The story about Runtu and Gangcha

"Young Runtu" is an excerpt from the short story "Hometown" written by Lu Xun in 1921. This article created the image of a young Runtu who was "smart, witty, brave, and well-informed" in Lu Xun's eyes.

Original text:

A golden full moon hangs in the deep blue sky, and below is the sandy land by the sea, with endless green watermelons planted there. Among them was a boy of eleven or twelve years old, wearing a silver ring around his neck, holding a steel fork in his hand, and stabbed a yun with all his strength. Na Yuan twisted her body and escaped from his crotch.

This young man is Runtu. When I met him, he was only over ten years old, which was about thirty years ago. At that time, my father was still alive and my family was well off, so I was just a young master. That year, my family held a big sacrifice. This sacrifice is said to only come once in more than thirty years, so it is very solemn. During the first month of the year, there are many offerings to the statues, and the sacrificial vessels are very particular. There are also many worshipers, and the sacrificial vessels must also be guarded against theft.

My family only has one busy month (there are three types of workers here: those who work for a certain family throughout the year are called long-term workers; those who work for others on a daily basis are called short-term workers; those who also farm their own land, only during the Chinese New Year) Those who came to work for certain people during festivals and rent collection were called busy months), and when they were too busy, he told his father that he could ask his son Runtu to take charge of the sacrificial vessels.

My father agreed; I was also very happy, because I had heard the name Runtu a long time ago, and knew that he was the same age as me. He was born in the leap month and lacked earth in the five elements, so his father called him Runtu. Runtu. He can pretend to be a bird and catch small birds.

So I look forward to the New Year every day. When the New Year arrives, Runtu will also arrive. Finally, at the end of the year, one day, my mother told me that Runtu was coming, so I ran to see her.

He is in the kitchen, with a round purple face, a small felt hat on his head, and a bright silver collar around his neck. This shows that his father loves him very much and is afraid that he will die, so he is in God's presence. He made a wish in front of the Buddha and trapped him with a circle. He was very shy when meeting people, but he was not afraid of me. He would talk to me when no one else was around, and within half a day we became familiar with each other.

We didn’t know what to talk about at that time. I just remember that Runtu was very happy, saying that he saw many things he had never seen before after going to the city.

The next day, I asked him to catch birds. He said: "This can't be done. It has to snow heavily. It snowed on our sandy ground. I cleared out a clearing and used a short stick to prop up a big bamboo plaque. I spread the grain and watched the birds come to eat. I just pulled the rope tied to the stick from a distance, and the birds were covered under the bamboo plaque: rice chickens, horned chickens, swans, blue-backed..."

I was looking forward to snowing again.

Runtu said to me again: "It's too cold now. Come to us in the summer. We go to the beach to pick up shells during the day. There are red and green ones, there are ghosts and ghosts, and there are Guanyin hands." "My father and I are going to take care of the watermelons in the evening, and you will go too." It’s not stealing. What you have to worry about is the badger, the hedgehog, and the harpoon. Under the moon, listen, the harpoon is biting the melon, so you pinch the fork and walk away..."

I didn’t know what this so-called animal was at the time—and I still don’t know it now—I just felt that it looked like a puppy and was very ferocious for no reason.

"Doesn't it bite?"

"There is a Hucha. When you get there, you see the harpoon, and you bite it. This animal (chù) is very smart, and it falls towards You ran towards me, but you jumped out from under your crotch. Its fur is as smooth as oil..."

I never knew there were so many new things in the world: there are such colorful shells on the seaside; there are watermelons like this. A dangerous experience, I only knew it was sold in fruit shops.

"In our sandy land, when the tide is coming, there are many jumping fish that just jump, with two legs like frogs..."

Ah! There are endless strange things in Runtu's heart, which are unknown to my former friend. When Runtu was at the beach, they were all like me, seeing only the sky at the four corners of the high wall in the yard.

Unfortunately, the first month has passed and Runtu must go home. I was so anxious that I cried, and he hid in the kitchen, crying and refusing to go out, but he was finally taken away by his father. He later asked his father to bring me a pack of shells and some nice bird feathers. I also gave him things once or twice, but we never met again.

Extended information:

1. The ideological content of "Young Runtu"

1. In the novel, when "I" heard my mother mention Runtu, A "miraculous picture" suddenly flashed in his mind, "I seemed to see my beautiful hometown": in the deep blue sky...it escaped from his crotch. This picture was exactly what "I" remembered. The phantom of a wonderful childhood.

2. When "I" return to my hometown this time, half of me want to find the good memories that have passed away, but I can't, because the "hometown I always remember" is just "the hometown in the world of mental images" "It's just a phantom". That beautiful and magical picture is actually a dream that "I" dreamed up based on Runtu's description with a childish heart when I was young. "I" is just like "I" Like friends, "I only see the sky at the four corners of the high wall in the yard."

3. It can be said that the appearance of Runtu brought endless joy to "my" childhood, although "I" have never personally experienced what Runtu said about pretending to catch birds. The fun of finches, picking up shells at the seaside, and the fun of picking up thorns in the melon fields. These happy memories are only stored and fermented in "my" mind. Together with the simple nostalgia of the countryside, they finally merged into that magical and wonderful picture.

4. Through the author's memories, the article depicts the image of a knowledgeable, lively, cute, smart and capable rural boy Runtu, reflecting the sincere but short-lived relationship between the author and Runtu when they were children. Friendship and loving memory of him.

2. The artistic characteristics of "Young Runtu"

1. The language is concise, and the character image is created through personalized language dialogue.

2. Line drawing technique. The author uses line drawing technique to describe the scenery: "A golden full moon hangs in the blue sky, and below is the sandy land on the seaside, with endless green watermelons planted there." The character is deeply drawn with "a round purple face, a small felt hat on his head, and a shining silver collar around his neck."

Baidu Encyclopedia-Young Runtu