The image of intellectuals in Lu Xun’s novels

1. The feudal system culture causes the suffering of intellectuals

Madman - Persecution Madness

As soon as the madman appears in the article, he is full of nervousness and can't sleep at night. , he is always worried that someone is going to harm him. At first, the madman feels that the people around him "seem to be afraid of me and seem to want to harm me"; the madman is afraid of the whispers of the people around him and is also afraid of the comments of children. He is always worried that the people around him are full of premeditation and suspicion towards him. If they are malicious, they pay special attention to the looks and behavior of the people around them. The madman feels that the people around them have green faces and wolf teeth, and their eyes are full of fierceness. Even one person smiled at him and said, "I was cold from head to toe, knowing that their arrangements were all in place." At first, the madman's heart was filled with guessing uneasiness and panic. After observation and research, the madman discovered that the tenants and others were eating people, so he thought, "I am also a human being, and they want to eat me." The madman's brother asked an old man to diagnose the madman, which led to the madman's further discovery. The person who joins in to eat me is my brother! "Everyone wants to "eat people", and anyone can be eaten. After inference and discovery, even the madman himself has four thousand years of experience in cannibalism. Almost from the moment the madman appears, he appears to be under constant persecution. He seems to have been doubting, uneasy, and seeking confirmation. It seems that the slightest "trouble" will trigger his hidden and obvious "heart disease". Moreover, from this series of descriptions, the madman's persecution mania is analyzed step by step and becomes more serious. His heart changes from the initial uneasiness and fear to despair according to the changes in the "cannibalism" situation. The reader's heart becomes unstable, restless, and depressed following the madman. After reading the entire article, I understand that madmen have signs of being "sick", but they also have signs of being sober after being "sick": he realizes that he is in a cannibalistic society, where everyone eats others, and everyone may be eaten by others. Eat, he once wanted to persuade others not to eat people, but in the end he found out that he also cannibalized people, and then shouted "Save the child". He is a "sick" person, but he is a sober person. For such a conscious patient, where is the source of the disease? It lies in the soil where thoughts are rooted. Because the essence of feudal system culture is "cannibalism", the suffering of madmen cannot be avoided and cannot be escaped. The madman in "The Ever-Bright Lamp" is bent on extinguishing the Ever-Bright Lamp, believing that only by extinguishing the Ever-Bright Lamp will "there will be no locusts and no pig-mouth plague." He is a madman almost as soon as he appears in the article, and his only goal is to put out the Ever-Bright Lamp. The ever-burning light goes out. Why he became crazy seems not to be clearly explained in the article, but the madman in "Eternal Light" lives in a village like Jiguangtun. "The residents in this village don't travel much, and they need to be checked if they move." Check the almanac to see if it says "not suitable for travel"; if it doesn't, you must go to the God of Happiness to welcome good luck. "The villagers of Jitunguang try every means to protect the "ever-lasting lantern". In their consciousness, the ever-lasting lantern is. Once it was extinguished, it seemed that the sky would collapse, and Jitun Guang was also facing disaster, so they discussed together, fought together, and killed those who wanted to extinguish the light. The villagers here are the enforcers, defenders and supporters of the feudal system. In the final analysis, it is the feudal system itself that fools and tramples on people, causing people's suffering.

Chen Shicheng - Obsession

If the imperial examination is Kong Yiji's scar, then it is Chen Shicheng's lifeblood. Chen Shicheng's dream of studying in the imperial examination in "White Light" is very beautiful: he became a scholar and went to the province to take the provincial examination. plaque. It was under the temptation of this "sweet dream" that Chen Shicheng participated in the imperial examinations as many as sixteen times and completely fell into the imperial examination. When he finally learned that he had failed in the scientific examination for the sixteenth time, he felt that "his planned future was like a damp sugar tower, which collapsed in an instant, leaving only a pile of fragments." He seemed to have Unable to move forward on the road to the imperial examination, he fell into mental panic and collapse. So when he could not get the honors on the list, he thought of the treasures that could fulfill his "sweet dream" - the ancestors of the Chen family buried countless treasures under the house. Then he went to dig out the treasures underground and extended his inner sustenance and fantasy underground.

Rather than saying that what he cares about is to enter the imperial examination, it is better to say that his more essential need is to have the capital to be an "exploiting class", to have power, money, and people to serve as slaves. His heart is filled with the feudal values ??of glory, wealth, honor and ancestors. He believes As long as the imperial examination is successful, this dream can come true, so he took the imperial examination again and again. Although he failed again and again, he insisted again and again. What he was obsessed with was not the imperial examination itself, but the money and power brought by success in the imperial examination. The imperial examination system itself was a big scam, but Chen Shicheng was tempted by it and couldn't extricate himself. He finally followed the "white light" illusion and even risked his life. How could Chen Shicheng's illness be light? The imperial examination system harms people, and it can indeed kill people. Chen Shicheng told the living people with his life.

Kong Yiji - Numbness

As soon as Kong Yiji appears in the article, he is shown to be down and out, with an image of down and out: “Innocent complexion, wrinkles often mixed with scars; a disheveled look. He has a gray beard. Although he is wearing a long gown, it is dirty and torn. It seems that he has not been mended or washed in more than ten years. He always talks to people and makes them half understand. "Kong Yiji faced him. The "Jiaoyi Gang" laughed at him for stealing, so he argued for himself by saying "stealing books cannot be counted as stealing" and "a gentleman is poor." I heard people talking about it behind the scenes: "Kong Yiji used to read a book, but in the end he didn't, and he didn't know how to make a living. So he became poorer and poorer, until Chiang Kai-shek had to beg for food. Fortunately, he could write well, so he paid for books for others. From the description in the article, it seems that Kong Yiji has some cultural capital, because he is well-educated, literate, and can write well. This alone can make him survive; He often pretends to be a cultured person, and he has the aloofness of being a cultured person, because he is in the "Short Clothes Gang" and stands drinking while wearing a long gown. It seems that wearing a long gown like this gives him the aura of an educated man, so he When talking to the "Jiaoyi Gang", he was full of talk. When the "Jiaoyi Gang" questioned whether Kong Yiji was literate, "Kong Yiji looked at the person who asked him, showing an air of disdain to argue."

Kong Yiji clearly distinguishes himself from the "Jiaoyi Gang". It seems that this is the only thing that Kong Yiji is clear about. He seems to be numb to other things, especially the living situation. He cannot see that he is the same as the "Jiaoyi Gang". , in essence, they are all the same poor people, and they even have more pressure to survive than the Short Clothes Gang, because the Short Clothes Gang can use their labor ability to obtain the necessities for survival no matter what, but Kong Yiji is "easy to eat and lazy to work." It is precisely because of this that he stopped even doing "money books", and the article does not show that he would do anything else to make a living, so in order to survive, "stealing" seems to have become something he has to do. He was often beaten and injured, and these became the jokes of the Short Clothing Gang. In the Short Clothes Gang's eyes, Kong Yiji was not as good as them. In fact, Kong Yiji never realized his "weakness". People's self-proclaimed nobility and willingness to be poor are nothing more than a long-standing common problem among the literati of that era. It seems more like a kind of self-comfort and self-exclusion. He transferred the numb mind and state of the literati to himself. Kong Yiji was known as a habitual thief, so he was often beaten, and finally died from the beatings. However, Kong Yiji never reflected on his behavior and never felt ashamed of it. He has the false aloofness of an educated person, but he does not have the backbone and true aloofness of an educated person. He is laughed at again and again, but he defends himself again and again. He never thinks about whether the behavior of "stealing" is right or not, and he never thinks about it. Think about how you can really live like a cultured person. He just clings to the dross of the cultured people's spirit, but does not inherit the fine traditions of the cultured people. He has some culture, but he doesn't know how to think. He just lives in numbness. At that time.

Si Ming, Gao Erchu - Hypocrisy

Si Ming in "Soap" is a representative figure of the feudal retrospection group, who takes it as his duty to correct customs and correct people's hearts and implement feudal patriarchy at home. , stipulating that wives and children should practice Bagua Quan, learn filial piety, etc., and look sanctimonious. Siming believed that students had no morals, and there was no morality in society. When he saw a girl begging with her grandmother on the street, he wanted to write a poem about it. An article on "filial daughter conduct" was published in newspapers to criticize society.

Do you think any of the things we envisioned at that time came true? I don’t know anything now, not even what will happen tomorrow, not even a minute..." Comparing his appearance, actions, and language, Lu Weipu seemed to have transitioned from one extreme to another, making him even more decadent. He had been He pulled out the beard of a statue because of his radical thoughts, and he also got into fights with others because of his discussion of reforms. From this, we can see that he was very passionate, thoughtful, and enterprising, like a pioneer on the road, bold, brave, and fanatical. And fearless. Perhaps because of this, when Lu Weipu was disappointed, he was forced to teach "Zi Yu Shi Yun", something that even he himself hated. But as he himself said, "But I." This is what he is like now", a person who is perfunctory, imitating and casual. Even if he is afraid that his former friends will not recognize him as a friend because of his current appearance. He is completely decadent and unable to implement his plan. He had no intention of planning for the future despite his previous dreams.

Zijun - Stubborn

Zijun has a very powerful saying: "I am who I am." My rights, none of them have any right to interfere with me! "From this sentence, we can see the determination, bravery and perseverance of a woman in the old days. In that period, to be able to say such a sentence was undoubtedly a cry to the feudal system, a declaration that the revolution was about to begin. War. For the sake of her love, Zijun "had already fallen out with her uncle, so much so that he was so angry that he no longer recognized her as his niece." Fearless. There is no doubt how much Zijun resisted and sacrificed for her love, and how brave and absolute she was in choosing to lose her loved ones and face the pressure of the outside world calmly. Zijun lost almost everything. When Zijun and Juansheng were getting together and preparing for a house, she sold her only gold ring and earrings. Juansheng stopped her and insisted on selling them. After the marriage, Ah Sui decided to sell them. , raising little oil chickens, even if there is a secret fight with the neighbors, even if Juan objects, complains, and pressures, because of the secret rifts among these colleagues, Zijun still does his own thing. If it were not for the sake of livelihood, Zijun would not give up on Asui. , You chickens, although Zijun is so stubborn and wants to do what he wants because of these little animals, he fights with his neighbors and his lover. However, it is precisely because of this stubbornness and irrationality that he leads to tragedy. Jun said, "Because, because I don't love you anymore!" Zijun chose breakup and death. Zijun seems to be this kind of person: everything is for love. For love, you can give up everything. If you lose love, you will sacrifice your life. Judging from the details of life, Zijun is indeed stubborn. However, this is doomed to fail, because Zijun has the inner strength to be stubborn for love, but has no preparation to retreat. She didn't have time to understand the cruelty of reality and the fickleness of love. She seemed to have only the stubborn thought of loving for love's sake, but never thought of preparing for the continuation of love. She placed all her hopes on love, which was a gamble in itself.

Wei Lianshu, Lu Weipu, and Zijun have modern values ??and their own independent thoughts, and they all resist life. However, their resistance is like fireworks. In the context of society, they gradually... dim, fade. Let readers feel compassion and sympathy for them.

In the process of reading and analyzing the intellectuals in Lu Xun's novels, "sorrowing for their misfortunes and being angry for their infighting" is the background of Lu Xun's depiction of intellectuals. Whether they are old intellectuals influenced by the traditional culture of the feudal system or new intellectuals influenced by enlightenment ideas, most of them are filled with tragedy. By portraying a series of images of intellectuals, Lu Xun carried out the most profound and violent attack and criticism on the traditional feudal cultural system; at the same time, he also saw the mental distress and suffering of intellectuals under the Enlightenment thought2. Lu Xun has always focused on expressing the national character of the Chinese people, and as a branch of the Chinese people - intellectuals: the old intellectuals are deeply bound by traditional culture, and their souls have long been numb and decayed2; the new intellectuals, even if they accept new ideas , the pain of the disease cannot be relieved. Although I have awakened and resisted, I still cannot see a way out.

References:

1 "The Complete Novels of Lu Xun", Beijing University of Technology Press, 1st Edition, June 2005

2 "Modern and Contemporary China" "Special Research on Literature", edited by Wen Rumin and Zhao Zumo, Peking University Press, January 2001, first edition, pages 1 to 24

3 "Intensive Reading of Lu Xun", Fudan University Press, Gao Yuanbao, 2005 Annual edition, pp. 42-70

4 "They are lonely", Tang Li, Journal of Hunan University of Science and Technology, Volume 26, Issue 6, June 2005

5 " "On the Image of Intellectuals in Lu Xun's Novels", Liu Mingquan, Journal of Ya'an Vocational and Technical College, Volume 21, Issue 4, December 2007

6 "On the Image of Intellectuals in Lu Xun's Novels", text/ Xu Xuying, Entrepreneur World·183