of love, he did not mention it Class antagonism or social contradiction.
Although we only understand that distant era in western Hunan from words and may not really understand what kind of social environment it was, "Border Town" is a modern "Peach Blossom Spring" described by Mr. Shen similar to Tao Yuanming's pen. , isolated from the "controversial" outside world at that time, it is not difficult to see Mr. Shen Congwen's yearning and pursuit of a harmonious and beautiful society.
The protagonist of "Border Town", the ferry girl "Cui Cui", is the embodiment of purity and beauty, and the beautiful soul of "Border Town": "Grandpa" the old boatman is a simple and kind but stubborn old man. Cuicui is beautiful, confident and proud. In order for Cuicui to marry a good family, he does not care about his poor and low status, and his heart is full of misery, worry and responsibility and self-confidence. "Shunshun", a former exiled military officer of the Qing Dynasty, used some of his savings to run a wooden boat, and his business prospered. He was praised as a heroic gentleman in the "Water Control Pier" because of his free-spiritedness, generosity, integrity and justice. His two sons, "Eldest" and "Second Lao", were influenced by their father's education in Jianghu style. They were trained by sailing in the waves and became smart and handsome young men like "Yue Yun" in Jianghu. After crossing the stream or "catching ducks", the two brothers fell in love with Cuicui at first sight and fell deeply in love with the beautiful Cuicui. In order to pursue Cuicui, the "two elders" Nuosong would rather take a broken ferry than that. A "new mill". The "eldest brother" Tianbao never gave up the pursuit of beauty in the chaotic "road" and "car road" rejections of Cuicui's marriage proposal. After the two persistent brothers understood each other's feelings, they were willing to stand on the moonlit night. On the cliff, Cuicui sang the song "three years and six months".
"Border Town" is a tragedy of love. It seems that the words flow easily and smoothly, but in fact the pen and ink are thick and solemn. Her touchingness is exactly the beauty of love tragedy. Mr. Shen's works of young and old Cuicui delicately reproduce the inner changes of a young girl's hazy love, and vividly depict the girl's shy trance and indifference.
Since she has never had maternal love or experience as a woman in the world, the mentally lonely Cuicui is at a loss when facing her infatuated love. She hides it implicitly, avoids and shirks it, and finally becomes depressed and waits for it to be a tragedy. The moonlit folk songs of brothers Tianbao and Nuosong could no longer be heard on the cliff. Tianbao drowned in the whirlpool. When Nuosong was grieving, he did not want to accept the pressure of the "new mill" at home and went to the distant "Peach Garden". At this heartbreaking moment, after Grandpa suffered the resentment of Zhangshui Pier, that night of heavy rain and thunder, the white tower of Bixinuo finally collapsed. Cuicui's only relative, the old boatman who had worked hard all his life, Let go in your sleep with worries and expectations. Cuicui understood everything from the narration by Yang Mabing and others. She cried bitterly all night, but the cantabile years rolled away like the water of a white river.
The ending of "Border Town" is also very tragic and profound, with a profound artistic conception: "In winter, the collapsed white tower was repaired again. But the one singing under the moon made Cuicui sleep in The young people whose souls are gently lifted by the singing have not yet returned to Chadong."
“………….”
“This person may never come back, maybe” he will “come back tomorrow!”, Mr. Shen’s poetic and exquisite embellishments make people feel Leaving behind a long feeling of regret and infinite concern and expectation.
This is the border town that Mr. Xiang brought to us, a silent city that seems to be hiding something from the beginning to the end. Cuicui is the embodiment of this success. From the moment she fell in love with the person who could carry her far away even in her dreams, she chose silence. Although her heart was ups and downs, her appearance remained the same. Her grandfather died in a thunderstorm night, Tianbao drowned, and the White Tower collapsed. Cuicui still couldn't escape her mother's fate. She could only wait, "That person may never come back, maybe he will come back tomorrow."
Me I have been wondering why my husband painted such a kind-hearted fairy tale so sadly. My husband was born in the early 20th century. At that time, China was facing a serious national crisis and had just ended more than 1,000 years of feudalism under the watchful eyes of Western powers. The rule of slavery is in the darkest period of warlord wars. On the one hand, it is influenced by thousands of years of feudal ideology, and on the other hand, it is the massive invasion of Western culture, which makes the already war-torn Chinese nation even worse. In that turbulent era, the land of China was at war, and the people were plunged into dire straits. After experiencing the baptism of the New Culture Movement, Mr. Xiang resolutely chose this simple and beautiful land in western Hunan. These gentle and straightforward people used poetry to Ordinary language whispers the sorrow of the entire nation piece by piece, calling upon the conscience of our descendants of Yan and Huang. It is precisely because of deep love that these words of sorrow were born.
I always wonder if the name Border Town is so "distant" in my husband's heart, or is he guarding something deep in his heart? In fact, doesn't each of us have a "border town" deep in his heart? "Perhaps Mr.'s compassionate city has sunk into the heavy background with the torrent of history, leaving us with thoughts about life and society.
"Beauty always makes people sad." While the author of "Border Town" shows us this beautiful and harmonious picture of the harmony between man and nature, he also reveals a face of helplessness and confusion in the face of the tragic fate of life. The border town described by Mr. is so moving in the book, but what about the border town in our hearts? In my opinion, that is actually a kind of tranquility. A peace of mind. In other words, it was a feeling of emotion. By keeping this tranquility in our hearts, we will also find the border town in our hearts.