In 1929, Lu Xun wrote a reminiscence essay "Mr. Fujino" at Xiamen University, which is a relatively rare narrative article in Lu Xun's works, and it can be seen that Mr. Fujino played a pivotal guiding role in Lu Xun's growth process.
Lu Xun graduated from the Mining Road Academy in 1902 and went to Japan to study at public expense, when he was only 21 years old, and did not officially return to the motherland from Japan until 1909, it can be said that Lu Xun spent his youth in Japan, but in Lu Xun's later literary works, there are very few descriptions of Japanese life.
Only Fujino Yanjiuro, who taught Lu Xun to study medicine at that time, appeared in his literary works, and for Fujino's mr. Lu Xun, he once said that he would never forget it, but for Fujino Yanjiulang, he did not have a deep impression on Lu Xun as a student.
I don't want to talk more about Japan
When later generations look at Lu Xun's literary works, it can be found that in Lu Xun's sojourn career, every time he went to live in a place, he always left a strong description of the text, or a narrative of the local cultural customs, or a spicy satire on the social phenomena at that time.
However, for Japan, which has lived for 7 or 8 years, Lu Xun rarely describes and records Japanese life in interviews or literary works, and when others mention Japan in front of Lu Xun, Lu Xun will even show a look of disgust.
Therefore, it is not difficult to see from Lu Xun's interviews and works that he actually does not have much good feelings for Japan, where he has lived for many years, and he also has a general dislike attitude toward Japan.
Among them, one of the important reasons why Lu Xun was reluctant to talk more about Japan in front of others was that Lu Xun felt insulted during his studies in Japan, which had a lot to do with China's national conditions at that time, and the decline of national strength made the rapidly developing Japanese people at that time have a contemptuous attitude towards Chinese students who came to study.
When Lu Xun went to send a medical college in Japan to study, he also wrote a letter to a friend, in which Lu Xun bluntly pointed out that the Japanese were actually no better than Chinese, and these attitudes can also be seen that Lu Xun did not have this disgust for Japan after returning to China.
This is actually not difficult for Lu Xun himself to understand, Lu Xun is different from other literati writers in the Republic of China era, his temperament is with pride, and it is this temperament that determines that Lu Xun did not have much good feelings for this country during his studies in Japan.
The only good feeling
But for Lu Xun, Mr. Fujino, who taught him medical knowledge during his studies at the Sendai Medical College in Japan, is an exception, and it is Mr. Fujino who makes Lu Xun feel one of the few warmths in a foreign country.
In Lu Xun's special account of Fujino Yanjiuro's work, he uses a lot of delicate words to outline for the reader the image of a dedicated, enthusiastic Japanese teacher, although "Mr. Fujino" has a lot of literary and artistic processing, but it can still be seen that Lu Xun's respect for Mr. Fujino.
Moreover, in Lu Xun's memories and interviews, he also once said that during his study in Japan, the person who provided the greatest help to himself was this Mr. Fujino, and through this Japanese teacher, we can still see some traces of Lu Xun's life in Japan.
For Lu Xun himself, Mr. Fujino also played a very key turning point in his future exploration career, and it was Mr. Fujino's medical teaching to Lu Xun that made Lu Xun realize that studying medicine could not save the Chinese at that time, and only the real strength of the national strength could provide a stable guarantee for the medical cause.
There is also a reason why Lu Xun has a great feeling for Mr. Fujino, that is, Mr. Fujino made up for the emotional defects of Lu Xun's loss of his father at a young age to a certain extent, and it was Fujino Yanjiulang's tireless treatment of students that made Lu Xun, who did not feel much warmth in Japan at that time, touch the warmth for the first time.
It was also because of this respect that Lu Xun also bid farewell to Mr. Fujino when he was preparing to return to China, and told him about the change of feelings when he studied medicine on the occasion of his resignation, and Mr. Fujino's encouragement of Lu Xun at that time became a bright light for Lu Xun's future literary career.
Who is Lu Xun?
It is only very embarrassing that Lu Xun's respect for this Japanese teacher in "Mr. Fujino" jumped on the paper, but in reality, Fujino Yanjiulang was not very impressed with this Chinese student, and when a reporter interviewed Mr. Fujino, he could not remember who Lu Xun was for a while.
When Lu Xun died of illness in 1936, the Japanese newspaper reporter who learned the news once approached Mr. Fujino for an interview, wanting to learn more about Lu Xun from Mr. Fujino's mouth, but it was very embarrassing that Mr. Fujino bluntly said that he did not have much impression of "Zhou Shurenjun" (Lu Xun's real name).
Moreover, Mr. Fujino, who was far away in Japan, did not know what Lu Xun did after returning to China, nor did he know that Lu Xun later became a well-known literary writer in Chinese society, so when the Japanese newspaper reporter came to the door, Mr. Fujino was also surprised by Lu Xun's achievements.
Because in Mr. Fujino's impression, "Zhou Shurenjun" was a middle school student in the medical class at that time, and the relationship with his classmates was not very good, if it were not for the fact that Lu Xun was an international student from China, perhaps Mr. Fujino's impression of him would be more bland.
Talking about the care for Lu Xun himself, Mr. Fujino also said that this is because he feels that it is not easy for Lu Xun to study in Japan far from home, and although his homework is not excellent, he still tends to be mediocre, so he will take good care of Lu Xun in his daily teaching.
And another reason is that out of his own preference for Chinese culture, Mr. Fujino, in the context of the Japanese people's general contempt for Chinese, urged Lu Xun to return to China after completing his studies at the Sendai Medical School.
And this kind of special kindness will be misinterpreted by Lu Xun at that time, it is also understandable, because for a young student who has been independent since childhood and is still far away from home, the care of teachers from other countries will indeed make Lu Xun feel a little extra beauty in Japan.
Therefore, even if Lu Xun did not want to talk about his career in Japan in the future, he was still very grateful to Mr. Fujino at that time, so it was not surprising that Lu Xun would write a special reminiscence essay for him.
brief summary:
In his youth, Lu Xun was undoubtedly very sensitive and full of pride, and in the many years of studying in Japan, most Japanese people's feeling of contempt for Chinese made him very disgusted, but at the same time, Mr. Fujino's kind of teaching and care regardless of nationality made Lu Xun remember, and this period of teacher-student friendship beyond nationality would not be tarnished by Mr. Fujino's forgetfulness.