Natsume Soseki enjoys a high status in the history of modern Japanese literature and is known as the "National Great Writer". He has high attainments in both Eastern and Western cultures. He is not only an English scholar, but also proficient in haiku, Chinese poetry and calligraphy. When writing novels, he is good at using couplets, refrains, humorous language and novel forms. His precise and nuanced description of personal psychology pioneered the trend of private novels in later generations. Many literati came out of his sect, and Ryunosuke Akutagawa was also promoted by him.
Life
The real name is Natsume Kinnosuke, born on February 9, 1867 (the third year of Qingli) in Tokyo. Natsume's family has a huge power in Edo. Kinnosuke was the youngest son (eighth in the ranking). Since the family had gradually declined before he was born, his parents did not want the youngest son to be born, so he was fostered in the family after his birth. He was adopted as the adopted son of Yan Yuan's family when he was two years old. Since then, he has moved frequently due to the emotional discord between his adoptive parents and the influence of his adoptive father's work. He finally returned to his biological parents when he was ten years old. However, such a happy life was extremely short-lived. His father and brother had always been at odds with him and disapproved of his strong literary aspirations; his mother died of illness when he was fifteen years old, and Kinnosuke was ten years old. At the age of nine, he left home and began his career as a sleepover.
These encounters are believed to have a great impact on Kinnosuke's state of mind and future creations. Clues can be seen from several novels with a strong autobiographical flavor, such as "Young Master", "Sanshiro", "After", "Daocao", etc. Most of the protagonists in the story have a good family background, but are not valued by their fathers and brothers. Therefore, they are often lonely and realize early on that they need to be self-reliant, but deep down they all long for the warmth of family affection. Some people say that literature is "a symbol of depression." Writers realize the imperfection of the real world due to their own experiences or out of compassion for others, and work hard to write, so that touching works come out. However, this touching power often comes from pain and misfortune. Looking back at Natsume Soseki's life, we can see that this statement is true.
In 1874, at the age of seven, he entered Toda School in Hisakusa Town, Asakusa. Natsume has been interested in Sinology since she was a child, and began studying ancient Chinese books at the age of 14. When she was a teenager, she determined to be born in Chinese. In 1888, he was admitted to Tokyo First High School. He became close friends with his classmate Masaoka Shiki, who later became an advocate of the haiku movement. At the age of 22, he commented on Masaoka Shiki's collection of poetry and essays "Seven Grasses" in Chinese, and wrote a travelogue "Sawdust Collection" in Chinese poetry.
It was in this year that "Soseki" was used as his pen name for the first time. This name with Sinological connotations is said to have its allusion from the Chinese "Book of Jin" Sun Chu Chuan. According to legend, Sun Chu wanted to experience a secluded life when he was young, so he told his friend Wang Ji to "wash stones and pillows". Wang Ji replied: "You can't pillow on the stream, and you can't rinse with the stone." Sun Chu then argued: "Pillowing with the stream is to wash the ears; washing the stone is to sharpen the teeth." This story shows Sun Chu's unwillingness to admit defeat. Kinnosuke's pen name "Soseki" is in line with his strong will, but there is another theory that both Kinnosuke and Sun Chu were regarded as weirdos, so they used the allusion of "Soseki" to describe themselves.
Since then, the purpose of life of "building one's life through literature" has been clarified. At the same time, he realized that learning English was an inevitable trend. Only by mastering English could he keep up with the trend of the times, strengthen the country, and become a member of the social elite.
In 1890, 23-year-old Natsume Soseki entered the English Department of Tokyo Imperial University College of Liberal Arts. He achieved outstanding results and published academic papers from time to time. Therefore, as soon as he graduated from the university in 1893, he successfully entered the university on the recommendation of the principal. He taught at Tokyo Normal University and actively participated in Masaoka Shiki's haiku innovation movement. Two years later, he resigned to teach at Matsuyama Middle School in Ehime Prefecture, and the following year he transferred to Kumamoto Fifth High School. After that, he held a teaching position until the age of 33 (1900)
In 1900, Natsume Soseki went to England to study for two years on the order of the Ministry of Education. Natsume Soseki was not complacent about his excellent performance in English. Compared with the tendency of people to favor Western learning after the Meiji Restoration, Natsume Soseki used his original Sinology and Japanese foundation to actively create and published many poems and haiku. .
A life of hard study naturally affects physical and mental health.
He contracted tuberculosis at the age of 27. In order to recuperate, he went to Kamakura Enkakuji Temple to practice Zen. The life of Zen meditation enriched the themes of his future creations. However, his condition did not improve very much. Coupled with neurasthenia, a world-weary mood sprouted. Not long after returning to Tokyo, he married Nakane Kyoko and was promoted to professor in the same year. However, Kyoko later attempted suicide due to hysteria, and his peaceful family life was also cast into shadow. While studying abroad, Natsume Soseki realized that there was a huge difference between the so-called British literature and the English he knew before. Being proficient in English was not enough to strengthen the country. This made Natsume Soseki almost disillusioned with the ideals he relied on to survive. Coupled with the lack of funds for studying abroad, His wife rarely wrote letters because of her pregnancy, which aggravated his neurasthenia. He continued to suffer from neurasthenia until he returned to China, but it also stimulated him to focus more on writing.
He returned to Japan in 1903 and served as an English professor at Daiichi High School and a lecturer in English literature at the University of Tokyo. He often wrote haiku and essays for the magazine "Cuckoo".
In 1905, at the age of 38, he published the short story "I am a Cat" in (Dujuan) magazine. It was well received and was serialized repeatedly in response to readers' requests. Deeply inspired, Natsume Soseki gained the power to create, and the next ten years were the peak period of his creation. Then the novella "Brother", "Staying" and the short story collection "Yangxu Collection" were published one after another, and Natsume Soseki became a well-known writer in the Japanese literary world.
In 1907, he resigned from his teaching position and engaged in professional creation, writing serialized novels for the "Asahi Shimbun". The novel "Poppy Poppies", which explores the issues of love and inheritance, began to be serialized, and was followed by the trilogy "Sanshiro", "Afterwards" and "The Door". Not long after "The Gate" was published, the Great Rebellion hit the cultural world, and his creations shifted from criticizing objective reality to revealing the subjective world. Representative works include the trilogy "After the Spring Equinox", "Pedestrian" and "Heart". The last works in his life were the autobiographical novel "Daocao" and the unfinished "Light and Dark".
In 1911, he refused to accept the doctorate awarded by the government. Died of gastric ulcer in 1916.
After Natsume Soseki died, his brain and stomach were donated to the Faculty of Medicine at Tokyo Imperial University. His brain is still preserved at the University of Tokyo.
In 1984, his face was printed on the 1,000 yen note.