"Back to the Past (Revised Edition)"

Author: Lu Xun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1979-12-01
Features: Lu Xun (1881-1936), a writer, thinker, and revolutionary. Originally named Zhou Zhangshou, he styled himself Yucai and later changed his name to Shuren. He was from Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Born into a declining scholar-official family, Lu Xun began using the pen name "Lu Xun" in 1918 when he published "A Madman's Diary." In 1898, he studied in Nanjing, and in 1902, he went to Japan for medical studies. Later, he felt that curing the numb spirit of the nation was more important than treating physical ailments, so he switched careers to advocate for cultural movements. In 1909, he returned to China and taught at middle schools in Hangzhou and Shaoxing. In 1912, he moved to Beijing and worked at the Ministry of Education, concurrently serving as a lecturer at Peking University and Beijing Normal Women's University. In 1918, he joined the editorial team of "New Youth" and published a vernacular short story titled "A Madman's Diary" in the magazine. He later wrote famous novels such as "" (Kong Yiji), "" (Medicine), and "Q" (The True Story of Ah Q), as well as numerous essays and critiques of old ideas and morals, becoming one of the pioneers of the New Culture Movement. In 1923, he published the novel collection "" (A Call to Arms), which became a foundational work of modern Chinese literature. From August 1926, he successively taught at Xiamen University and Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. In October 1927, he settled in Shanghai and devoted himself to literary writing, participating in the organization of the Chinese Left-Wing Writers League, becoming the de facto leader and symbol of the Left-Wing cultural movement. During the struggle against the Nationalist Party's cultural "encirclement," he became a great figure in China's cultural revolution. During his lifetime, he published three novel collections, two essay collections, fifteen essay collections, one collection of correspondence, and two works on literary history. Lu Xun also made significant contributions to translating foreign literature and compiling Chinese classics.
"A Gathering of Flowers in the Evening" recounts the author's childhood life and his youth as a student, recalling unforgettable people and events, and expressing nostalgia for his former friends and teachers. The work critiques and satirizes reactionary and conservative forces through a mix of narration and commentary. The short story "Dogs, Cats, and Mice" was inspired by attacks from "gentlemen" and satirizes the "rumors" they spread, expressing hatred for cats' tendencies to torment the weak, their constant yowling, and their fawning behavior at times. It recalls the experience and feelings of rescuing a beloved mouse as a child, which was later destroyed, showing sympathy for the weak and hatred for the cruel. "Ah Q and the Mountain and Sea Classics" describes the author's childhood interactions with his nanny, Ah Chang, portraying her kind, simple, yet superstitious and talkative personality, as well as her respect and gratitude for her efforts to find and gift him the illustrated "Mountain and Sea Classics" he longed for. The essay uses heartfelt language to express genuine remembrance of this working-class woman. "The Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars" discusses children's books of the time and recalls the author's childhood reading of "The Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars," revealing the hypocrisy and cruelty of feudal filial piety. The work focuses on analyzing stories like "Sleeping on Ice to Catch Carp," "OldAmusing His Parents," and "Guo Zhu Burying His Son," condemning such feudal piety for disregarding children's lives, treating vulgarity as amusement, and distorting ethics, thereby misleading the past and corrupting the future. The essay also delivers a sharp critique of the trend at the time that opposed vernacular literature and advocated for a return to traditional culture. "The Five Demon Festivals" recounts the author's childhood excitement and anticipation for the temple fairs, contrasted with his disappointment and pain when forced by his father to recite "The Mirror of Governance." It highlights how feudal education suppressed and destroyed children's natural inclinations. "The Ghost of Justice" describes the "Ghost of Justice" seen in rural temple fairs and on theater stages, explaining why this "ghost-like but human, rational yet emotional" figure was beloved by the people—it was because justice was absent in the human world, and evil people did not receive punishment, while "true justice resided in the afterlife." The essay satirizes those who claimed to uphold "justice" and "reason" under the guise of "gentlemen" through narration and commentary. "From the Hermit's Garden to the Three Flavor Study" describes the joy the author experienced in the hermit's garden as a child and the tedious life of studying at the Three Flavor Study, revealing the sharp contradiction between the broad interests of children and the restrictive feudal education. It expresses the reasonable demand for children to grow up healthy and lively. "My Father's Illness" recalls the author's childhood efforts to find a doctor for his father, describing the behavior, methods, and prescriptions of several "doctors," exposing their lack of distinction between medicine and sorcery, their pretense of knowledge, their extortion of money, and their indifference to human lives.