Mr. Lu Xun's writing has always been as sharp and cold as a blade, he disdains to conceal and whitewash the contempt for the class enemy in his articles, and his pen is as combat effective as the bayonet on the battlefield.
Born in the era of wind and rain, he was frustrated when he was young, witnessed the poverty and fragility of the whole country, and gradually grew into a literary writer with the whole country and the world in mind.
Although Lu Xun once went to the Orient to study medicine under the arrangement of his family, the development of Japan and the international situation made Lu Xun very emotional, he believed that studying medicine could not save China, and only by changing people's thinking could the rejuvenation of the nation and the liberation of the country be realized.
In his work "Two Hearts Collection", Lu Xun once used such a passage to describe the complexity and change of human nature: "The slave has become the master, and he will never abolish the title of "old master", and his shelf is probably more complete than his master, and it is still ridiculous." ”
This passage sounded very deafening and deafening in the social environment at that time, and it was a bitter satire on the fact that the lowly slaves could not get rid of feudal ignorance after they turned over, so was this sentence still applicable in modern society?
A vicious circle of oppression
Where there is oppression, there is resistance, which is a conclusion reached through countless social practices, but under the oppression of feudal society, the worship of power and status has approached the pathological extreme.
This has caused many people who were originally oppressed and exploited, even if they one day turned over and became superiors, they would not have kindness and sympathy for those who were inferior like their former selves. After they gain power, they will intensify their oppression of the exploited, because they will vent all the heartache and pain of their servants on their own servants.
For example, Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty, did what he did when he ascended the throne and became empress, which is a true portrayal of this kind of crowd in Lu Xun's writing.
When Zhu Yuanzhang was young, he experienced war, his family was even brutally killed, and the young Zhu Yuanzhang had to live on the streets begging for a living, and he was even beaten by the coachmen of rich families when begging.
These experiences of humiliation were deeply imprinted in Zhu Yuanzhang's heart, and after he later ascended the throne as emperor, Zhu Yuanzhang carried out a bloody massacre of the old-school nobles of the previous dynasty.
After purging his court, Zhu Yuanzhang did not pay more attention to and care for those peasants who were still working hard to cultivate the land, but after he became emperor, he further increased taxes, making the peasants' lives more difficult.
A few years after ascending the throne, Zhu Yuanzhang further strengthened his autocratic rule, and by the time a red-clad holy decree was sent out of the palace, Zhu Yuanzhang had completely forgotten that he was also a wandering and begging child on the street, and that the oppression and exploitation he had been subjected to were now doubly imposed on his servants and the poor peasants of the Ming Dynasty.
Such behavior is not just a means that individuals will take after gaining power, which is often the first choice of many people after struggling to ascend to power.
Because he was weak and bullied, out of a twisted sense of revenge, such pain is often further retaliated against people who are inferior to himself, and the essence of this matter is a vicious circle of oppression throughout.
The transformation of self-identity
The vengeance mentioned above actually has a relative explanation in psychology. That is, if a person lives in an environment full of oppression and exploitation from a young age, then the person's mental health is most likely not guaranteed, then such a person will also look at the world with hatred when he grows up.
After success, such people often base their happiness on the pain of others, and through the intensification of exploitation and humiliation of others, to obtain the psychological pleasure of their own superiors.
But if a person is a well-bred nobleman from a young age, he has received due preferential treatment and care in the process of growing up, and then one day this person suffers and loses his aristocratic status, he often has two possibilities.
One is that this person will cultivate obscurity and train his various skills for ten years, so that one day he can make a comeback and regain his identity and status. Because he fell from a high place in a superior posture, when he succeeded, he would think that this was what he deserved.
The biggest difference between the two types of people listed above is the transformation of their own identity. Due to the different experiences before, different psychological cognition and personality characteristics have been created, which also confirms Lu Xun's sentence: "When a slave becomes a master, he will be able to put up a shelf better than the master!" ”
Whether it is suitable for modern times
In the history of the Song Dynasty, there is a very humiliating past that is the "shame of Jingkang", the sons of Song Huizong and Song Qinzong, the two great Han Tianzi were abducted and put under house arrest by the Jin people, the court of the Song Dynasty became a pot of porridge, and the Jin people carried out inhumane abuse and massacres of the harem people of the Song Dynasty.
This change from slave to master led the Jin to commit countless evil deeds within the imperial city of the Song Dynasty, and they were generally arrogant and arrogant when they successfully abducted the Chinese emperor and thought they could rule the whole world.
In modern society, although China has long been separated from feudal society, other parts of the world still have the smoke of war.
This kind of war and mutual harm between the two countries is still staged in modern society, and this kind of harm and atrocity committed by the Jin people against the people of the Southern Song Dynasty still exists in our modern society.
And Lu Xun's deafening words at that time still have a warning significance and effect for us modern people. It reminds us that no matter what position we are in, no matter what situation we are in, we should not preconceived not to put a trap on ourselves and let ourselves fall into emotions of hatred and revenge.
brief summary:
The words slave and master have left our modern society today, but the meaning behind this sentence still has a very important warning effect in modern society.
In the low position, first see yourself as a complete person, rather than numbly thinking that you were born a person who has been bullied; after being freed from such a predicament, do not take revenge on other innocent people for some of the harm you have suffered in the past.