The Language Art and Tragic Beauty of Shen Congwen’s Border Town

Abstract

As Shen Congwen’s representative work, Border Town was published in the 1930s. This work has a beautiful writing style, showcases unique local customs and ideal human beauty, and occupies a unique position in the history of Chinese literature. After nearly a century, it still receives high attention from the academic community and support from readers. Its literary value can withstand the test of time. The work Border Town has rich exploratory value. This article mainly analyzes the literary value of Border Town from two aspects. On the one hand, the language art of Border Town, which is the concentrated embodiment of the author Shen Congwen’s talent and the key to touching people’s hearts in this work. This article will deeply analyze how the work constructs poetic words that touch people’s hearts from the shaping of the environment and the psychological details of the characters. On the other hand, the tragic beauty of Border Town is reflected in the tragic love story between Cuicui and Nuosong, the tragic life story of her grandfather, and the tragedy of the author’s creation not being accepted by the times. This article will explore how the work creates a lingering and tragic atmosphere from these perspectives. The research ultimately proves that Border Town is a work that transcends the times and has research and aesthetic value, worthy of repeated reading and exploration.