preface
Figure | Lu Xun
"When people are proud of the spring breeze and feel good about themselves, it is probably difficult to approach Lu Xun, and people are unlucky, caught in the predicament of life, full of confusion, and even feel desperate, then they are close to Lu Xun."
At 5:25 a.m. on October 19, 1936, the heart of a generation of literary heroes Lu Xun stopped beating, however, Lu Xun's spirit will be forever engraved in the hearts of the people along with his name.
Lu Xun: "But the world is being made of 'fools'"
In 1926, due to the persecution of the Beiyang warlords, Lu Xun left Beijing and came to Xiamen to work as a professor of liberal arts at Xiamen University. With lu Xun's support and help, xiamen youth founded a "civilian school" to propagate revolutionary truth and cultural knowledge.
The youth invited Lu Xun to speak at the opening ceremony of the civilian school, and Lu Xun gladly agreed.
On the day of the opening ceremony, a female student angrily said to Lu Xun: "Yesterday we went to invite principal Lin Wenqing to attend the opening ceremony, and he actually said such nonsense as 'these stupid stupid children are not reading billets at all'? Hearing this, Lu Xun smiled and said emphatically:
But the world is being made of fools, and wise men must not support the world!
”
Lu Xun walked into the auditorium, and the auditorium immediately burst into warm applause. Lin Wenqing, the president of Xiamen University, also came, and he said to Lu Xun: "In the past few times, I asked you to stage a weekly meeting in the school, but you refused, but you unexpectedly participated in such a meeting today!" ”
Lu Xun replied unabashedly: "If I am willing, I will not be invited; if I am unwilling, please, I will not go!" In the warm applause, Lu Xun stepped onto the podium, and he looked at the simple smiling faces of the students in the audience and said kindly and enthusiastically:
"I am very happy that your school has a founding meeting today, because it is a civilian school, and I cannot fail to come, nor can I say a few words. You are out of school because you are poor. But you are poor with money, not with cleverness and wisdom. The children of your poor are as wise as they are wise. ”
Lu Xun's words were like a gentle spring breeze sweeping through the venue, the eyes of hundreds of pairs of teenagers in the audience were moistened, and Lu Xun's voice was even higher: "You can make up your mind, you can struggle, you will succeed, there must be a future!" ”
After Lu Xun finished speaking, a storm of applause broke out in the venue.
After Chiang Kai-shek launched the April 12 counter-revolutionary incident, after hearing the news of the counter-revolutionary mass arrest, Lu Xun was furious in his heart and actively threw himself into the activity of rescuing the arrested students. In the face of the bloody massacre of the Kuomintang reactionaries, Lu Xun angrily announced his resignation from all posts at Sun Yat-sen University to express his protest.
Lu Xun left Sun Yat-sen University, and in the face of the bloody lessons of class struggle, Lu Xun conscientiously summed up his experience and realized that only Marxism-Leninism was the effective truth guiding the Chinese revolution. He gave speeches and essays to subtly expose the bloody crimes and counter-revolutionary features of Chiang Kai-shek's reactionaries.
Lu Xun's thinking underwent a leap forward, and in those dark years of bloody storms, he resolutely stood on the position of the proletariat, firmly believing that only the Communist Party of China could lead the revolution to victory. On September 27, Lu Xun boarded a ship bound for Shanghai to meet a new and larger battle.
In October, Lu Xun came to Shanghai and began the glorious battle of the last ten years of his life, leading the left-wing cultural movement with the posture of a great communist fighter, smashing the counter-revolutionary cultural "encirclement and suppression", and becoming a great man of China's cultural revolution in the struggle.
Lu Xun: "I gave you that one"
The road of revolution is destined to be full of thorns, and the same is true of Lu Xun's revolutionary road, but he did not give up his creation and put down the pen in his hand.
One noon in the late autumn of 1932, on a drizzly day, the Neishan Bookstore in Shanghai seemed a little deserted. In a corner of the store, Lu Xun was sitting with his Japanese friend, the owner of the bookstore, Uchiyama, talking about the suppression of progressive culture by the Kuomintang reactionaries.
Figure | Lu Xun and Uchiyama were completed
At this time, almost all of Lu Xun's writings were banned.
In order to spread the revolutionary truth among the workers and peasants, Lu Xun entrusted a bookstore opened by foreigners to sell it on his behalf, and he told his Japanese friend Uchiyama Kanzo: "The Kuomintang does not allow bookstores to sell my translation of "Destruction." ”
During the conversation, a young bus ticket seller wearing a yellow uniform hat walked in, and he glanced at Lu Xun and the shop owner, and then looked at the books on the shelves. Suddenly, the word "Lu Xun" on the spine of the book jumped into his eyes, and he quickly pulled out a copy and eagerly looked at it.
This young man picked up Lu Xun's translated novel "Destruction", and Lu Xun's works brought him encouragement in those dark years, but due to the reactionaries' ban, Lu Xun's books were becoming more and more difficult to buy, and today it is an accidental discovery here.
The young man could not contain the joy in his heart, holding the book, reluctant to put it down.
The owner of the shop came to see this, and the young man politely asked, "Sir, how much is this book?" The owner took the book and looked at it and said, "One dollar and four corners." ”
The young man touched the pocket of his shirt, and there was only one dollar left in it, and he said with great regret: "I'm sorry, I don't have enough money." The owner did not hear the young man's words, but still enthusiastically recommended to him: "This book is really good, buy one." ”
"I know," the young man repeatedly stroked the book, replying softly. Lu Xun, who was sitting inside, saw all this in his eyes, stood up and walked slowly over, looked at the young man kindly, and asked, "You want to buy this book?" The youth nodded, "Would love to buy." ”
Lu Xun drew another book from the shelf and handed it to him: "You buy this one." The book is good. ”
The youth took a look at it, and the word "Iron Stream" was printed on the cover, but when he saw that the price was one yuan and eight corners, he hesitated and said: "I'm sorry, I can't afford it, sir, if the money is enough, I really want to buy it back and see." ”
The young man was sincere in his heart, and Lu Xun gently asked, "Do you have a dollar?" A dollar? ”
"Yes!" The youth unconsciously looked up and made eye contact with Lu Xun's enthusiastic gaze. Lu Xun handed the two books together to the young man and said, "Put away, the two books are one yuan." The young man took the book, could not believe his ears, he looked intently at the kind elder in front of him, suddenly remembered the photo of Lu Xun he had seen in the magazine, and shouted out in surprise: "You, you are..."
Lu Xun smiled and nodded, and then explained to the youth: "This iron stream was translated by another gentleman, and to recover a little cost, my copy is for you." Tears rolled in the young man's eyes, and he took out the silver dollar with body temperature and put it in Lu Xun's hand.
The young man had too many things to say in his heart, but for a moment he didn't know where to start, so he looked at Lu Xun affectionately, bowed respectfully to him, carefully packed the two books that condensed a deep revolutionary friendship into a canvas bag, and hurried out of the store.
Lu Xun sent it to the door. The autumn wind rolled in a drizzle, drifting on his face, sending a hint of coolness, Lu Xun stared at the young worker's distant back, but the silver dollar with body temperature in his hand made him feel incomparably warm in his heart...
Lu Xun: "People like me can't recuperate."
In the spring of 1936, Lu Xun unfortunately fell seriously ill, weighing less than forty kilograms and was very weak. However, during his illness, he still did not stop fighting against the Kuomintang reactionaries and the "moths" mixed into the revolutionary ranks, and at the same time cared about the growth of the young generation.
On October 8, the last day of the exhibition of the "Second Mobile Exhibition of All China Woodcuts", on that afternoon, Lu Xun rushed to visit with illness, and the seedling he had cultivated for many years finally grew under the threat of white terror and blossomed, how could this not make Lu Xun happy?
Figure | Lu Xun with woodcut youth
Lu Xun stepped into the venue, and the whole venue suddenly became a sensation, and a group of woodcut youths immediately surrounded him, greeting Lu Xun and asking him about his health with concern. Lu Xun replied frankly: "No, no, in the nine months of this year, I have been seriously ill for six months." He said, again, coughing and looking very pale.
The young people looked at Lu Xun's thin body and felt very sad in their hearts, and they all advised him to sit down and rest for a while. Lu Xun went straight to the exhibits, he carefully looked at every work hanging on the wall, and when he saw that the works created by these young people had indeed made progress compared with the past, a happy smile appeared on his face.
Halfway through the visit, Lu Xun casually turned over an opinion book, saw that it said "Light of Art" and other praise words, and said: "This is a 'plaque'." The youth all laughed. They understood Lu Xun's profound meaning: blind praise is like a "plaque" hanging high in front of the hall to sing praises and praises, which is not good for young people.
Everyone repeatedly asked Lu Xun to rest, and he sat down on a wicker chair, and the young people saw that Lu Xun's face was pale, and they all advised her to go abroad for recuperation. Lu Xun smiled and replied:
People like me can't recuperate. You can't live without writing an article. Instead of living a few more years without working, it is better to work quickly and live a few fewer years.
Then, Lu Xun shifted the topic to woodcuts, he said: "I will not create, but the introduction of translation and the like, but also to do." The youth clearly remember that Lu Xun painstakingly collected and reprinted many foreign progressive woodcuts and gave them gifts. That exquisite collection of woodcuts soaked in how much effort Lu Xun had made to cultivate young people!
After the rest, Lu Xun's spirit seemed to be better, and he continued to visit with great interest. He listened attentively to the introduction of the young woodcut author and was always ready to give his opinion. Lu Xun praised those works that expressed the spirit of struggle of the workers and peasants, and earnestly pointed out the shortcomings of some works that were not deeply observed and that the knife technique was improper.
After Lu Xun finished reading all the exhibits, the youth asked him what his general impression was. Lu Xun nodded satisfactorily and said, "Nature has improved compared to before, but there are still many shortcomings, which are due to the author's lack of experience and insufficient observation." He encouraged young people to be more exposed to the real struggle.
Night fell slowly, and Lu Xun said goodbye to everyone. The young people looked at Lu Xun's thin figure gradually disappearing, and could not help but think of his famous poem "Horizontal eyebrows are cold to a thousand fingers, bowing down to the widow cow", and remembering his decades of fighting history. Their eye sockets were moist.
The "Intersection" of Lu Xun and Mao Zedong
Lu Xun's life does not seem to have much to do with politics, but it has more or less many connections. Mao Zedong highly admired Lu Xun and spoke highly of him, and there were many expositions related to him.
Lu Xun and Mao Zedong, one of them is a political leader, and the other is a literary titan. Throughout his life, Mao Zedong liked to make friends in the literary and art circles, and there were good stories circulating among many literati, but he regretted that he had never met Lu Xun.
Mao Zedong once said: I have the same heart as Lu Xun, and I like his frankness. He said that dissecting oneself is often stricter than dissecting others. I was in Yan'an, reading Lu Xun's books at night, and often forgot to sleep. So, how did Mao Zedong's heart and Lu Xun's heart closely communicate?
Feng Xuefeng was Lu Xun's close friend and student, although Mao Zedong and Lu Xun never met in their lives, but Feng Xuefeng played a matchmaking role between the two people many times, making some "stories" between them.
Figure | Feng Xuefeng
In the 1930s, Feng Xuefeng said several times:
In China, he admired two people the most— Lu Xun and Mao Zedong
。
In 1933, Feng Xuefeng, then the propaganda minister of Jiangsu Province, was transferred to the Central Soviet District of Ruijin, Jiangxi, where Mao Zedong had more free time, and Feng Xuefeng often had the opportunity to see him. On several occasions, Mao Zedong proposed to Feng Xuefeng: "Tonight we will not talk about anything else, only about Lu Xun, okay?" ”
Later, Mao Zedong said to Feng Xuefeng with some regret: "I was in Beijing during May Fourth, and there were many people who worked on new literature at that time, I had seen Li Dazhao, Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, and Zhou Zuoren, but I had never seen Lu Xun. ”
Feng Xuefeng said: "In the past, there was a Japanese who said that only two and a half people in all of China understood China, Lu Xun was one of the two people, and the other half was Mao Zedong. Mao Zedong laughed and said thoughtfully: "This Japanese is not simple, he thinks Lu Xun understands China, this is right." ”
Figure | Mao Zedong
When Feng Xuefeng was serving as the director of education affairs at the Party School of the Central Soviet District, when talking with several central leading comrades, Zhang Wentian proposed to ask Qu Qiubai to preside over the education work. In this case, Bogu believed that Lu Xun had experience in educational administration and could also let him take up this position.
Later, Feng Xuefeng told Mao Zedong about this matter, and Mao Zedong disagreed with Bogu's opinion, saying: "Of course, Lu Xun plays a big role outside. Indeed, Lu Xun did play a more important role outside the party.
Later, Feng Xuefeng was ordered to return to Shanghai, and in his interactions with Lu Xun, he deeply felt his admiration for the Communist Party and Mao Zedong. In 1936, Lu Xun said enthusiastically in his article: "I have seen and supported the policy of the anti-Japanese united front put forward by the current revolutionary party in China to the people of the whole country, and I have joined this front unconditionally. ”
In a chat with Feng Xuefeng, Lu Xun smiled calmly and seemed to be saying to himself: "I think, I am still competent to be a small soldier, with a pen!" Feng Xuefeng can also clearly recall Lu Xun's kind voice of calling Mao Zedong "M.".
After the publication of the first volume of Qu Qiubai's "The Forest above the Sea", Lu Xun personally gave Feng Xuefeng two volumes for him to hand over, and Lu Xun said: "The leather noodles are sent to 'M' (Mao Zedong), and the suede is sent to Zhou (Zhou Enlai). ”
In the same year, someone went to Yan'an, and Feng Xuefeng wanted to bring something to the central leading comrades, bought twenty scarves, and five white tin packs of cigarettes. At that time, Feng Xuefeng still had a few yuan of Lu Xun's manuscript fee in his hand, so he used it to buy a ham and gave it to Mao Zedong in the name of Lu Xun, and Feng Xuefeng told Lu Xun about it, and Lu Xun was very agreeable and very happy at that time.
Until Lu Xun's death in 1936, Mao Zedong never met Lu Xun once, but despite this, their intentions were the same, and Mao Zedong believed that Lu Xun was the main general of China's cultural revolution, in addition to being a great writer, he was also a great thinker and revolutionary.
On October 19, 1937, at the meeting of The Northern Shaanxi Public School to commemorate the first anniversary of Lu Xun's death, Mao Zedong delivered a speech entitled "On Lu Xun", in which he said: To commemorate Mr. Lu Xun today, we must first know him and understand his position in the Chinese revolution... The value of Lu Xun in China, I think to count as a first-class saint, if Confucius is a saint in feudal society, then Lu Xun is a saint in modern China.
Lu Xun once wrote a poem called "Self-Deprecation", and among his many works, this "Self-Deprecation" was particularly admired by Mao Zedong:
"What did you want to do with Hua Gai, but did not dare to turn over and have already met."
Broken hats cover the city, leaking boats carrying wine in the middle stream.
Horizontal eyebrows cold to the thousand fingers, bowing down to the cow.
Hide in a small building and unify him, and manage his winter, summer, and spring and autumn. ”
In this regard, Mao Zedong once pointed out in a speech:
These two poems should become our motto, and all Communists, revolutionaries, and all revolutionary literary and art workers should follow Lu Xun's example.
In July 1949, Peiping held the All-China Congress of Literary and Artistic Workers, and at this meeting, Mao Zedong and Lu Xun finally "walked together", and Mao Zedong's head and Lu Xun's head were listed together as the emblem of the conference.
Figure | In the middle above the venue hangs the emblem of Mao Zedong and Lu Xun
This emblem is of great significance, it not only bears witness to Mao Zedong's admiration for Lu Xun and respect for the new culture, but also shows Lu Xun's unshakable position and influence in the history of modern Chinese literature, which has special historical significance.
Although Lu Xun has left us, his spirit will always live in the hearts of the Chinese people, as Chairman Mao said:
"Lu Xun's bones are the hardest, and he does not have the slightest servility and charm, which is the most precious character of the colonial and semi-colonial people. Lu Xun represents the majority of the whole nation on the cultural front and is the most correct, bravest, loyal, and enthusiastic national hero who charges against the enemy. The direction of Lu Xun is the direction of the new culture of the Chinese nation. ”