Shen FU： A New Man of His Time Review on Six Chapters of a Floating Life

Despite of the title， there are only four chapters in this book because two further chapters are missing or perhaps not completed. It is an extraordinary blend of autobiography， love story and social document written by Shen Fu， a litterateur in Qing Dynasty.

Shen Fu is a lucky man born in a scholars family when the country was in the heyday of peace. Following his fathers wish， he learns to deal with government affairs， but he is often out of work and hence makes a living by writing and painting sometimes. He writes first and foremost as a lover and an artist， recording his multi-faceted personal life， showing the readers his most precious memories.

Translated from classical Chinese to English by Lin Yutang， it is much easier for me to read. In the first chapter， “Wedded Bliss”， Shen Fu focuses on his happy marriage with Chen Yun. He depicts their trips， their homes and their conversations. The next chapter “The Little Pleasures of Life” is about their hobbies and pastimes： watching insects， chasing the toad， training pot flowers and composing poems with other scholars. The third chapter “Sorrow” deals with sorrows and hardships in their life such as illness， unemployment and financial woes. The last chapter “The Joys of Travel” is about Shen Fus travels around China， portraying splendid scenery and interesting people.

A main clue through the book is the romance between Shen Fu and Chen Yun. If you hold the opinion that arranged marriages have nothing to do with love， just read Shens story and you will find yourself totally wrong. Through their love story， I find Shen is kind of a “new” man in his time—he is not that conventional.

First of all， instead of regarding his wife only as someone who should take care of him and doing housework， Shen loves Yun from the bottom of his heart. He cares about Yuns feelings and wishes her happy. When they are young， Shen has already been struck by Yuns talent and appreciated her very much， thinking of her all the time. After their marriage， Shens love toward Yun does not decline. When Yun wants to enjoy a feast in the Narcissus Temple which is for men， instead of getting mad at her “not cultivating the feminine virtues”， Shen Fu suggests her disguising as a man so that she can go with him. It takes courage to come up with such an idea because it will be quite embarrassing if Yun is discovered by others or their parents. This shows Shen counted Yuns happiness more important than his reputation.

Second， he pays respect to his wife. In ancient China， including Qing Dynasty， the social status of female is much lower than that of male， and men and women are not equal in economy， politics and education. As a traditional woman， Yun accepts this reality， taking it for granted that she should count her husband more important than herself. However， Shen Fu never thinks that he， as a man， is superior to Yun. In his eyes， Yun is a charming girl with “quick intelligence and soft refinement” in spite of her slightly-inclined front teeth. He treats her like a close friend who can share with his hobbies and feelings. He respects her habits. Yun loves to eat “stinking bean-curd” and “small pickled cucumber”. Shen hates both these two things because of their stink. But he does not feel unhappy about this habit and much to my surprise， when Yun picks a piece of cucumber and sticks it into his mouth， he eats it！ Interestingly， from that time on， he loves it. He also respects her decisions. Even when Yun plans to take a concubine whom she appreciates and loves very much for him， he accepts. How could a man just obey his wife without any question on such an important thing？ The only explanation is that he loved her and respected her.

Apart from those happy moments， of course there are sorrows and hardships in their life. But Shen is always by Yuns side and never abandons her. The relationship between daughter-in-law and parents-in-law seems to be an everlasting problem for human beings. Every woman is headache about it. Yun is no exception. She incurs displeasure of her parents-in-law one after another. After totally misunderstood by her father-in-law， Yun is dismissed from home. Shen writes a letter of apology to his father immediately and explains the whole matter but in vain. Cornered， he takes Yun to his friends home. He accompanies her， looks after her when she is ill and comforts her when she is sad. Is this just the responsibility of a husband？ In Qing Dynasty， if the wife is considered doing something wrong， even when she is not the one to blame， the husband is supposed to divorce her. However， Shen Fu， who is a dutiful son， goes against his parents will and stays with Yun， putting himself in an embarrassing position between parents and wife. During their wandering life， Shen is always busy running for Yuns illness. Although leading a hard life， he never thinks of abandoning her.

Going through all kinds of trouble， Yun finally dies of illness. She is lucky enough to marry such a “new” man but her tragedy is inevitable in that time. Of course Shen is not perfect. He lives in male-centered feudal society after all. After Yun's death， he once keeps a quite close relationship with a young girl whose figure and expression resembles Yuns， and has great time with her. But at the same time he says he misses Yun. This makes me confused. Except this， he is still a good husband.

Sometimes I am surprised by Shen's amazing memory. How does he remember those tiny things of life in detail？ This reminds me of my grandfather. All the trivial things we done together come to my mind， after his passing away. And I thought them was boring. It is said that we learn to cherish things only after we lose them. So try to cherish everything you own and every moment with people you love， from now on.

作者簡介：

謝君君（1996.11--），女，浙江省溫州人，杭州師范大學英語（師范）專業(yè) 本科生