Abstract: This article holds that the ferryboat in the novel A Small Town on the Borde rland serves not only as a symbol, but also as an image of a certain prototype. As the bearer leading to the other side of the world, it corresponds to the narration of the plot in this story. And through the vivid port rayal in this novel,  it embodies the prototype of a certain culture: the culture of honesty and goodness, in which an imperfection is indicated with the employment of the image of a ferryboat. In this sense, the novel gives a netaphyical character to the ferryboat , thus revealing the natural state of human existence.

Key words: Shen Congwen, A Small Town on the Borderland, ferryboat, the other shore