ABSTRACT
Shen Congwen (1902–1988) was born into a military family in a remote area in western Hunan. He was in the army and later engaged in literary creation and became a writer. Perhaps it is because of his unique path among modern Chinese writers 1 that Shen Congwen maximizes the potential of the autobiographical form. Congwen zizhuan (Congwen’s autobiography) 2 recounts to us the first two decades of the author’s life. Although autobiography does not appear to be as rare in non-Western cultures as one French critic has claimed, 3 it is undeniable that this book is a rare example in Chinese autobiographical literature, because its documentary value does not detract from its poetry.
