In recent years, there are different opinions on the evaluation of Mr. Lu Xun. On the one hand, Lu Xun ranked first with the highest number of votes in many evaluations on the influence of contemporary cultural figures and favorite writers in China; On the other hand, some people keep clamoring to smash Lu Xun's myth from politics, thoughts, works and personality. How should we evaluate Lu Xun's position today? From what angles should we better study Lu Xun's value?
Lu Xun is still the object of reverence.
The new edition of The Complete Works of Lu Xun first appeared in the bookstore yesterday. The reporter interviewed several readers at random in Beijing Book Building. Almost all the interviewees said that Lu Xun still represents the spirit of the Chinese nation and is still the object of reverence.
Ma Wei, a student from Beijing Institute of Technology, told reporters that although he is not a Chinese major, he has always liked Lu Xun, and some students even called him a fan of Lu Xun. He told reporters that many students seem unwilling to admit that they like Lu Xun. "They are afraid that others will say that what they have done is profound, but they all admire him in their hearts. Lu Xun's books in the library are very popular, and Lu Xun still represents the national spirit today. "
Shi, who is only 40 years old, is a collector and even has a large collection of picture books of Lu Xun's works at home. "I used to just like reading his works. With the growth of age, I have more contact with things, and I feel the depth of Lu Xun's thought more and more. His thoughts are eternal. "
"Lu Xun's works tell us about the culture and history of China 100 years ago, and his works have become a part of the basic civilization of China. If you want to understand the modern history of China, Lu Xun can't get around it. " A reader told reporters that he grew up watching Lu Xun's works and would ask his children to do the same in the future.
Classic works always face many challenges.
"Under the social and cultural trend, under the attack of oriental cultural conservatism and western postmodernism, Lu Xun's culture has been questioned, challenged and even denied. Judging from the historical development process, this phenomenon is understandable. " Scholar Chen Shuyu believes that classic works will face challenges. In the process of re-examination and re-selection, some works will be eliminated, and the real classics will shine more brightly after the impact.
Lin Fei, a scholar, believes that the study of Lu Xun should not only summarize the viewpoint of giving full play to Lu Xun's thought, but also analyze the possible one-sided viewpoint. Blind worship is a manifestation of ignorance and does not conform to the spirit of scientific research. "Like a few people who haven't read Lu Xun's works carefully at present, they are irresponsible and even call names for no reason. Such behavior is really far from scientific civilization, which is ridiculous. If many people in our nation can understand Lu Xun, a rare thinker in human history, and understand the enlightenment of his works to historical progress through careful reading and research, then this will never happen, but will continue to move toward the bright future of truth, goodness and beauty. "
The evaluation of Lu Xun will be higher in the future.
"Some people say that the evaluation of Lu Xun in the future will be higher than today, and I appreciate this prediction. Because Lu Xun culture is the most beautiful and core part of our national culture, scholars and publishers who participated in the compilation of the Complete Works of Lu Xun engaged in this work with saint-like piety, passed on the spiritual torch of Lu Xun from generation to generation and spread Lu Xun's thoughts. " Lin Fei said.
Some scholars believe that Lu Xun is a treasure house of Chinese culture, and his works are no less than ancient classics in the history of China culture and thought, and can be said to be classics in the history of modern culture. "It is a treasure house. It can be said that the pulse and features of Lu Xun's era have been reflected in his works. He is the history of that era. At the same time, Lu Xun is the best example of combining China's excellent traditional culture with the spirit of that era. In that era of bright stars, Lu Xun represented the peak of an era in terms of the combination of the two. As for his ideas, confidence, struggle and sacrifice to the people, the nation, the country and the world, this spirit is more worthy of being passed down from generation to generation by the Chinese nation. "
Now we should especially emphasize the spirit of Lu Xun.
What is the contemporary significance of Lu Xun's spirit? Zhou Haiying emphasized: "Lu Xun himself said that he hoped his writing would gradually die out. But this can't be done, regardless of human will. Just as physicists and chemists have worked out certain laws, Lu Xun's thoughts on society, culture and history are also laws, laws of culture and laws of social phenomena. " Zhou Haiying believes that this "law" of Lu Xun is not easy to be changed in a short historical period.
Some scholars believe that although some celebrities in ancient China also caused controversy behind them or during their lifetime, the present situation of Lu Xun is still abnormal, which is the sorrow of intellectuals. The scholar said: "But I believe this period of time will not be very long, because it is against the law. The more we should emphasize the spirit of Lu Xun under the conditions of market economy. Market economy can promote rapid economic development, especially in the case of economic globalization, without the Chinese nation represented by Lu Xun.
Some scholars are content with self-appreciation.
At the seminar, experts attending the meeting pointed out the problems existing in Lu Xun's research in recent years. Lin Fei believes that although there are many experts and scholars who study Lu Xun now, and the research papers published every year are also overwhelming, there are not many really good articles and good opinions. "Most of these researchers are immersed in the analysis of the text itself, without going deep into Lu Xun's behavior and thoughts at all stages of his life, so the papers written are superficial."
Zhou Haiying also expressed some views on this issue. "A few years ago, I went to Xiamen University, where the teacher complained to me that it was difficult to tell students about Lu Xun's works and there was a lack of some counseling books." He thinks that some Lu Xun researchers hide in their study, obsess over unimportant issues and write some incomprehensible papers, regardless of whether the public can understand them or not, and are only satisfied with the self-appreciation of a few people.
Objectively evaluate achievements and shortcomings.
Lin Fei believes that scholars have made great progress in the study of Lu Xun in the past 20 years. "These 20 years are a process of ideological emancipation, and everyone can analyze and study Lu Xun scientifically and realistically. Scholars have their own views on Lu Xun, which can be discussed with each other. But these studies on Lu Xun are still not enough. "
Lin Fei believes that Mr. Lu Xun is a profound thinker, and many of his thoughts and viewpoints have not been deeply studied so far, and the academic circles lack the analysis and anatomy of Lu Xun with historical depth. He analyzed that this happened because Lu Xun was knowledgeable, but the knowledge literacy of scholars could not be compared with him. If we can't stand at the same height, we can't deeply analyze Lu Xun.
Lin Fei also said that studying Lu Xun should be objective. "Any outstanding thinker in history has achievements and shortcomings, and Lu Xun is no exception. For example, Huang Zongxi is a fellow countryman and predecessor of Lu Xun, but Lu Xun never summed up this person well in his works, which is the deficiency of Lu Xun's thought. " He believes that today's people can't criticize Lu Xun severely, but should sum up their predecessors from the perspective of the younger generation. "This summary is not simply to praise or criticize Lu Xun.
Lu Xun wrote a lot in his life, but the number of novels was limited. There are only three novels, Scream, Wandering and The New Story of the Absurd, and they are all very thin, and the total number of words is not as good as that of a novella at present.
Although the number of Lu Xun's novels is small, there are many characters involved. In the final analysis, a novel is a work that shapes characters, and expresses the author's own views through characters. The success of characterization in a novel largely determines the artistic maturity of a novel. Good novels, ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign, are generally supported by vivid characters. Readers can ignore the long description and discussion of a novel. However, we can deeply remember the characteristics of a novel character. A successful novel character can penetrate the curtain of time and come to us from afar. Such characters will even cover up the prototype of the characters in the novel. The most typical example is the characters in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, because the vivid and successful shaping has blurred the historical figures. The full name of Romance of the Three Kingdoms is Popular Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It belongs to the category of "talking about history" and is a major school in the tradition of China's ancient novels. It is adapted from the famous History of the Three Kingdoms written by Chen Shou. The characteristic of "historical narration" is not to make up a character out of thin air, but to tell the story of the characters in history. In the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the characters in The History of the Three Kingdoms all play their roles according to the needs of the author's layout and the progress of story narration. The reason why the author wants to portray Cao Cao as a "treacherous man" is to set off "honest" Liu Bei through Cao Cao. They are a dime a dozen, and no one can live without anyone. Lu Xun has a clear understanding of this. He said long ago: "In fact, Cao Cao is a very capable person, at least a hero. Although I am not a client of Cao Cao, I have always admired him. " Successful characters in novels often hide the real characters in history. There are many such examples. Historical novels like to talk about things with the ancients, which is safe and convenient and has nothing to do with themselves. Therefore, on the whole, China's ancient novels are all "no-self" novels, without the writer's own life experience. A Dream of Red Mansions may be an exception, so it is above all ancient novels. Today's readers can still find the same feeling. Lu Xun is familiar with traditional novels and wants to have a very profound insight into the advantages and disadvantages of traditional novels. Therefore, he has a characteristic in writing novels, starting with "I".
Starting from "I" is to observe the world from my own perspective and express my emotions and judgments at the same time. At the beginning of modern vernacular novels, the most important thing is to tap one's own heart and narrow the distance between readers and novels through "I". The first-person narration shows a message that this thing is related to "I" and naturally to "we". From "telling history", "telling legends" and "talented people and beautiful women" which have nothing to do with our lives, the most basic intention is to tell a true story, a story around us and a story related to our lives. In all these stories, neither the author nor the reader can and should stay out of it.
We saw that the first novel written by Lu Xun, the first groundbreaking work of modern vernacular Chinese, Diary of a Madman, was related to "I" as soon as it came up. The first "I" is the "Yu" at the beginning of the novel: "A certain gentleman, Kun Zhong, whose name is now hidden, and Yu are high school friends; After many years of separation, the news gradually disappeared. " What this sentence wants to tell people is that "madman" is not a whisper, a talented woman of any age, or an ancient person. He is our acquaintance, friend and a real person in life-we don't say "real person" here. The second "I" is the "I" who entered the "madman" self-report. Seeing you today is very refreshing. I just realized that the previous 30 years were faint. "The madman thought that he had been' faint' for the previous 30 years. Here began an important inversion in the history of modern vernacular literature: what is normal is abnormal, and what is abnormal is normal. This is an exclamation of China culture. Lu Xun started the whole China tradition of winning or losing.
The first-person narrative has a very important narrative skill, which is to create the reading illusion that "I" is the author himself, so that readers can feel close. At the same time, this narrative of "I" can easily lead to the author's judgment and discussion. Of course, in the Diary of a Madman itself, the author has done the operation and written an introduction, explaining that the "madman" is not me, but everyone. It takes into account the tastes and preferences of readers at all levels. Therefore, after the publication of this novel, it can arouse many people's voices and become a subversive text against old literature.
The appearance of Diary of a Madman is a very important symbol, which indicates that at the beginning of modern vernacular writing, people have focused their attention on the individual itself.
Of course, this has a lot to do with the introduction of new ideas about people from the West by the May 4th New Culture Movement. Zhou Zuoren said at the beginning of People's Literature: "The new literature that we should advocate now, in short, is People's Literature. Non-human literature that should be rejected. " This "person" comes from the western concept: "Europe is about this".
The concepts of "capitalist man" and "humanitarianism" entered in large numbers during this period, forming a very important content of the ideological revolution. Since there are no people in the "old culture", the first thing new literature should do is to discover the existence of "people".
Lu Xun's foundation of western learning sprouted in Jiangnan Naval Academy. He said in "Notes on Morning Flowers" that since he entered this school: "... reading new books has become popular, and I also know that there is a book called Evolution in China. He went to the south of the city to buy it on Sunday. A thick book with white paper and lithographs is priced at 500. " Xu Shoushang's Chronicle of Mr. Lu Xun also said Lu Xun. I changed to the road and mine school attached to the middle school of Jiangnan Road Division. I didn't review my lessons, but I was among the best in the exam. After school, I read translated new books, especially good novels, and sometimes I ride horses ... I was twenty-two years old ten years ago (28 years, 1902). In February, I was sent to Japan to study by the Jiangnan Metropolitan Liaison Office, and entered Hongwen College in Tokyo. I like reading books on philosophy and literature after school, paying special attention to human nature and literature.
When he arrived in Japan, Lu Xun decided to study medicine at first because his father had "died of a long illness", which made his family get into trouble from a well-off society. During this period, how many white eyes and mental trauma he suffered left an indelible mark on Lu Xun's psychology. Lu Xun said in "Scream and Preface": "Who got into trouble from a well-off family? I think that on this road, we can probably see the true face of the world. Lu Xun saw some books about western medicine. "Later, he gradually realized that Chinese medicine is just a liar intentionally or unintentionally, and at the same time he felt sympathy for the deceived patients and their families; "Moreover, from the history of translation, I know that most of the reforms in Japan originated from Western medicine." Therefore, after studying in Japan, Lu Xun's initial intention was to be a doctor: "Because of these childish knowledge, my student status was later listed in a rural medical college in Japan. My dream is very happy. I am going to graduate and come back to treat the pain of patients who have been misdiagnosed like my father. I went to be a military doctor during the war.
It can be seen from this example that an intellectual with ideals wants to be a doctor at first, which is a very noble cause. Because he saw the disadvantages of traditional Chinese medicine and felt the science of western medicine, Lu Xun's initial idea when he came to Japan was to study medicine, western medicine. However, after he entered Sendai Medical College in 1904, he was greatly stimulated in reading and watching movies. The ideal of studying medicine has been shaken. 1906, he stopped studying medicine and returned to Tokyo to prepare for the literary movement. In these things described by Lu Xun himself, he has a profound knowledge and understanding of people. What Lu Xun can't stand is the distortion and distortion of human nature by traditional feudal culture. In his article, he recalled that he had a great aversion to it when he was a teenager: "What puzzled me the most, even disgusting, were two things:' Lao Lai entertained relatives' and' Guo Ju buried children'." Lu Xun later discovered that a healthy person includes both physical and mental aspects. He thought that the primary problem at that time was mental problem, which later became his main motivation for writing.
After the Meiji Restoration, there were a lot of western learning in Japan, which must have a very profound impact on Lu Xun in Japan. Twenty years after Meiji Restoration, the movement of "Classical Chinese Consistency" in Japanese literary circles demanded that the real life around us be described and expressed in spoken and vernacular Chinese. Then there is the "Confession Literature" represented by Futabatei Shimei's Floating Clouds, Shimazaki Tōson's Breaking the Ring and Tayama Katai's Futon. This kind of confession is also based on the discovery of "individual" and "self". Compared with western Christianity, but not the moral sense from China culture, Kenzo Nakamura, a progressive figure of Japanese Christianity, analyzed his heart in How I Become a Christian, saying, "I call my diary a sailing diary because it records the poor boat's passing through sin, tears and countless sorrows. The journey to heaven is advancing every day. " Tang Guxing, a famous scholar, commented: "We can't take this as a modest attitude. I'm not hiding anything, but there is a "truth" here ... the so-called confession is such a form of confession. It emphasizes that you are hiding the truth. Although I am a loser, I told the truth. " The comments of Tang Gu and his party hit the nail on the head, and also revealed the real status quo and real inner feelings. In this regard, Tomiya said, "It can be said that Japanese' modern literature' was born together with the form of confession." This feeling is based on "I" and has a solid foundation. The modern literature movement in China, which was nearly half a century late, is consistent with the origin of Japanese modern literature here.
Scholars like to compare Lu Xun's Diary of a Madman with Nikolai Gogol's Diary of a Madman, and all kinds of popular textbooks are written in this way. However, what Lu Xun got from Nikolai Gogol was only a formal inspiration. For China and Japan, which have the same modernization requirements, the changes in Japan, which took the lead, are essentially similar to ours. During his stay in Japan, Lu Xun read a lot of Japanese works and western works translated by Japan.
In this way, Lu Xun started from the self-analysis form of "confession" and directly cut into the most fundamental point of the problem at that time. Therefore, we can conclude that modern vernacular novels are "self-contained" writing from the beginning, and at the same time, such writing can also be called "realistic" writing. Paying attention to reality and life, for the moment, China writers in this period have no time to take care of all kinds of modernism that began to rise in the west. Novel creation has always been the same as Lu Xun's original intention of engaging in literature, that is, using literature to transform the national spirit and reveal social problems. The novel is utilitarian from the beginning, not aesthetic. They were written by revolutionaries rather than intellectuals.
Intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty have noticed that novels can be used to help "improve", even "enlighten" and "revolution". Liang Qichao founded China's first novel magazine "New Novel" in 1902, and then other magazines came out one after another. There are Xiu Xiang's novels (1903), Yue Yue's novels (1906) and Xiao Shuolin's novels (1907). In the late Qing Dynasty, these enlightened scholars and journalists attached great importance to the possible influence of popular literature, especially novels, on society. They think that people in China at that time. Therefore, this kind of novels should be replaced by educational literary works, which can stimulate patriotic enthusiasm and spread new ideas. Liang Qichao not only strongly advocated new novels (compared with traditional novels-at that time, especially during the May 4th Movement, people preferred to use the word "old novels". This paper adopts the relatively mild usage of "traditional novel", but it also practices it. He wrote four chapters of the novel "The Future of a New China" for New Novel magazine, and also wrote many biographies of western patriots, among which "Three Italian Founding Heroes" by Mazzoni and others had a great influence. At the same time, other writers who are concerned about the country and the people increasingly regard novels as tools to criticize the society and the government, regard novels as living social forces and strong consciousness, and think that previous novelists failed to fulfill their responsibility of educating ordinary people.