Abstract: Modernity is an important academic concept in the field of humanity research. And SHEN Congwen was a
very special writer in the modern history of Chinese literature. His thought had complicated factors. He was deeply influenced by Chu Culture as well as Taoism and modernity factors. All these resulted in his dilemma among various and even contradicto- ry thoughts and in search for his own world at the edge or in crack. Accordingly, the examination of SHEN’s creation from a modernity perspective is of great help for us to have better understanding of his writing and thought.