ABSTRACT
In 1981, the Hunan People’s Publishing House issued a collection of Mr. Shen’s essays. Except for two pieces, “Material for a Fairy Tale” and “Twenty Minutes at Zhangba Stockade,” 1 the content is works he wrote in the 1930s: Congwen’s Autobiography, Discursive Notes on a Trip through Hunan, and West Hunan. When Shen wrote these essays, he was in his 30s. Today [1982] it is more than half a century later. I mention this merely to highlight the time that has passed, not so much to express any regrets. Forty years ago, when Mr. Shen and I visited a library, we stood before the stacks and stacks of books and Mr. Shen said: “When I see that so many people have written so many books, I really don’t feel like writing any more of my own!” Since time immemorial, so many people have written so many books. Their fates ebb and flow; their fortunes rise and fall. Who can explain why? But when an author has been forgotten for so many years, and now, suddenly, his books are published again, I cannot help pondering this question: What historical or practical meaning does this sudden reemergence have? This relates to today’s readers, especially to the development of the character, aesthetics, and linguistic education of young people. Are these works useful to them? If so, how useful?
