Abstract
Shen Congwen's writing of Xiangxi (the Western Hunan area) shifts its focus from legendary stories to history-directed experiences. The activities of his characters are put into the mosaic of historical experiences, so as to present the modern transformation of the ancient community life in the Western Hunan area. This transformation shows not only as the wonder and amazement in the psychological and conceptual dimensions but also as conflicts and crises in the power relations and moral order, as well as the resultant formation of an ethical landscape different from the traditional one. Although the criticism of modern urban civilization remains, the ethical concerns in Shen Congwen's writing of Xiangxi in and after The Border Town are more directed at the question of where Xiangxi, and by extension, China, is going to. The paper claims that this turn in Shen's writing of Xiangxi is closely related with his concerns about the reality.
First Page
134
Last Page
140
Recommended Citation
Chen, Yan. 2012. "The Ethical Landscape in the Transformation of Modernity in Shen Congwen'sBorder Town and After." Theoretical Studies in Literature and Art 32, (6): pp.134-140. https://tsla.researchcommons.org/journal/vol32/iss6/12
