Abstract: According to the consensus in academic circles,modern sociology originated in the post-French Revolution Europe in the 19th century. From Henri Saint-Simon, Auguste Comte, to Herbert Spencer, sociologists were committed to building a united and organic society by focusing on enlightenment, social structure and history. Until 魪mil Durkheim put forward the idea of "society as sui generis" or "sacred society", did it begin the development of sociology as an independent discipline. Nevertheless, we rarely noticed the contribution made by novelists such as Stendhal,Honoré de Balzac, Gustave Flaubert and others, who were contemporary with Auguste Comte, the founder of sociology. Their works explore the profound human nature, show life's joys and sorrows, and illuminate the morality and customs of the society. Among them, The Red and the Black is undoubtedly an epoch-making pioneering work. From Friedrich Nietzsche's instinctive revolution to Jean-Paul Sartre's existential revolution, Julien Sorel's conquest story in The Red and the Black has always played the role of archetype. For Nietzsche and Sartre, Stendhal is not only the originator and contemporaneous person of the spiritual revolution in Europe in the 19th century, but also the forerunner of the times. With the increasing rigidity of European civilization, Julien's conquest story inspires later thinkers to break the iron cage and constantly reconstruct their modern self-consciousness and self-attitude towards society, history and civilization. As a result, The Red and the Black never loses its reference value to social theories and cultural studies. With this in mind, the author offers a close examination of Julien's epic journey of conquest against the background of the 19th century Europe, and a recognition of a possibility of renewing our own life as illustrated by Stendhal.

Key words: Julien Sorel, conquer, will to power, imagination, history, god