Lu Xun by Zhou Shuren Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Lu Xun by Zhou Shuren - Essay Example Even Mao Zedong, a well-known and highly respected Chinese political leader, claimed that he himself is a lifelong aficionado of the works of Lu Xun. Although Lu Xun was compassionate to the ideals of the Communist, surprisingly, he never joined the Chinese Communist Party. In several works of Lu Xun, he contrasted the hypocrisy of upper-class scholars and elites, with the suffering of the lower-class people. But the uncomplicated interpretation of his stories often neglected their uncertainty and metaphysical levels. His works that deeply influenced modern Chinese fiction are Na Han (Call to Arms) of 1923, Pang Huang (Wandering) of 1926, and Gu shi xin bian (Old Tales Retold) of 1935. His essays are often satirical in his societal remarks and with his mastery of the vernacular language; his expertise with tone, which does not always project an easy thought, make his works even harder to translate. He produced harsh condemnation of China's social problems, particularly in his analysis of the ideal Chinese national. Lu Xun had all the qualifications of a good polemicist; simply means a writer who argues in disagreement or opposition to others. One of major of works of Lu Xun is the "Wild Grass" or "Ye Cao" which is a collection of prose poems which was written in 1924 and 1926. It is a pessimistic and gruesome set of poems that is a product of dreams including nightmares. A caption that would portray his seemingly negative attitude is read as follows: "As subterranean fire is spreading, raging underground. Once the molten lava beaks through the earth's crust, it will consume the wild grass and lofty trees, leaving nothing to decay. But I am not worried; I am glad. I shall laugh aloud and sing." (Wild Grass 1974) However, he is motivated to write in the hopes of enlightening his people, for humanity, and for the need to better it. It appeared from his writing that his aim is to expose the disease, or the unfortunates of the society, and draw attention to it so as it can be cured or corrected. Also evident is the mixing of literal and figurative truth; fantasy and reality; animate and inanimate objects. In effect the poems i n "Wild Grass" are a product of supernatural events and the dream, or the intentional framing of a piece of account as a dream, is strongly associated with the world of the individual subconscious. It is a place of strong emotional intensity inspiring of otherwise subdued or surrealist image and desires. This is depicted in the line, "If you sleep to a time when you lose track of time, your shadow may come and take his leave with these words: There is something I dislike in heave; I do not want to go there." (Wild Grass 1974) The effect is one of underscoring the inconsistency between the inner world and outer world, and of highlighting the complications of individual psychology. In several of these short passages, the dream now becomes a model of art, rearranging personal experiences into symbolic structures, aiming not as visualization of actual events, but rather an