General info
From《The Border Town》
By Shen Congwen
Brief introduction
In the story，Tianbao and Nuosong，sons of Shunshun，the boat owner，both fell in love with Cuicui，granddaughter of the old boatman. Knowing that Cuicui had given her heart to Nuosong，Tianbao quit voluntarily. Shortly after that, he was killed in a boat accident on his way to Chenzhou. Saddened by the grievous news，Nuosong left home and went to Taoyuan. After her grandfather’s gloomy death，Cuicui kept waiting at the ferry for the return of Nuosong.“He might never return，or he may return tomorrow!”Instead of delving into the tragic connotation of the love story，the writer aims at creating a poetic pastoral eclogue and at depicting the beautiful heart and interpersonal harmony of the rural people. Under his pen，Cuicui is characterized as the incarnation of “love” and”beauty”;the old boatman as plain and honest ;Tianbao as lenient and magnanimous ;Nuosong as the embodiment of love and affection ;and Shunshun as outright and generous，all of whom are depicted as symbols of excellent virtues. With thick ink and rich color，the writer draws a beautiful landscape of western Hunan Province and creates a vivid portrayal of the pure and honest local customs. With poetic language and elegant description，the writer depicts the Border Town as a novel and unique place :an extremely purified and idealized world which differs completely from the civilized modern society in which human nature has been sadly distorted. Border Town is recognized as a bright literary gem for its harmonious combination of humanistic beauty with artistic beauty.
Why you should read it:
The best-known work of Shen Congwen is Border Town in which the writer narrates，by portraying a plain and gorgeous picture，a beautiful but heartbroken love story that took place in western Hunan Province.
QUOTIVATION 