Lu Xun (1881-1936), whose real name was Zhou Zhangshou, also named Yushan, was later changed to Zhou Shuren, also named Hecai. A native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang. In 1902, he went to Japan to study and initially studied medicine. Later, because he was determined to reform the national spirit, he gave up medicine and studied literature. During his lifetime, Lu Xun created nearly 4 million words, translated more than 5 million words, and compiled nearly 600,000 words of ancient books. Lu Xun's works have been translated into more than fifty languages ??including English, Japanese, Russian, French and German.
Lu Xun's articles are permeated with a refreshing and endless aftertaste of perceptual beauty. Lu Xun was the first great writer in the history of Chinese new literature who most profoundly reflected the tragic fate of farmers and raised issues about farmers. From a people-oriented standpoint, he brought the peasants, the main body of the Chinese people, together with their tattered clothes, sad faces and painful souls, into the literary palace that has long been occupied by emperors, generals, talented men and beauties. In Lu Xun's works, we see not only the middle-aged Runtu who was tortured by soldiers, bandits, officials and gentry until he turned into a puppet, but also the smart, simple and selfless rural teenagers like Shuangxi and Afa. These works by Lu Xun, filled with a rich earthy flavor, laid a solid foundation for modern Chinese local literature.
In Lu Xun's works that reflect the lower class characters, his deliberate descriptions are not those carefree moans of sympathy. He always closely connects the living reality with the cruel feudal system and the bad nature of the Chinese people, and uses reality to Small things in the novel depict major social issues. For example, Kong Yiji in "Kong Yiji" is a lower-class intellectual who was fooled and even destroyed by the imperial examination system, and he is also a pitiful figure who cannot wake up and is ridiculed by others. It leaves people with a sad, lamentable and vivid character image, which makes readers think deeply. Similarly, "A Little Thing" inspires intellectuals to face their own dark sides, learn from the "humble people" who are covered in dirt but are upright and selfless, and seek hope and strength from them.
Lu Xun's works reveal the rational beauty that inspires people to make progress and shines with the glory of the times. Lu Xun has been committed to the transformation of Chinese national character since his stay in Japan. The works in "Scream" and "Wandering" are artistic practices that transform the national soul. For example, in "Kong Yiji", Lu Xun reflected "society's indifference to the suffering people" through the contrast between the laughter of the drinkers and the tragic fate of the protagonist. "Medicine" reflects the loneliness and sorrow of the revolutionaries of 1911 caused by the ignorance of the people. "Public Display" reveals the numbness of their souls through group portraits of eighteen people on the streets of Shoushan District. In "The True Story of Ah Q", which gained worldwide reputation, Lu Xun integrated the spiritual weaknesses of almost the entire nation, especially the "spiritual victory method", into the image of Ah Q, an unconscious and backward peasant, thus completing a It is a spiritual model with high aesthetic value that contains complex thoughts and social psychology.
Lu Xun's works achieve the purpose of visualization through vivid details. For example, in "Miscellaneous Talks after Illness", he vividly depicts the self-deception and ugly behavior of those gentlemen who want to be both compassionate and eat beef: "A gentleman must eat beef, but he is compassionate and cannot bear to see the death of a cow." He would be jealous, so he walked away, waited until the steak was cooked, and then chewed it slowly. The steak would never be "gambled", and the compassion would no longer conflict, so he felt at ease, full of joy, and chewy. Teeth, touch belly, 'Everything is ready for me'."
Lu Xun was a true, severe realist. He always adheres to the basic principles of realism and is particularly good at reflecting major social issues through ordinary trivial matters. At the same time, Lu Xun never mechanically adhered to the characteristics and styles that had been formed by the realism of his predecessors in his creation. Lu Xun lived in an era of alternation between the old and the new, and valuable things were often destroyed in reality. Therefore, Lu Xun's works, especially his novels, are deeply tragic and generally present a melancholy style. However, when exposing the depravity of the upper class and the weakness of the national character, the writer's talent for satire and humor is irrepressibly revealed, making the tragic and comic elements in these works penetrate and transform each other. After readers come into contact with the tragic, dirty, and morbid reality described by Lu Xun, they are not pessimistic and disappointed, but instead arouse deep thinking and attention to therapeutic effects.
Lu Xun’s works are a perfect whole that closely connects reality and ideals. He not only deeply criticized the cruelty of the dark feudal society, but also affectionately expressed the beautiful ideals of mankind, but it is by no means an illusory utopian surreal ideal. For example, he wrote in "Comments under the Lamp": "...the banquet of human flesh is still being arranged, and many people still want to keep queuing. If we sweep away these messengers, tear down the banquet, and destroy the kitchen, then This is the mission of today’s youth!”
The writing is like the person, and the writing is the voice of the heart. Lu Xun is the founder of modern Chinese literature. Lu Xun perfectly combined reality and ideals through his works. If Lu Xun cannot be regarded as the national soul of China, then Lu Xun is well deserved as a shining beacon on the rolling Yangtze River. Lu Xun's works will always be a precious treasure in the literary treasure house of China and the world.