Lu Xun's Restlessness and Roars, Soaring and Despair

Author: Chen Jing (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features:
The greatest quality of Lu Xun is a "sympathy for their misfortune and anger at their lack of struggle." Seeing endless suffering, he felt "sympathy"; seeing suffering without progress, he felt "anger." In an era dominated by "individualism," such a mindset was criticized. Others' "misfortune" was none of his concern, and he could choose not to "sympathize." Others' "lack of struggle" was none of his concern, and he could choose not to "anger." Lu Xun's entire life was lived in a complex "complex" of alternating "sympathy" and "anger," sometimes bowing his head, sometimes frowning fiercely, sometimes willingly becoming a "nursing cow," and sometimes coldly facing "thousands of fingers." He seemed to be the most criticized person, with at least a hundred people being named and cursed by him, and about two to thirty important figures engaged in "combat" with him. He cursed Zhang Shizhao's ideology and personality, cursed Hu Shi's certain remarks and actions, cursed Chen Yuan (Xiliang) for serving warlords, cursed Xu Zhimo's poetry, cursed Yang Yinyu's "Normal School Windstorm," cursed Liang Shiqiu for lacking "class consciousness"—he could curse whoever he wanted, and the more he cursed, the greater he became. He was regarded as the "founder of new literature," the "pioneer of ideological revolution," the "authority in thought," the "people's writer," the "national soul," the "pioneer and model of modern Chinese fiction," a "long-lasting evergreen tree in the literary world that withstood wind, thunder, and axe blows," a "great litterateur, great thinker, and great revolutionary," and the "most correct, brave, determined, loyal, and enthusiastic unprecedented national hero." He seemed to be cursed the most, from being called "not a revolutionary" to "Lu Xun visiting prostitutes," with various forms of criticism. His "revolutionary" identity was questioned, "had little revolutionary behavior," "had not truly engaged in underground activities," and "was not a revolutionary." His "thinker" identity was questioned, "lacking profound philosophical thinking," "lacking distant issues," and "only having scattered miscellanies without a system." His private life was questioned, "an enjoyer of sexual environments," "having improper living habits," and "looking like Confucius in appearance but also engaging in visiting prostitutes." He was regarded as a person who "spread rumors" and "shot cold arrows," a person who "immediately constructed the faults of others" upon writing, "not citing out of context, but fabricating facts," a person "wearing a paper-maché authority's false crown into a state of physical and mental illness," a person "wandering between the light and dark of art and fame," a person "mentally," "personally base," "a petty person," "a remnant of feudalism," "a fascist wearing white gloves," "a dualistic counter-revolutionary figure," and "lacking large-scale literary efforts."
Reasons to Read This Book:
Yu Dafu said: "A nation without great figures is the most pitiful group of creatures in the world. A country with great figures but not knowing how to support, admire, and revere them is a slave country with no hope. Because of Lu Xun's death, people became aware that the nation could still achieve something; and because of Lu Xun's death, people saw that China was still a very slave-like and half-despairing country." Li Chang said: "If judged by a specialized academic mindset, he was fundamentally a nihilist. He often said he couldn't be sure whether something was right or wrong, and he was somewhat vague about how to walk the right path."
Recommended for the following groups to read this book:
Scholars or enthusiasts of modern Chinese history, scholars or enthusiasts of modern Chinese literature, supporters or critics of Lu Xun, scholars or enthusiasts of biographical literature, and students at all levels.