Natsume Souseki
Natsume Souseki (Natsume Souseki)
(1867～1916)
Japanese modern writer.
Natsu 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 detailed 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
My real name is Natsu Kinnosuke, and he was born on February 9, 1867 (the third year of Qingli) in Tokyo. The Natsuhi family has a huge power in Edo. Kinnosuke is the youngest son (the eighth) in the family. Since the family was gradually declining before he was born, his parents did not want the youngest son to be born, so he was placed in foster care after his birth. In another family, 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", "Sanshirō", "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 Tobacco Town, Asakusa. Xia Xia has been interested in Sinology since she was a child. She started studying ancient Chinese books at the age of 14. When she was a teenager, she aspired 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, when Sun Chu wanted to experience a secluded life when he was young, 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 social elite.
In 1890, at the age of 23, 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 was recommended by the principal. He entered Tokyo Normal University to teach, and at the same time 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 served as a teacher until the age of 33 (1900)
In 1900, 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 trend of people after the Meiji Restoration in favor of Western learning, Natsume Soseki used his original foundation in Sinology and Japanese to actively create and published many poems, 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 a shadow. While studying abroad, Natsu Soseki realized that there was a huge difference between the so-called English literature and the English he had known before. Being proficient in English was not enough to strengthen the country. This made Natsu Soseki almost disillusioned with the ideals he relied on to survive. In addition, the cost of studying abroad His wife rarely wrote letters due to 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, Natsu 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 serial 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 Department of Medicine of 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.
Main works
I am a cat (我的猫である) - 1905
Brother (方っちゃん) - 1906
Poppy poppy - 1907
Sanshiro - 1908
From now on (それから) - 1909
Door - 1910
After the Spring Equinox - 1912
Pedestrian - 1912
心(こころ) - 1914
道草 ——1915
Light and Dark——1916, Posthumous Works
Collection of Works
Yangxu Collection——1906
Meng Shi Night - a collection of short stories
Novel
"I am a Cat" established Natsume Soseki's position in the history of literature. The novel adopts humorous, satirical and comical techniques, using the vision, hearing and feeling of a cat. It takes the daily life of the protagonist, a middle school teacher, Jinno Kusami as the main line, interspersed with the stories of the neighbor capitalist Kaneda who fails to marry a girl and plots to take revenge on Kusami. The contradictions and conflicts mocked the empty spiritual life of the Meiji era intellectuals, ridiculing them for claiming to be noble but doing nothing; being dissatisfied with reality but unable to resist; being mediocre and boring, but denouncing the worldly contradictory character; lashing out at Kaneda and other bourgeois figures and their accomplices for their snobbery and Vulgar, cruel nature. The novel has an ingenious conception, exaggerated descriptions, flexible structure, and distinctive artistic features.
The material of "Brother" is taken from the writer's ups and downs experience when he left Beijing to teach in other places. It tells the story of a simple, honest young man with a sense of justice who encounters obstacles and is exhausted in a rural middle school. The experience of being wronged. The language of the novel is witty and humorous, the description techniques are exaggerated and funny, and the characters have distinctive personalities. "Traveler" is the author's attempt at romanticism. It tells the story of a young painter who goes to nature to find a world of pure beauty far away from reality and beyond society.
"Sanshiro" tells the story of a young country boy, Sanshiro Ogawa, who came to Tokyo and was overwhelmed by the impact of modern civilization and modern women. "Afterwards" continues the theme of love tragedy in "Sanshiro". The novel creates the image of Daisuke, a rebellious but indecisive intellectual, condemns the so-called chivalry and morality that goes against natural emotions, and reveals a progressive consciousness that resists secular ethics. "The Door" is the conclusion of the love tragedy of the trilogy. The male protagonist Sosuke Nonaka falls in love with his friend's girlfriend Ami, which leads to social rejection. They live in seclusion in a house without sunlight. On the one hand, they taste the sweetness of sincere understanding, and on the other hand, they feel the bitterness of being guilty of others. They fall into a dilemma and cannot extricate themselves. This is a human tragedy in which free and sincere love is not tolerated by society. It is also a spiritual portrayal of intellectuals pursuing personal happiness but being unable to escape the fetters of moral norms.
The trilogy "After the Spring Equinox", "Pedestrian" and "Heart" focuses on portraying the suspicious and world-weary psychology of intellectuals. "Light and Dark" embodies the author's later creative thoughts. The novel uses a delicate and vivid psychological description of the subtle relationship between Tsuda and Ayan, exposing people's selfish, depressed and hopeless mentality, and warns people to get rid of their selfishness and comply with God's will.
Natsume Soseki wrote two literary essays, a large number of haiku, hundreds of Chinese poems, several essays and letters during his lifetime, but his greatest contribution to literature was his dozen novels and a large number of short stories. It erected a monument of critical realism literature and provided profound inspiration to subsequent writers.
Resurrection in the TV series
In "I Am a Housewife" broadcast on TBS in Tokyo in May 2006, Natsume Soseki was resurrected through a modern TV series interpretation. Through these 40 episodes of the TV series, we have learned more or less about this writer's personality and life works.
Introduction to "I Am a Housewife": A very ordinary housewife. The housewife's husband, Takashi, quit his current job in order to pursue his dream. Midori is the housewife. Because she was too focused on calculating future expenses, she attracted the possession of Natsume Soseki, the patron saint of old thousand-yen bills.
From then on, she regarded herself as a highly reputable literary figure in the Meiji era, calling herself "my generation". She looked like an ordinary housewife on the outside, but on the inside she was a great literary figure who did not compromise, a housewife who worked hard for the livelihood of her family. The noisy life begins from now on.