Shen Congwen’s Literary Thought and the Development of Chinese Modern Literature

This study presents a reflection on Chinese literature at the beginning of the 20th century, prompted by an examination of the nonfiction works written by Shen Congwen. ¹ Shen Congwen wrote between the 1920s and 1940s and was driven by his conviction that literature might change China’s future. At a particularly delicate moment of Chinese history, noted for its escalation of Marxist aesthetic theories, he concentrated on issues such as originality, creativity, and imagination, without which he felt literary works could not be produced. He encouraged young authors to carry out research on style and experimentation in order to create a new body of literature and a new poetical language.