On Shen Cong-wen’s Melancholy Aesthetics

On the whole, Shen Cong-wen’s works present a melancholy aesthetic characteristic. In the early period from 1924 to1933, his works were filled with personal melancholy, presented in a straightforward and humorous manner, integrating discussion and lyrical into a narrative. In the middle period from 1933 to 1938, mainly by means of the novel, prose and other forms, he expressed his subjectivity thought of society, personnel, culture and history dignified depression.Melancholy aesthetics perfected him but it also limited him, because some of his works in the 1940s revealed this sign. To some extent, Shen Cong-wen was forced to give up writing after 1949, which was actually not a regrettable thing.