After reading "Border Town", all that is left in my mind is a verdant green. That kind of green is different from the steady and thick dark green painted by oil painters, and different from the understated azurite in ink paintings; This kind of pure and transparent green is so green that it is shiny and moist. It is so green that it seems to be able to exhale fragrant water vapor out of thin air. It is so green that it seems that the spiritual energy of heaven and earth contained in the grass and trees is rushing towards you.
Presumably Mr. Shen could not forget the lush greenness of his hometown, so he gave the heroine the same beautiful name - Cuicui. Cuicui is like a piece of deft embroidery silk in front of Bai Juan, and her shiny black hair exudes a youthful atmosphere. When she jumped, a lush forest appeared on Baijuan; when she smiled, an exquisite stilted building appeared on the white silk; the further she walked, the more scenes there were on Baijuan. When she picked up the When the old oar is lifted, the panoramic view of a border town in western Hunan is vividly displayed in front of the readers.
What starts with love, stops with courtesy. Cuicui's love seems to have come to an abrupt end. When will the figure of that handsome young man reappear on the ferry year after year? Death builds an invisible bridge. Can lovers separated by the bridge be reunited? Cuicui, who had been waiting year after year, didn't know, nor did Shunshun, who finally agreed to the marriage. If it comes back, it means love has defeated death; if not, then ethics is higher than emotion after all; no matter what the ending is, the people in Chadong live sincerely, they are worthy of heaven and earth, have no regrets about themselves, are simple and noble.
This book was written in the 1930s. The war and chaos of the era still continued in China. Under foreign invasion, ancient China was forced to undergo a transformation from a feudal system to a capitalist form. , the traditional ethical and moral model is pushed to the brink of collapse. Although the dross has been criticized, the parts worth inheriting are also falling apart, and the boundaries between justice and evil have begun to blur. In such a turbulent era, personal existence is almost meaningless, and all will is ruthlessly crushed. Shen Congwen was born in Xiangxi, a place with fierce folk customs, but has a fragile and sensitive personality. He was clearly aware of the hidden worries behind the revolutionary fervor, and his works revealed feelings of confusion and difficulty adapting. Therefore, he used his pen instead of painting, "with his unique ideological understanding and artistic expression, he drew a magnificent picture of Chinese social life in the second decade of this century." The "beautiful, healthy, natural, and not contrary to human nature" in the work prompted the author to use the unique border area of ??western Hunan as the foundation for building a "temple" of goodness and beauty. "Border Town", as Shen Congwen's masterpiece, has a bumpy fate. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, Shen Congwen has been criticized by the left-wing cultural circles. An important evidence of this is the "decadent erotic" works represented by "Border Town"; however, after his death, "Border Town" has become Shen Congwen's representative work, reestablishing his reputation in modern China. position in the history of modern literature. Things in the world are fickle, and when compared with the fatalistic love tragedy in "Border Town", it makes people sigh.
When reading "Border Town", apart from the protagonist's story, the most touching thing is undoubtedly the peaceful and pure small town in western Hunan written by the author. The unique love between prostitutes and sailors, and the mutual courtesy between ferrymen and ship stewards in terms of money are all filled with tenderness. People treat each other sincerely, without the hassle of money or favors. They are considerate and respectful to each other, echoing the Peach Blossom Spring written by Tao Yuanming thousands of years ago. If the Peach Blossom Spring is a fairyland on earth with a slight peach blossom color, then "Border Town" is a paradise with a green color. There is green in the place name of Chadong, there is green in the name of Cuicui, as well as the green mountains and green waters that the author generously describes, as well as the warm and simple life of the people of Chadong. Green symbolizes peace and life, and the kindness and kindness shown everywhere in Chadong are like fertile soil, giving birth to healthy and natural humanity, and giving birth to a utopia unique in the history of modern Chinese literature. This beautiful border town will be accompanied by generations of Chinese people and become the eternal city in the sky.