"Border City" is a masterpiece by Mr. Shen Congwen, published in 1934, the novel describes the tortuous love story of the two sons of the general of the Shancheng Chatong Wharf Regiment, Tianbao and Cuicui, the granddaughter of the ferryman. In the remote town of xiangxi with beautiful scenery and simple human feelings, there lives such a peculiar family, the old boatman and granddaughter Cuicui who make a living by ferry.
At the grand event of the Dragon Boat Race in the Dragon Boat Festival, Cuicui met Wu Yu and buried a hazy girlish feeling in her heart. His brother Tianbao also likes Cuicui and asks the old boatman to ask for affection. The two brothers are in love with Cuicui, and they meet to sing and propose, letting Cuicui choose. Tianbao knew that Cuicui liked to send gifts, and in order to complete his brother, he went out to run into the beach and died in an accident. Feeling responsible for his brother's death, he left Cuicui and fled. Grandpa was worried about Cuicui's marriage and died on a stormy night, leaving Cuicui alone to guard the ferry, obsessively waiting for the return of the maid.
"Border City" expresses the beauty of human nature by expressing the pure love between young men and women, the sincere love between grandchildren, and the kindness and mutual love between neighbors. For example, the old boatman and the ship general manager, they all have the qualities of the elderly's generosity and benevolence, fish justice and righteousness, but because of their life experience, social status, and personality characteristics, their performance is different. As far as the kindness of the parents is concerned, the performance of the old boatman is the meticulous care and consideration for the granddaughter, and the performance of the ship manager is the strict demand for the son's every move; as far as generosity and righteousness are concerned, the old boatman is mainly manifested as benevolence to others, and the boat general is mainly manifested as the chivalry of helping others. Finally, through the tragedy of love between Cuicui and Wu, we will dilute the darkness and pain of reality, and sing a simple humanity and way of life that symbolizes "love" and "beauty".