Talk about face (Lu Xun)

"Face" is something we often hear in conversations. Because it seems to be understood immediately, not many people think about it carefully

.

But recently, I sometimes hear these two sounds from the mouths of foreigners, and they seem to be studying them. They think that this matter is not easy to understand, but it is the program of Chinese spirit. As long as we grasp this, just like pulling out the braid twenty-four years ago, our whole body will follow it. . It is said that during the Qing Dynasty, foreigners went to the Prime Minister's Yamen to demand benefits. They threatened and frightened the officials into agreeing, but before leaving, they were sent out through the side door. If you don't let him go through the front door, it means that he has no face; since he has no face, naturally it means that China has the face, which means it has the upper hand. I'm not sure whether this is true or not, but quite a few "Chinese and foreigners" know this story.

Therefore, I am quite suspicious that they want to give "face" to us.

But what exactly is "face"? It's okay if I don't think about it, but I feel confused when I think about it. There seem to be several kinds of it, and each kind of worth has a kind of "face", which is the so-called "face". This "face" has a boundary. If you fall below this line, you lose face, which is also called "losing face." If you are not afraid of "losing face", you are "shameless". But if you do something beyond this line, you will "have face", or "show your face." The way to "lose face" varies from person to person. For example, it is not a big deal for a coachman to sit on the roadside with his shirtless body catching lice, but it is "losing face" for a rich man to sit on the roadside with his shirtless body and catch lice. ". But the coachman is not without "face", but it is not considered "disgrace" at this time. When his wife kicked him, he lay down and cried. This became his "disgrace". This law of "shame" also applies to superior people. From this point of view, it seems that the upper-class people have more opportunities to "lose face", but this is not necessarily the case. For example, if a coachman steals a money bag and is discovered, he loses face, while the upper-class people get a lot of gold beads. Although it is a treasure, it does not seem to be so "disgraceful". Moreover, there is also "going abroad for inspection

investigation" [2], which is a good way to change one's appearance.

Everyone wants "face", which can of course be said to be a good thing, but "face" is really a bit strange. The "Declaration" on September 30th told us a piece of news: Luo Lihong, the head of a carpenter in western Shanghai, went to the funeral for his mother and invited Wang Shubao and his wife, who opened a "Qianqiu shop", to help. Because there were many guests, they prepared white clothes. , not enough to distribute, at that time a famous king, nicknamed Sanxizi, also came to attend the funeral. He tried to wear white clothes but failed, feeling that it was degrading, and he held a grudge... Invited dozens of gang members, each holding an iron rod, and it is said that some also held pistols There were many people, and Wang Shubao's family was beaten randomly. There was a fierce battle between the two sides, and many people were seriously injured..." White clothes are worn by relatives who have clothes. Now they must "fight" to wear them, but "it doesn't work." ", which shows that they are not relatives, but they thought it was "disgraceful" and turned into such a war. At this time, it seems that as long as you are a little different from ordinary people, you will have "face", but you can completely ignore what you have become. This kind of temper is not unavoidable for "gentlemen and merchants" to show up: when Yuan Shikai (3) was about to proclaim himself emperor, someone listed his name on the list of persuading people to enter the country to "have face"; when a country withdrew its troops from Qingdao (4), Some people regard being listed on the Wanmin Umbrella as "favoring".

Therefore, it can be said that having "face" is not necessarily a good thing - but I am not saying that people should be "shameless". It is difficult to speak out now. If you advocate "not being filial", some people will say you are inciting to beat your parents. If you advocate equality between men and women, some people will say you are advocating promiscuity - this statement is absolutely essential.

Moreover, it can sometimes be difficult to distinguish between "wanting face" and "shameless". Isn't there a joke? A gentleman is rich and powerful. I assume he is called the Four Great Men. People are proud to talk to him. There was a little brat who loved to show off, and one day he happily told others: "The four great men have spoken to me!" People asked him, "What did you say?" He replied: "I was standing at his door, and the four great men came out. , said to me: "Go away!" Of course, this is a joke, describing this person as "shameless", but in person, he thinks he is "face-worthy". If there are more people like this, he will really become " Have face".

Many other people, including the big four, didn't even say "go away" to him?

In Shanghai, although "eating foreign ham" (5) is not "face-saving", it is not very "shameful". However, compared with being kicked by an inferior person from your own country, It seems to be close to "having face".

It is good for Chinese people to want "face". Unfortunately, this "face" is a "circular method" [6], which is good at change, so it is confused with "shameless". Hasegawa casually said about "Stealing Spring" [7]: "The gentlemen of ancient times would not drink from it because of its name, but the gentleman of today would drink from it after changing its name." This also explains the "face" of "the gentleman of today" secret.

October 4th.

CC

[1] This article was originally published in the second issue of Shanghai's "Comics Life" monthly magazine in October 1934.

[2] "Inspection abroad" When warlords and politicians in the old days lost power or were frustrated, they often used "inspection abroad" as a means to temporarily retreat and wait for opportunities to rise again. There are also some who don’t really “go abroad” and just use this sentence to save face.

[3] Yuan Shikai (1859-1916), also known as Weiting, was born in Xiangcheng, Henan. He was originally the governor-general of Zhili, minister of Beiyang, and prime minister of the cabinet in the Qing Dynasty. After the Revolution of 1911, he stole the position of president of the Republic of China. In January 1916, he restored the imperial system and called himself "Emperor Hongxian". In March of the same year, he was forced to cancel the imperial system amid the condemnation of the people across the country. He died of illness in June.

〔４〕One country withdrew its troops from Qingdao refers to the withdrawal of Japanese troops that occupied Qingdao in December 1922.

[5] "Eating foreign ham" is an old Shanghai proverb, which means being kicked by foreigners. 〔６〕The "circular knitting method" is a method that adapts to changes. "Yuan Ji" can be found in "Zhuangzi Piozhi": "If it is, if not, hold on to the round machine." According to Cheng Xuanying's note of the Tang Dynasty: "The round machine is like a ring; hold on to the ring." The way to deal with right and wrong. ”

〔７〕Hasegawa Rushixian (1875-1969) Japanese critic. He is the author of "Criticism of Modern Society", "Japanese Character", etc. Not drinking from stolen springs is originally a Chinese story, see Volume 2 of Shizi (edited by Zhang Zongyuan in the Qing Dynasty):

“Confucius... stole springs too much and was thirsty but did not drink. He hated them. According to "Shui Jing Zhu": Stealing Spring comes out of the shade of Bian Mountain in the northeast of Bian City (today's east of Sishui County, Shandong Province).