Abstract:

In modern history of Chinese travel literature, SHEN Cong-wen’s travel notes are unique and characteristic. Compared with his travelogue in Xiangxi, the notes during his stay in Kunming are rarely discussed. In a homeless predicament, SHEN’s travel notes in this period include not only rich and vibrant elaboration of “the concrete”, but also the super organic thought of “the abstract”. Hence they create an aesthetic realm characterized by the fusion of poetry and philosophy. In the contact with nature and struggles in life, SHEN gradually got out of difficulties and finally committed himself to the divinity of life. His experience of the ontological exploration of life reveals the possible depth and altitude of modern travel notes.