Listen to your soul

Author: Li Shiqi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Mao Zedong's understanding of Lu Xun began with continuously reading Lu Xun's profound and uniquely styled essays during the New Culture Movement and May Fourth Movement. His deeper understanding of Lu Xun himself came through the Party's literary workers who worked in Shanghai. According to Comrade Feng Xuefeng's recollection, in late 1933, after he arrived at the Central Soviet Region of Ruijin, Comrade Mao Zedong often sought him out to discuss Lu Xun. "On several occasions, he said, 'Tonight, let's not talk about anything else, let's just talk about Lu Xun, shall we?' Comrade Mao had known Lu Xun long ago. He once told me with regret, 'During the May Fourth Movement in Beijing, I met Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, and Zhou Zuoren, who were involved in new literature, but I never met Lu Xun.'” This fully demonstrates Comrade Mao Zedong's admiration for Lu Xun. Another time, Feng Xuefeng told Comrade Mao Zedong that a Japanese person said there were only two and a half people in China who truly understood China: one was Jiang Jieshi, one was Lu Xun, and half was Mao Zedong. "Comrade Mao laughed heartily upon hearing this and then said thoughtfully, 'This Japanese person is not simple. He thinks Lu Xun understands China, and that is correct.'" This shows that Comrade Mao Zedong respected Lu Xun's research on China's issues. Feng Xuefeng also told Comrade Mao Zedong that Lu Xun had read his poems and thought they had the spirit of a "mountain king." Upon hearing this, Comrade Mao Zedong also burst into laughter. This laughter reflects the mutual understanding between the two great figures. Comrade Mao Zedong admired, respected, and deeply understood Lu Xun, paying close attention to leveraging Lu Xun's unique role in the struggle. In the Central Soviet Region of Ruijin, when people discussed the candidates for the Central Soviet Government, Bo Gu and others thought Lu Xun could be appointed as the Education Commissar. Upon hearing this, Comrade Mao Zedong opposed it, saying, "Of course, Lu Xun has a greater impact outside." By the end of 1935, after the Wuyao Conference, the Party proposed the policy of the Anti-Japanese National United Front. When sending people to promote this policy to the literary circles in Shanghai, Comrade Mao Zedong instructed Feng Xuefeng and others to first do the work of Comrade Lu Xun. Lu Xun himself did a great deal of effective work in promoting the Party's policies. Regarding Lu Xun's works, Comrade Mao Zedong had always loved reading them. According to comrades who worked with Comrade Mao Zedong, during the Liberation War, while fighting through northern Shaanxi, the combat life was very tense, and many things, including essential daily necessities, were discarded. However, the works of Marx and Engels, Lu Xun's works, and a copy of the "Cihai" dictionary were always kept with him. After the liberation, Comrade Mao Zedong still read the "Complete Works of Lu Xun" over and over again and constantly recommended them to cadres and the masses. Undoubtedly, Lu Xun's profound and unique insights into Chinese history, culture, and national character inspired him, and his superb linguistic artistry brought him artistic enjoyment. Amid the tense battle life of leading the Chinese revolution, Comrade Mao Zedong extensively learned about Lu Xun, made time to read his works, conducted serious research on Lu Xun, and quickly made a scientific evaluation of him. On October 19, 1937, the Yan'an Shaanxi Public School held a memorial meeting for the first anniversary of Lu Xun's death, and Comrade Mao Zedong delivered a speech titled "On Lu Xun." He corrected the shallow view that Lu Xun was merely a literary figure, reminding people to "understand his role in the history of the Chinese revolution."