The Tangled Relationship Between Humans and Ghosts: An Analysis of Lu Xun's Novels

Author: (Japanese) Maruo Tsuneki / Country:
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: During the "Roaring" period, Lu Xun voluntarily sacrificed himself to save the crisis of extinction and annihilation of the nation. This was the will to strictly restrain personal development and even dedicate his precious life in order to maintain the continuity of the nation's species. This means self-repressing the "once-in-a-lifetime" nature of life for the sake of the "continuity of life." The concepts of "continuity of life" and "once-in-a-lifetime" are temporal and historical, and of course, they have a deep connection with the spatial and social concepts of "commonality of life" and "individuality of life." The term "continuity of life" might be easier to understand as "chain of life." An individual's life is just one link in a long chain of human, national, or family life, just as an individual cannot be separated from society. However, an individual's life cannot be repeated, just as an individual's life is irreplaceable by others. Observing the life of a salmon can help one understand the intense contradiction between the "continuity of life" and the "once-in-a-lifetime" nature of life. Salmon living in the sea swim back to their birthplace to reproduce. But when they have offspring, it is also the time when they lose their own lives. Some people say: as animals evolve and gradually progress to higher forms, this contradiction gradually softens (Tamiya Takashi, What is Education?). Today, humans can be considered to have somewhat softened this contradiction. However, traditional societies still repress their "once-in-a-lifetime" nature quite severely for the sake of the "continuity of life." Even in modern society, crises such as the suffering of children or war cannot help but intensify this contradiction. The historical era in which Lu Xun lived was precisely this transitional period of intense contradiction. Compared to other intellectuals of his time, Lu Xun was a very strong-willed individual. If Lu Xun had not been so strong-willed, his achievements would not have existed. But perhaps it is precisely because of this that Lu Xun faithfully embodied and practiced his aforementioned "theory of evolution." However, during the "Hesitation" period, Lu Xun's "theory of evolution" gradually disintegrated, and the suppressed "once-in-a-lifetime" nature of life began to struggle and groan in search of a breakthrough. The contradiction between Lu Xun's "humanitarianism" and "individualism" is Lu Xun expressing this phenomenon in another form of language. I believe that Wild Grass uses rich and varied imagery to portray the internal conflict and distress of Lu Xun, reflecting the collapse of his original self-restraint and the continuity of his rebirth toward new ideas in a very strong poetic form. Among them, The Trembling of the Frayed Thread (1925), is a poem where Lu Xun crystallizes the intense pain and struggle he experienced when his "theory of evolution" disintegrated. It consists of two dreams told consecutively by "I," each depicting the image of a widow in two different eras. In the first dream, "I" sees a young widow in a dilapidated house selling her body to support her children. This image of the widow in the dilapidated house conveys what is in Lu Xun's inner world? As mentioned earlier, Lu Xun's "spirit of self-sacrifice" was one of the elements that constituted his "theory of evolution," and this "self-sacrifice" was supported by a deep-seated sense of "shame" he felt as a child of tradition. The life he later recalled—"How could it not have been voluntary? On the road of life, I dripped blood drop by drop to feed others, though I gradually grew weaker, I considered it joyful" (Letters Between Two Places·Volume 95, 1926)—is the embodiment of this determination: "carrying the heavy burden of tradition, I shouldered the dark gate and let them go to a broad and bright place." This is also related to his sense of "shame." However, when this way of life later encountered various obstacles and cracks in his entire mode of existence, looking back could only condense into this image of a mother enduring shame. P352-353