Selected Essays of Lu Xun

Author: Lu Xun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: Three years ago, I met a neurotic Russian named Mr. E. One day, he suddenly fretted that future scientists might invent a marvelous drug that, when injected into someone, would make them willingly become machines for servitude and war. At that time, I frowned and sighed, feigning shared worry to show my agreement, only to discover that our Chinese sage-kings, wise ministers, sages, and followers of sages had long had this ideal of a golden world. Isn’t it "Only the sovereign creates blessings, only the sovereign creates authority, only the sovereign enjoys jade and food"? Isn’t it "The noble labors with the mind, the petty labors with the body"? Isn’t it "Those who govern eat the governed, and those who govern are eaten by the governed"? Unfortunately, though the theory is already brilliant, it has yet to yield a perfect method. To obey authority one must not live; to offer jade and food one must not die; to be governed one must not live; and to support the governors one must not die. It is indeed praiseworthy that humans have risen to the status of the most noble of all creatures, but without the stinger of the wasp, it poses a great challenge to the sage-kings, wise ministers, sages, followers of sages, as well as the rich and famous, scholars, and educators of today. The future is uncertain, but the past shows that even though those who govern have exhausted all means of stupefaction, they have still failed to achieve complete success, lagging behind the humble bee in their efforts. Even regarding the imperial class, it is inevitable that dynasties would change frequently, and none could achieve "a thousand years of virtuous rule." The existence of the "Twenty-Four Histories," numbering twenty-four volumes, serves as a tragic testament to this.
Now, it seems there is a new twist. A so-called "special knowledge class" of students has emerged, who, after researching in their laboratories, claim that underdeveloped medicine is beneficial for human improvement and that the status of Chinese women is extremely equal. They assert that all principles are correct and all conditions are already sufficient. Perhaps Mr. E’s worry is not entirely unfounded. However, Russia is not in danger, for they lack what we call "special national conditions" and a "special knowledge class." But this work, too, may ultimately prove as ineffective as that of the ancients, for it is far more difficult than what the wasp accomplishes. She need only sting the caterpillar once, targeting only the motor ganglia, to succeed. But our task requires the subject to move yet be insensate, requiring complete anesthesia of the central nervous system. Once perception is lost, movement loses its control, and thus the ability to offer jade and food, and to present them to the "supreme peak" from the "special knowledge class" for enjoyment, is lost.
As for the present, I believe that apart from the elders’ methods of adhering to the classics and the sages, the scholars’ doctrine of immersing themselves in laboratories, the writers and tea stall owners’ prohibition on discussing national affairs, and the educators’ doctrine of "not seeing, not hearing, not speaking, not moving," there is no better, more complete, or more free of flaws method. Even the special findings of the students have not gone beyond the scope of the ancients. Then, perhaps we must "seek the lost rites among the barbarians." The barbarians—now temporarily referred to as foreigners—do they have a better method? Regrettably, they do not. Their methods still involve prohibiting gatherings and silencing voices, not much different from ours. Yet this also shows that the highest principles and virtues are shared by all, transcending the distinctions between civilization and barbarism.
Wild beasts are solitary, while cattle and sheep travel in herds. A herd of wild bulls can form a circle with their horns to defend against enemies, but if one is pulled out,