From The Geographical Homeland. "lost" Ideal Home "seek Not

As one of the main representative of Beijing-based writers,Shen Congwen,from the first moment of his fictioneering,has presented to his readers the magical land of West Hunan that has since then taken on various appearances in his novels. Proceeding from the different appearances his hometown of West Hunan has taken on in his novels rolled out at different times,this article runs back over his whole production process in a bid to redefine his contribution to the evolution of Chinese literature.This article is comprised of six sections organized in two parts. In the first part consisting of four sections,the article comments on Shen Congwen's different phases of production of his country novels. In the last two sections,it explores his significant contribution to the evolution of modern country literature in ChinaSection 1:acute disappointment in real life and reminiscence of his hometown in his dreams - remembrance of his native land at his earlier stage of novel production. In this section,the article concentrates on the influence of the traditional culture and urbanism on his novel production,and holds the view that his novels produced at the earlier stage of his production stand out as presentation of some unique folk customs and traditions and national scenes,and objective but affectionate reminiscence of his hometown.Section 2:the lost "native land". The article focuses on the accumulated tension generated from the alteration in the social environment and his individual life that turns his attention again to his native land to review with new philosophies and conceptions the West Human. As in the novel of Baizi produced in 1928,Shen Congwen,instead of throwing a tribute to his native land as he had done in his earlier novels,attached much consideration to the living environment and the temperament of the West Hunan residents,which indicates that some transformation has been brought on his philosophies of novel production. And his native land that is shrouded with brilliance in his earlier novels has fallen into his disfavor.Section 3:endless pursuit of ideal hometown. With his native land out of his favor,Shen Congwen who has much affection in his heart for hometown starts on his pursuit of an ideal hometown in his novels out of which stands the novel of After Rain in which he traced out with considerable enthusiasm his ideal hometown. However,his conservative and illiberal temperament his hometown of West Hunan had branded on him had turned him against keeping abreast of new trends of development. He therefore had to seek his ideal hometown with his parochial and limited conception of hometown. The novel in which hisendless pursuit of ideal hometown culminated is the novelette of City on the Border written in 1934.Section 4:"ideal hometown" that is far from his expectations. The purpose of Shen Congwen in his endless pursuit of "ideal hometown" lies in conserving and developing the humanism as one of the ethnic virtues. Humanism stands out as the pillar of the massive mansion of "ideal hometown".Section 5 and 6:with considerable attention attached to the much favor the countryside novels of Shen Congwen have found among readers in recent years and the reason behind it,the article details to a substantial measure a multitude of new additions Shen Congwen has brought into the evolution of China's modern country literature. It is nothing but his endless pursuit of traditional cultures and unique contribution to arts that has shoved the country novels of Shen Congwen into the favor of a substantive number of readers after decades of isolation.