The Flames Of The Candles Of Life - Shen From The Text And Lawrence Compared

In their respective works, both Shen Congwen and Lawrence reveal their concern over the progress of human civilization, express their strong sense of life and the ultimate care for the nation and human beings. They both show questioning and critical attitude to industrial civilization, holding that modern civilization distorts humanity; they both investigate philosophically human life forms, maintaining that life is formed with and displayed in "the combination of man and nature", love, sex and death; and they both actively involve in the pursuit of way-out for the salvation of the nation and the human belong to, the two writers are significantly different in their criticism to civilization, understanding of life and their anticipation of "the ideal nation" . In his works, Shen Congwen fabricates two completely different works of the country and the city, aiming to inject vitality into the old and senile nation with the overflowing vigor of the country people to realize rebirth of the nation. Lawrence, on the other hand ,reiterates the view that "the blood and flesh are smarter than the mind" , hopes that the son of the nature could wake the humanity of Scotland damaged by mechanical civilization with the vitality of the sun,so that the harmonious relation between man and woman could be restored, the split " self" perfected and the nation and the human recreated. Though their criticism of the industrial civilization to a certain extent lacks historical and rational considerations thus seems somewhat biased and partial, their understanding of life and anticipation of human future make their works applicable to the modern world, going beyond the regional borders and the times, arousing similar feelings in the communication with the world.