4 replies to this topic

[liaihua]

Would anybody discuss with me about Lu Xun's works as below?
Honestly, it's difficult for me to find out the meaning of the symbols that he used it there....I apreciate any help from you....

The titels are:
1. The eternal Lamp
2. The real story of A Q
3. The collapse of the Leifeng Pagoda
4. What Happens after Nora Leaves Home

Thanks...

[General_Zhaoyun]

For those who do not know Lu Xun 鲁迅， he is one of the most influential chinese writers of the early half of 20th century, known for his satire and attempt to change the chinese society through writings.

The titels are:
1. The eternal Lamp

For "The eternal lamp 《长明灯》", it's a strong metaphor and Lu Xun's implication to break the ancient chinese "feudalistic" customs and liberate the people from the demise of old chinese disease.

"The eternal lamp" represents the roots of corrupted 'feudalistic' society, while the 'madman' in the novel represents the rebel overthrowing it. When the 'madman' attempts to extinguish the 'eternal lamp', it symbolizes revolutionist rebelling against and attacking the dark world.

The 'eternal lamp' has two forms: The first form was visible, appearing in ancient temples. The second form was invisible, which was deeply rooted in the mind of the people. The 'archaic feudalistic mindset' had already corrupted the soul of people. To change that would mean extinguishing the thoughts and mindset of feudalism.

The book highlighted a revolutionary spirit.

2. The real story of A Q

For "The real story of A Q 《阿Q正传》", you can refer to Wikipedia's article at http://en.wikipedia....e_Story_of_Ah_Q

Note that "A" equals "Ah" which is a prefix for chinese names, while "Q" can mean "Quei" (or "Gui"), or can mean the "Queue" (the manchu hairstyle of Qing dynasty).

The "Ah-Q Spirit 阿Q精神" (used in chinese language) is now used as a term of mockery to describe anybody who chooses not to face up to reality and deceives himself into believing he is successful. The novel was a mockery of "lack of national spirits" of the chinese.

3. The collapse of the Leifeng Pagoda

For "The collapse of the Leifeng Pagoda 《论雷峰塔的倒掉》"， you can read the writing at
http://www.people.co...311/414170.html

Leifang Pagoda originated from the famous story "Legend of white snake 《义妖传》". In the story, Xu Xian and the white snake maiden were a pair of loving couples. But Monk Fa Hai came to subdue white snake maiden, since he treated her as a demon. The white snake maiden was later imprisoned in the Leifeng Pagoda.

Again, this is a metaphor of the society during Lu Xun's time (1924).

Xu Xian & white snake maiden = common people
Monk Fa Hai = corrupt authority
Leifang Pagoda = the ancient patriachy feudalistic society which imprisoned the chinese for thousands of years

Collapse of Leifang Pagoda = collapse of patriachy-feudalistic society & may-fourth event which was a period of time of liberation of thoughts.

Lu Xun's clear message was that Leifang pagoda was a symbol of ancient patriachical bureucracy having an oppression on the people. The collapse of it was that it symbolized liberation of China with a path of non-going back.

4. What Happens after Nora Leaves Home

For "What Happens after Nora leaves Home 《娜拉走后怎样?》 "， it originated from the western literary playwright "A Doll's house " (Et Dukkehjem) by Norwegian Writer Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828-1906). The playwright illustrated the embodiment of the emancipation (i.e. liberation) of women. In the playwright, Nora was portrayed as a puppet of her husband and children. The ending was that she realized she was a puppet and left the home. As for "what happens after Nora leaves home", the playright did not give an answer. Based on this, Lu Xun wrote "what happens after Nora leaves home".

Lu Xun's metaphor in this writing (on projection to a chinese society) was to portray "what happened after a revolution'. Before the revolution (1911 chinese revolution), the chinese were non-liberated. So what happened after a revolution? Nora was previously non-liberated, but what happened after she was liberated? Can she survive?

Of what's interesting question is whether Nora can survive to progress forward or retreat backwards to the home. It's also a question of the relationship between 'dream' and 'reality'. "dream" refers to liberation/freedom, while "reality" refers to being able to survive economically. When you're reading this book, these are symbols that you should be looking for.

[Cherm]

For those who do not know Lu Xun 鲁迅， he is one of the most influential chinese writers of the early half of 20th century, known for his satire and attempt to change the chinese society through writings.

For "The eternal lamp 《长明灯》", it's a strong metaphor and Lu Xun's implication to break the ancient chinese "feudalistic" customs and liberate the people from the demise of old chinese disease.

"The eternal lamp" represents the roots of corrupted 'feudalistic' society, while the 'madman' in the novel represents the rebel overthrowing it. When the 'madman' attempts to extinguish the 'eternal lamp', it symbolizes revolutionist rebelling against and attacking the dark world.

The 'eternal lamp' has two forms: The first form was visible, appearing in ancient temples. The second form was invisible, which was deeply rooted in the mind of the people. The 'archaic feudalistic mindset' had already corrupted the soul of people. To change that would mean extinguishing the thoughts and mindset of feudalism.

The book highlighted a revolutionary spirit.

For "The real story of A Q 《阿Q正传》", you can refer to Wikipedia's article at http://en.wikipedia....e_Story_of_Ah_Q

Note that "A" equals "Ah" which is a prefix for chinese names, while "Q" can mean "Quei" (or "Gui"), or can mean the "Queue" (the manchu hairstyle of Qing dynasty).

The "Ah-Q Spirit 阿Q精神" (used in chinese language) is now used as a term of mockery to describe anybody who chooses not to face up to reality and deceives himself into believing he is successful. The novel was a mockery of "lack of national spirits" of the chinese.

For "The collapse of the Leifeng Pagoda 《论雷峰塔的倒掉》"， you can read the writing at
http://www.people.co...311/414170.html

Leifang Pagoda originated from the famous story "Legend of white snake 《义妖传》". In the story, Xu Xian and the white snake maiden were a pair of loving couples. But Monk Fa Hai came to subdue white snake maiden, since he treated her as a demon. The white snake maiden was later imprisoned in the Leifeng Pagoda.

Again, this is a metaphor of the society during Lu Xun's time (1924).

Xu Xian & white snake maiden = common people
Monk Fa Hai = corrupt authority
Leifang Pagoda = the ancient patriachy feudalistic society which imprisoned the chinese for thousands of years

Collapse of Leifang Pagoda = collapse of patriachy-feudalistic society & may-fourth event which was a period of time of liberation of thoughts.

Lu Xun's clear message was that Leifang pagoda was a symbol of ancient patriachical bureucracy having an oppression on the people. The collapse of it was that it symbolized liberation of China with a path of non-going back.

For "What Happens after Nora leaves Home 《娜拉走后怎样?》 "， it originated from the western literary playwright "A Doll's house " (Et Dukkehjem) by Norwegian Writer Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828-1906). The playwright illustrated the embodiment of the emancipation (i.e. liberation) of women. In the playwright, Nora was portrayed as a puppet of her husband and children. The ending was that she realized she was a puppet and left the home. As for "what happens after Nora leaves home", the playright did not give an answer. Based on this, Lu Xun wrote "what happens after Nora leaves home".

Lu Xun's metaphor in this writing (on projection to a chinese society) was to portray "what happened after a revolution'. Before the revolution (1911 chinese revolution), the chinese were non-liberated. So what happened after a revolution? Nora was previously non-liberated, but what happened after she was liberated? Can she survive?

Of what's interesting question is whether Nora can survive to progress forward or retreat backwards to the home. It's also a question of the relationship between 'dream' and 'reality'. "dream" refers to liberation/freedom, while "reality" refers to being able to survive economically. When you're reading this book, these are symbols that you should be looking for.

I am chinese. But I have not read all the titles/books of Lu Xun (whose origin name is:Zhou Shuren 周树人). Lu Xun was the greatest writer in China.

[erlinesan]

hi.......my name is erline, actually i'm chinese born indonesian. i happen to have two of lu Xun's works for my undergraduate thesis. my topic is Lu xun's criticism toward chinese feudalism and semi-colonialism as seen in a madman's diary and the true story of ah q.

i find out it's not easy to find the fact and influence of colonialism in two stories. i wish anybody could help me in revealing the fact of colonialism in these two stories. thx before.

[TengAiHui]

I have read a few of Lu Xun's short stories, the main ones being "Diary of a Madman" and "A True Story of Ah-Q." Unfortunately, I don't know enough about Chinese history during the 1911 Revolution to fully understand his message. But, the one thing that I got from the "Ah-Q" story is that it is very un-Chinese to refuse to lose face.

Edited by TengAiHui, 15 May 2008 - 08:29 AM.