Lu Xun once had an exclamation: "It seems that no one in the advancing youth has noticed the pressure on speech now, which is also very surprising. In his view, the critic cannot criticize the author's writing without understanding the environment in which he speaks, and "even if he criticizes, it is difficult to be pertinent", which leads to his advice: "I think that in order to discuss the work of a writer, we must also think about the surrounding situation." ”
So, in the 1930s, what kind of expression environment did Lu Xun's writing face? Under the pressure of strict censorship of newspapers and periodicals and the pressure of "forbidden speech", what kind of speech methods and strategies did Lu Xun adopt? What kind of self-identity and role presupposition does the essayist Lu Xun have?
Professor Qian Liqun talked about Lu Xun for fifty years, and in different eras and different contexts, each lecture carried a clear sense of the problem. He believes that essays are the best way to establish a connection between Lu Xun and his time, and the "fashion of the moment" that Lu Xun has preserved with articles is still valuable today. Today, Movable Type Jun shared with book friends Professor Qian Liqun's article "The Environment, Method and Destiny of Lu Xun's Essays".
Qian Liqun wen
This article is an excerpt from the original issue of "Qian Liqun Talks About Lu Xun"
Recent photo of Professor Qian Liqun
"We live in such a place, we live in such an era"
At the beginning of the last decade of Lu Xun's reign, from 1927 to 1929, he wrote two anthologies: "The Collected Works" and the "Three Idle Collections". In the Preface to the Three Idle Works, he talks about his speech and writing in this period-
"I first compiled the texts I wrote from 1928 to 1929, and the number of articles was very small", "These two years were the period when I rarely wrote and had nowhere to submit articles, I was stunned by blood in 27 years, and I left Guangdong. But when I arrived in Shanghai, I encountered the encirclement and suppression of the literary elites, the Creation Society, the Sun Society, and the Crescent Society of the 'Upright Gentlemen', all of whom said that I was not good," and "The "Yu Silk" that I wrote by myself really had no right, not only did I have some scruples about other places, but my articles have always been 'squeezed', and now I am 'suppressing', what am I doing?" So only a few things were written." - Lu Xun is "transporting Hua Gai" again. That's the beginning.
By 1930, "periodicals were becoming less common, some of them could not be published on time, and they were probably under increasing pressure day by day." "Yu Si" and "Running Stream" are often detained by the post office, and the local prohibition cannot be extended in the end", Lu Xun can submit, "there is only one "Bud", and it is also banned until the fifth issue." This year, he only made less than ten short reviews collected in the "Two Hearts Collection".
What is important is that in the face of such "day-by-day intensified oppression", Lu Xun's inner feelings and reactions. His intuition is that in China, "there is no place to place this 'ivory tower' anymore", and after that, intellectuals like himself can probably only live in the "snail house" that is "similar to the grass hut built by the poor people in Jiangbei now", "less out, less moving, no clothes, no food, no words". "If this continues, there will be no literature and art in China, it is certain." In the "Inscription" written for the collection of essays from 1932 to 1933, "The Collection of Southern Cavity and Northern Adjustment", Lu Xun talked about the dilemma of his own writing: "The "Language Silk" has long been suspended, there is no place to speak arbitrarily, and the miscellaneous pen and ink must also be put in the shoes of various editors, so the article cannot be divided into two, and what can be said is said, and where it cannot be said, it is stopped. The "putting oneself in the shoes of the editors" mentioned here is precisely the effect of the ruler's trick, and sometimes the authorities do not directly punish the author, but only hold the editor accountable, which forces the author to worry more when writing, so as not to affect others.
It is not allowed to pass, dare not pass, do not want to pass, refuse to pass and strive for communication
Lu Xun (September 25, 1881 – October 19, 1936)
The question is what choice intellectuals should make in the face of such a harsh environment of discourse.
Let's first read an essay by Lu Xun: "I don't understand two kinds."
Lu Xun read a report on the rural social trend in the "Big Evening News" on October 31, 1932, entitled "The Villagers Stir up the Wind and Waves for the Second Time", and when he read it, he became confused, and did not understand it until February 3 of the following year, so he had to write an essay and carry a little impression. What causes confusion is this passage:
Chen Youliang saw that in the official army* there was Liu Jinfa who was holding a gun, and he actually wanted to seize Liu's pistol, but when he was ejected, he drank the bullet and was killed, and the inspection team also opened a row of empty guns, and the villagers began to retreat.
Lu Xun felt that "the strangest thing is that the bullet is written as if it were a living thing, and it will fly out of the chamber by itself." But because of this, the word "also" below does not make sense. The above must be changed to 'when killed'. If the above text is to be preserved, the last two sentences will be changed to "*The air guns of the inspection team also speak at the same time, and the villagers begin to retreat", which is why the baht and the army have nothing to do with each other. - Although the liberal arts are always a little surprising."
Obviously, the "incomprehensible" of the sentence here is not "the author did not have a comprehension in the first place", but what Lu Xun said, "It could have been passed, but because of various relationships, I did not dare to pass through it, or did not want to pass through it."
Why "dare not pass" or "do not want to pass"? Lu Xun did not say anything broken, but the reader understood in his heart that it was obviously the "official army* who shot and killed the villagers, but they wanted to cover up this bloody fact, and even blamed the villagers, so this "incomprehensible" sentence appeared.
Lu Xun noticed, "Now, such strange articles often appear in publications." This reflects a fundamental problem of Chinese speech: the author does not even have the right to truthfully reflect the facts and express himself smoothly, and often falls into the embarrassment of "not allowing it to pass", so he "does not dare to pass". This is actually the dilemma of speech that we talked about earlier.
Lu Xun also asked: What attitude do Chinese authors and intellectuals adopt in the face of such a situation of ideological imprisonment and lack of freedom of speech?
Lu Xun said: "If the first-class intelligent people do not talk about these things, they become 'art for art's sake'; the second-class intelligent people try their best to use all kinds of methods to whitewash this impossibility, and they become 'nationalist literature', but both belong to their own category of 'unwillingness', that is, 'unwillingness'." ”
This is typical of Lu Xun's thinking and brushwork. He grasps a "non-comprehension" and brings out the positions of various people and illuminates their souls:
"No access" - this is the position of the "official".
"Don't dare to pass" - this is "slave*".
"Unwilling to pass" and "unwilling to pass" - this is the attitude of "slave talent". They are all "smart people".
"Not Two Kinds", The Complete Works of Lu Xun, vol. 5, 22 pages, 23 pages.
"Strive for success" - this is what Lu Xun said in "Silent China": "Say something more truthful, make some more authentic sounds." This is probably the "fool.".
This is the struggle of "people" who fight for freedom in the midst of unfreedom and try to get out of the slave era.
Southern and northern tones, slave * articles, stall books
In Qian Liqun's study, on the wall are statues of Lu Xun and the "protector gods" Guan Gong and Zhong Kui
It is easy to notice that Lu Xun's "human" position is firm; but his expectations of his own words are low-key. That is to say, he insisted on independent free speech, but he constantly questioned his own speech. He has a very sober and calm assessment of the limits and shortcomings of the rebels' free speech under the unfree system, and at the same time he knows the true meaning of his words, and has a kind of self-respect and self-respect.
At the end of 1935, the domestic press sent a telegram to the Nationalist government, demanding that "legitimate public opinion be guaranteed." Lu Xun certainly did not oppose the demand for the protection of freedom of public opinion. As early as 1932, he clearly stated in response to a magazine's question: "The first step is to strive for freedom of speech. But the reference to "legitimate public opinion" aroused his vigilance. This is actually an attempt to limit the freedom of public opinion to the extent permitted by the system, which is "kneeling to create*". This is naturally unacceptable to Lu Xun, who consciously stands outside the system.
In the Preface to the Second Collection of Essays on the Miscellaneous Works of Jie jieting, he pointed out tit-for-tat: "My improper public opinion, like the land, is still dying in japan, but I do not want to seek protection, because this price is really too great." "Pretending to be "unjust" and "not wanting to protect" is a truly independent position that refuses to be incorporated.
In fact, the marginal and anti-institutional nature of Lu Xun's essays is not only a verbal position and posture, but also manifested in his essay thinking and essay language at the same time. In "Style Suitable for Myself -- Lu Xun's Essays", I analyzed the "non-standardization" of Lu Xun's essay thinking, "often outside the conventional thinking line, another way", and the "anti-norm" of his essay language, "as if deliberately breaking the rules of grammar, violating conventional usage, and creating a disharmonious body, in order to break the shackles of language on thought, and at the same time achieve absurd and strange aesthetic effects." - This is also "not into the tune, not into the flow".
Lu Xun's essays on him also have two seemingly contradictory but worth pondering statements. At the beginning of the Preface to the Three Idle Works, he made a definition: "But short criticism, indulgent talk, is the so-called 'miscellaneous feelings', but it is indeed rare." This is indeed very well said, it is a classic, and the "indulgence" is naturally the key. But then he added that his essays contained "swallowing and spitting, and not having the courage to say things directly." There is clearly a contradiction here between the limits of a pursuit and the realization of the pursuit. In fact, essays are a genre that strives for free speech in an unfree environment and is finally unfree.
Here, there is a great meaning, pondered thoroughly, and is conducive to understanding the literature, thought and culture under China's national conditions.
This is first of all to face up to "unfreedom." This is no small matter: this is the key to distinguishing between "slaves" and "slaves". Lu Xun said:
However, he knew that he was a slave*, and he was struggling, and he was uneven, struggling, and while "intending" to break free and even practice breaking free, even if he failed temporarily, he was still shackled, but he was just a single slave*. If you find "beauty" from the life of a slave, admire, caress, and revel in it, it is simply a slave who will never be recovered.
Lu Xun said: "Just because there is this difference in the slave group, there is a difference between peace and uneasiness in society, and in literature, the difference between anesthesia and fighting is clearly revealed." ”
Unfortunately, from the past to the present, there are people who constantly "find 'beauty' from the life of slaves", and as long as the master relaxes the reins in his hand slightly, they declare that they have been freed.
Therefore, in China, it also takes courage to admit that it is "not free."
"Qian Liqun Talks about Lu Xun", author: Qian Liqun, edition: Movable Type Culture| Contemporary World Publishing House, January 2022
Lu Xun had another poignant remark: "Under this kind of assassination, those who can survive and meet with the reader, then, what is the non-slave article?" I used to make small talk with a few friends. A friend said: There will be no backbone in the current article, for example, to submit articles to a supplement of a daily newspaper, the editor-in-chief first pulls out a few bones, the editor-in-chief takes out a few bones, the prosecutor draws a few bones, what is left? I said: I have removed a few bones myself, otherwise, there will be no 'left' left. Therefore, the text published at that time may be pumped four times. ”
"Therefore, in addition to the official and spineless articles, readers can only look at articles without backbones." This is a reality that must be faced: we have "broken free" but "still put on the shackles", and we can only continue to "dance in shackles". Thus, there is such a self-naming: "slave * article" and "pseudo-free book". It's an era of times. This is more of a sobriety, a rare sobriety.
With this rare sobriety, there is a choice of writing strategies: "Say a little where you can say, and stop where you can't say." Lu Xun said, "I am not at all strong. "This seems to be negative, and it does have a bit of passivity and helplessness." But there is positivity in negativity, and there is also initiative in passivity. In Lu Xun's case, the boundaries are very clear - facing reality squarely does not mean "following" reality, and not resisting and struggling. But at the same time, it is necessary to pay attention to tactics and tactics.
Selected Readings of Lu Xun's New Works by Qian Liqun, author: Qian Liqun, ed., edition: Movable Type Culture| Contemporary World Publishing House, January 2022
Lu Xun said, "I do not stand up for the battle of society," and he advocated fighting a "trench war."
First of all, we must understand and be good at protecting ourselves. There are two concepts behind this: one is that "the life of a warrior is precious" and that refusing to "throw away his life" is for a long-term battle; the other is to know his opponents very well, "China has many dark arrows", and it is necessary to suffer losses when he goes into battle shirtless. It is also necessary to understand the necessary compromises, take a roundabout road, and have courage and strategy. There is such a thing: a group of young woodcarvers in Shanxi set up the "Liuhua Society", and the advice provided to them by Lu Xun was, "The new literature and art are in Taiyuan, and it is still in the era of reclamation, and the works seem to be superficial and not intense, which is necessary to check the environment and time." It is difficult to say that it is unclear elsewhere, or that it is gray, but it can be ignored, and it should not be greedy for a false name, and it cannot be published. When fighting, the first stronghold should be held, and if one charges exclusively, and is destroyed instead, it is the courage of no strategy, not the true courage."
Of course, there are limits to compromise. Therefore, Lu Xun also said: "I am afraid that sometimes it will be forced to meet each other, and at this time, there is no way, so the short soldiers will be connected." "Here, there's another story. After Lu Xun published the "Two Kinds of Understanding" that we quoted earlier, a warrior came to the door and accused Lu Xun of "pretending to be a posture, swallowing and spitting, and playing so many bends." Lu Xun said in his response: "Speaking cannot be bent, and (this) is also a completely official language." The plant was pressed under the stone and had to grow in a bend, and it was the stone that seemed to be proud. "I am afraid that this also implies a conspiracy, leading you to speak bluntly, provoking you to say too much, and providing the excuse for the ban." Lu Xun said, "I am not strong at all," and he would never be deceived.
Lu Xun also said: "Now only my article of 'pretending to be pretentious and spitting and spitting' is actually a product of this society." What was formed was the special style of Lu Xun's essays (and even all of Lu Xun's works) and the special requirements for readers. In my book "Encounter with Lu Xun", I once summarized it as "between the explicit, hidden, exposed, and concealed" to express myself, and have this analysis: "Lu Xun's works are revealed and some are covered, and his true thoughts are realized between the explicit and the hidden." A reader who can read his work will be able to see the hidden part from the part floating above the horizontal line, and the part below is probably the more important part", and his words "have said and not said, explicit and implicit, positive and negative, detailed and slight, inside and outside, words and meanings, the distinction between words and meanings is very complicated." In a way, this is a labyrinth of language, and it is difficult to be true to him, but it is in this difficulty that we try to get close to him, to understand his true meaning between the obvious and the hidden." And that, in itself, is very attractive.
![Lu Xun's "always attack" was printed on Qian Liqun's new book[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)