This collection of novels was published by Xinchao Publishing House in August 1923. It contains fourteen novels, including Diary of a Madman, Medicine, Tomorrow and so on. There was a great response after publication.
In the preface to Scream, Lu Xun talked about the process and purpose of his abandoning medicine and joining literature. 1898 graduated from Nanjing Jiangnan naval academy, and transferred to the mining and metallurgy school affiliated to Jiangnan Lushi academy in the second year. 1902 After graduation, he was sent by the Qing government to study in Japan. 1904 entered Sendai Medical College. 1906 stopped studying medicine and returned to Tokyo to prepare for the literary movement. It was an experience of looking at pictures in class that made him abandon medicine and join literature. He recalled: "On one occasion, I suddenly met many China people I hadn't seen for a long time in a photo. One is tied in the middle, and there are many people standing around, all of whom are physically strong and numb.
According to the explanation, it is tied with a military detective for Russia, who is about to be beheaded by the Japanese army and surrounded by people who come to enjoy this grand exhibition. He believes that medicine is not a top priority, and all stupid and weak citizens, no matter how healthy and strong, can only be meaningless propaganda materials and spectators, and there is no need to think that they have died unfortunately. So our first task is to change their spirit, and what is good at changing their spirit is that I thought it was natural to advocate literature and art at that time, so I wanted to advocate the literary movement. "
Lu Xun also talked about how he contributed novels such as Diary of a Madman to New Youth. He once asked a friend who ran New Youth:' If an iron house has absolutely no windows, it is extremely difficult to be destroyed, and there are many people sleeping in it, it will soon suffocate. However, when they went from lethargy to death, they did not feel the sadness of death. Since you are shouting, you have awakened several sober people and made this unfortunate minority suffer irreparable dying pain. Do you think you deserve them? The man replied,' However, since several people have come up, you can't say that there is no hope to destroy this iron house. So he wrote Diary of a Madman, and since then he has published more than ten other articles. Lu Xun hopes that his works can awaken people in the "iron house" and save the people. Talking about the name "Scream", he said:' In my own mind, I thought I was no longer an eager person who couldn't speak, but maybe I still couldn't forget my loneliness and sadness that day, so sometimes I couldn't help shouting to comfort the brave man who was running in loneliness and let him not be afraid of his predecessors.
As for whether my cry is brave or sad, hateful or ridiculous, it doesn't matter so much; But since it's up to you to cry, of course, I often don't care to put a wreath at my son's grave with a curved pen, and don't tell her tomorrow that she didn't see her son's dream, because the Lord didn't advocate negativity at that time. As for myself, I don't want to infect young people who are dreaming like I was young. '