The Permanent Solitude Of The Childlike Fantasy

"Country Folk" is a kind of identity , the integration of idem identity and narrative identity , which is constructed by Shen Congwen in his narrative works. As the idem identity,"Country Folk" contains inherently the behavior manner, the thinking model and the value direction which are generated by Shen Congwen in the specific historical-cultural context of the West of Hunan Province. However, such an identity hints "the destined tragedy" of the narrative psychology of Shen Congwen, because of its own marginality and laggardity in both physical and cultural space time. As the narrative identity, "Country Folk" is the identity generated gradually by Shen Congwen as "the other" of the civilization in the modern cities where he has been experiencing the impact of modernity. On one hand, such an identity puts up a crisis that is experienced by Shen Congwen in a different culture. On the other hand, this kind of crisis activates the cultural genes inherited by Shen Congwen which generates his literary ideal to try to exceed both the static and close culture in the West of Hunan Province and the lifeless civilization in the modern cities. By means of this literary ideal, Shen Congwen builds up the system and structure of meaning in his own narrative works .They are not only the kind of "Childlike Fantasy" to pursue ideal life and perfect humanity, but also the kind of "Permanent Solitude" which is formed by exceedingly literary imagination.There are three parts in the main content of this discussion. The first one is to ascend and hackle the life trace of Shen Congwen's identity construction. From the original life journey as "a Natural Man", to the idealized life pursuit as "an Intellectual", and finally to the identical life construction as "a Country Folk", Shen Congwen builds up a typical "Commitment Story" for himself. The second part learns through the revealed text of Shen Congwen's narrative psychology by close reading. The life images which regard "water" as the main carrier indicate his unique thinking on life and humanity. The life discourse which regards "love" as the main episode describes his literary request to perfect life and ideal human nature. The life philosophy which regards "God" as the nuclear theme delivers his expectation on the future of life. The third part further explores the cultural-psychological meaning of Shen Congwen's narratives. The literary imagination which is considered as "Childlike Fantasy" by him is as a result of the idem identity and the narrative identity combined together. Moreover, his "Permanent Solitude", refracted by the literary imagination, signifies the psychological picture of his feeling of cultural identity crisis and the marginalization of his literary ideal.