Korean sinologist Park Jae-woo: Why do Xun Ge'er and Yan Tu make me feel close?
China News Service Seoul, March 26 Title: Why do Xun Ge'er and Yan Tu make me feel close?
——Interview with Park Jae-woo, a Korean sinologist and president of the International Lu Xun Research Association
China News Service reporter Liu Xu
In the 1920s, Lu Xun's works were introduced to South Korea, and for more than 100 years, with the development of Korean society, the study of Lu Xun in Korean academic circles has never been interrupted, and has a deep Korean historical and political imprint. Some people believe that South Korea is becoming one of the countries that have studied Lu Xun the most and in depth. Why does Lu Xun have such influence in South Korea? Why does his work resonate with Koreans?
Park Jae-woo, a Korean sinologist, president of the International Lu Xun Research Association, and chair professor of The Chinese Yangtze River Scholars, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Question" to introduce the historical context and practical significance of Lu Xun research in South Korea, and make suggestions on the current people-to-people exchanges between South Korea and China.
The interview transcript is excerpted below:
China News Service: Why did you choose to study Lu Xun's works at that time? Which of Lu Xun's works do you like the most?
Park Jae-woo: In the early 1970s, I entered the department of Chinese at Seoul National University. At that time, Korean society was still prolonging the dictatorship of the military in the name of the "restoration system", and at that time, the problem of socio-economic monopoly and corruption was very serious. Under such circumstances, I came into contact with Lu Xun literature. I wrote an article about Lu Xun's literary thought at the request of the school newspaper, and Lu Xun's image as a "spiritual warrior" touched me, and I had a deep resonance, which also became a turning point that changed my destiny.
Later, when I wrote my undergraduate thesis, I chose Lu Xun's works to study. After that, I went to Taiwan to study and studied the classical literature advocated by Lu Xun, Sima Qian's "History". After graduating with my Ph.D., I continued to do research on Lu Xun literature and the comparison of modern and contemporary Chinese literature, Korean Chinese studies. In 2011, I and many international colleagues and friends who studied Lu Xun established the International Lu Xun Research Association in Lu Xun's hometown of Shaoxing. Because of the influence of Lu Xun, I began to study classical Chinese literature, and thus laid the foundation of literature, and now I am back in the field of Lu Xun literature, and I think I have achieved heart-to-heart communication with Mr. Lu Xun, which is very gratifying.
In Lu Xun's works, the one that resonates with me the most is "Hometown". You can see the countryside in "Hometown". Lu Xun's countryside is very similar to the countryside in my hometown of Jinshan. Like the "Xun Ge'er" in the text, I grew up in the countryside and later went to school in Seoul. I also have playmates like The LeapIng Earth, some of whom are still in the countryside. The scene of snow catching birds in winter in "Hometown" is also my childhood experience. There is also his description of his mother's mentality when she sold her big house to go to Beijing, or the expression of her expression, which I also saw in my mother's expression, which was very kind. Many of the rural social contradictions he mentioned, or the negative impact of traditional feudal concepts, I also have a great sense of identification.
In 2007, the 4th Lu Xun Literature Award was held in Lu Xun's hometown in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province. Zhang Gui, the grandson of Zhang Yunshui, the prototype of Lu Xun's leaping earth, met with Lu Xun's son Zhou Haiying at the award ceremony. China News Service reporter Yuan Yun photographed
China News Service: What is the influence of Lu Xun and his works in South Korea? How did his works go through in Korea?
Park Jae-woo: A hundred years have passed since Lu Xun's name was first introduced to South Korea in early 1921. The history of Korea's acceptance of Lu Xun in the past hundred years can be roughly divided into six stages:
The first phase was from 1921 to 1945. At that time, both Korea and China were in a period of aggression or control by Japanese imperialism, and few people in South Korea translated Lu Xun's works, but some intellectuals studying in Beijing or Shanghai commented on and introduced Lu Xun. For example, Li Lushi, a national poet who worked in the anti-Japanese independence movement, wrote a eulogy at the time of Lu Xun's death, expressing support and identification in this way.
The second phase, liberation from 1945 to 1950, was a period of temporary appearances. At this time, South Korea experienced the US military administration period and the administration of President Syngman Rhee, and the idea of international progress was constantly introduced into the people, and everyone was exploring a new way out of South Korea. In the process, the Korean edition of Mr. Lu Xun's short story collection was published for the first time, and the Faculty of Letters of Seoul National University also held a lecture on the 11th anniversary of Lu Xun's death. It is not easy to hold a lecture for Lu Xun's death in countries other than China. In addition, it is also valuable that the Korean University Dramatic Arts Research Association will perform "A Q Zheng biography" as a screenwriter.
The third phase, from the outbreak of the war in 1950 to 1979, was a period of underdog and long-term exploration. By 1963, Lu Xun's works in "Scream" and "Wandering" were translated and published in Korea. After 1974, such translations gradually increased, and research on Lu Xun slowly appeared in Korean academic circles.
In 2011, at the Lu Xun Memorial Hall in Shanghai, the audience watched the huge relief sculptures "Scream" and "Wandering". Photo by Zhou Dongchao, China News Service
The fourth stage, the 1980s, was a period of lively growth. China began to reform and open up, South Korea's society has also changed a lot, and the economy has become active. Around 1987, Lu Xun's essays were translated into Korea. More importantly, Lu Xun's influence on the Democratization Movement in Korean society. Mr. Lee Yong-hee of South Korea was a representative of the advanced intellectuals and social activists of the time, and was later called "Lu Xun of Korea". He used Lu Xun's essays to profoundly expose and criticize the contradictions between Korean politics and society at that time. Through the great influence of Li Yongxi, Lu Xun was truly accepted by the vast number of intellectuals and students in Korea, and his influence continued to expand.
The fifth phase, the 1990s, was a period of growth and expansion. An important point at this stage is that doctoral dissertations about Lu Xun have appeared one after another, and Lu Xun's essays have slowly begun to expand in popularity.
Therefore, at different stages of Korean social development, Lu Xun has different epochal significance, bringing "hope" to the people and intellectuals. Chinese scholars' introductions, many Korean intellectuals and people agreed with Lu Xun's words, and many young people were encouraged and inspired to see Lu Xun's articles. These young people also grew up to become leaders of the Korean democratization movement and were active in various fields in Korea.
Entering the 21st century, it has reached the sixth stage, a period of flat expansion and deepening. At this stage, we walked through the enthusiastic identification with Lu Xun and began to calm down and sit at the desk to do research. The most important achievement of these more than 20 years is the publication of the 20-volume Korean translation of the Complete Works of Lu Xun. This is the second overseas edition of the Complete Works of Lu Xun, which has a good impact on the popularization and dissemination of Lu Xun in Korea. In addition, there is also the publication of a 10-volume Korean edition of the Selected Collection of Chinese Lu Xun Studies Masters, which has become a frame of reference for Lu Xun scholars in Korea.
Selected Collections of Chinese Lu Xun Research Masters, Korean edition. Photo by Liu Xu, a reporter of China News Service
China News Service: How do young people in South Korea know Lu Xun now? What do you think is the practical significance of Lu Xun's spirit at present?
Park Jae-woo: There are essay exams in Korea's college entrance examinations, and candidates of world masterpieces and literary classics need to understand. Lu Xun must be an important part of modern Chinese literature. Lu Xun's "A Q Zheng Biography" and "Hometown" have been selected into Korean textbooks, and it is necessary to understand when preparing for the examination. Therefore, Korean students in the 21st century, as long as they have read high school, must have heard of Lu Xun. They also know the image of Ah Q, and often use expressions such as "spiritual victory method" in daily life. The media also often quotes the phrase "there is no road on the ground, and the more people who walk, the more it becomes the road."
As I said before, the study of Lu Xun in South Korea is now different from the period of Japanese imperialism and the period of military regime rule, although it is somewhat diluted, but Lu Xun's critical spirit is still of practical significance. Lu Xun's critique is very important not only for society and others, but also for self and nation.
Some Korean humanists do not regard Lu Xun as a foreign writer, and feel that he is related to our lives. We will introduce fragments and pictures from Lu Xun's works as a mirror of life; we will also think about how to solve certain problems in Korean reality through the introduction of Lu Xun literature, that is, to deal with certain contradictions in Korean social life and concepts, and reinterpret Lu Xun's works. For example, we will reinterpret Ah Q and the Spiritual Victory Method from a local korean perspective. Although Ah Q is a typical image of chinese peasants during the Xinhai Revolution, its spiritual victory method is also a manifestation of human universality. Similarly, there was also Ah Q among contemporaries koreans, and there was a discussion about how to change from Ah Q to the master of his own destiny. However, in the complex and pluralistic society of the 21st century, the interpretation of the "spiritual victory method" also includes both positive and negative sides, and some people believe that this is the survival tactic of the weak who deceive themselves, and it is also the mental health law of "B" in the relationship between "A and B" in society.
Manuscript of Lu Xun's "A Q Zheng Biography". Photo by Sun Xinming, China News Service
China News Service: This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and the ROK, how do you view the role of cultural exchanges in developing bilateral relations? What efforts should the two sides make to promote cultural exchanges between China and the ROK?
Park Jae-wook: There were exchanges between South Korea and China long before the founding of the People's Republic of China, and we were looking forward to the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and China, and we could carry out formal exchanges, and now we have reached the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. In the past 30 years, the cultural exchanges between Korea and China have developed very rapidly and extensively, and the exchanges between the people have been very active, so I think there is no major obstacle between the psychology of the people of the two countries. At present, some young netizens in South Korea and China have controversies on some topics, but these small conflicts should not become the mainstream. We should give play to the role of positive energy, seek common ground while reserving differences, reach the realm of you have me and I have you, continue to adhere to people-to-people exchanges, and promote friendly exchanges between the two countries at the political level with people-to-people ties.
In 2021, two Young Koreans learned to cook Lu Xun's Shaoxing cuisine in Lu Xun's hometown of Shaoxing, Zhejiang. Photo by China News Service reporter Wang Gang
Specific to my own plan, I began to participate in the "Asian Classics Translation Project" at the beginning of last year, which was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations. I serve as the Chairman of the Korean-Chinese Expert Committee, and we cooperate with relevant Chinese units to promote the mutual translation of humanistic classics. At present, we have held several online meetings with the Chinese side, and we have decided that the five books to be translated by the two countries this year, covering culture, literature, aesthetics and other fields, will be published on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and China in August this year, hoping to promote the exchange of Korean Chinese with such exchange activities. (End)
Respondent Profiles:
Park Jae-woo, a Korean sinologist and president of the International Lu Xun Research Association. Park Jae-wook is the first Korean liberal arts professor to be appointed as a chair professor of the "Yangtze River Scholars", the president of the International Lu Xun Research Association, a distinguished researcher of the Institute of Advanced Studies in The Humanities and Social Sciences of Shaanxi Normal University, and the editor-in-chief of the Journal of contemporary Korea of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. His major works include "Comparative Study of the History of Hanshu", "Collected Research Papers of Lu Xun in Korea", "General Time Investigation of Chinese Korean Novels in the 20th Century", "Investigation of Contemporary Chinese Literature", etc., so that more Koreans can understand Chinese modern and contemporary literature and understand Lu Xun, the founder of modern Chinese literature.