Chinese 503 (OSU)

Shi Zhecun (1905-)

-1905 born Hangzhou
-1913-19 schooling in Songjiang
-by 1919 has started to send vernacular poems to such journals as Minguo ribao and Juewu
-1921 meets Dai Wangshu, Du Heng, Zhang Tianyi, etc in Hangzhou where they organize Lan she (The orchid society) and put out a journal called Lan you (Friends of orchids) with Dai Wangshu as editor; publishes mainly old style poetry and stories
-starts sending stories to Saturday (Libailiu), Banyue, and Xingqi (the major Butterfly lit journals)
-enters Zhijiang University in Hangzhou
-1922 starts to be published by above journals
-kicked out of school for participating in the Non-religious Alliance (fei zongjiao da tongmeng)
-goes to Shanghai with Dai Wangshu, enters Shanghai University Chinese dep't and becomes close with Mao Dun
-1923 Du Heng and Ye Qiuyuan (Hu Qiuyuan?) enter Shanghai U.
-publishes first short story collection Jianggan ji (23 stories)
-1924 enters Datong U., Dai Wangshu enters French Dep't of Zhendan U.
-1926 with Du Heng enters Zhendan U. French dep't
-start a small periodical
-enter Communist Youth League
-1927 after the April 12 Incident returns to Songjiang with Dai Wangshu, teaches
-1928 publishes "Juanzi" in Xiaoshuo yuebao, marks beginning as "modern" writer
-with Feng Xuefeng, Du Heng and Dai Wangshu found Wenxue gongchang supporter withdraws financial support when he realizes the leftist nature of the writings
-marriage attended by Ding Ling, Hu Yepin, Feng Xuefeng ...
-1929 publishes collection Zhui (Pursuit)
-works for Shuimo shudian
-edits the Ming novel Xiyou pu
-collection Shang yuan deng
-translates novel by Scott? (Sir Walter?)
-1932 set up Xiandai shuju and Xiandai (Les Contemporaines)
-actively involved in editorial work with this important non-aligned journal
-Spent the remainder of his life in teaching

"One Rainy Evening in Spring"

Questions to ponder

1. What is the story about?

2. Compare the story to previous texts we have read?

3. In formal, literary terms, how can this be seen as a "modernist" text?

4. In thematic terms, how is it modernist?

5. What are the psychological dynamics in this story?