At 5 a.m. on October 19, 1936, most people were still asleep in their dreams, but at that moment, an outstanding literary giant, Mr. Lu Xun, known as the "backbone of the nation", died suddenly at the age of 55. The news of Lu Xun's death was quickly conveyed to his wife Xu Guangping, who immediately began to deal with the funeral. Lu Xun's body was quickly transferred to the Wanguo Funeral Home, where a day of condolences was originally planned, but due to the crowd of people who came to mourn Lu Xun, the entire city of Shanghai seemed to be suddenly emptied, and the funeral had to be extended by a day. The white cloth covering Lu Xun's body was printed with three large characters of "national soul", which was personally inscribed by Mr. Shen Junru, and the 16 coffin bearers were all famous figures. From Lu Xun's stop to the funeral on the afternoon of October 21, 1936, the number of people participating in the mourning was as high as 100,000, and many even came from other places overnight. Lu Xun's funeral procession stretched from Xujiahui to the Universal Cemetery in Hongqiao. Lu Xun's funeral was known as the "funeral of the century", however, in fact, Lu Xun himself did not want to hold such a grand ceremony. His life was glorious, his death was highly deserved, and everyone remembered and respected him.
We all know that during the Republican period, the famous literary scholars Hu Shi and Lu Xun had long-term contradictions because of their different ideological positions. However, when Lu Xun died, the person who published Lu Xun's anthology turned out to be Hu Shi, and he said of Lu Xun: "Lu Xun is a liberal and will never succumb to external forces. Lu Xun is our man. This behavior highlights Lu Xun's charisma. However, some people may ask, did Lu Xun, as a highly respected literary giant, leave a will before he died? In fact, he did leave a will, and it was an extraordinary will. A month and a half before his death, on September 5, 1936, he published an article entitled "Death" in the second issue of Zhongliu.
In this article, Lu Xun stated that he had considered writing a will, believing that if he were a court minister and had a fortune of millions, his son and son-in-law would have urged him to write a will. However, he also made it clear that no one mentioned it, so he personally left a copy. His will is mainly addressed to relatives and includes the following requirements:
Do not accept money related to the funeral, except for old friends.
Be buried quickly, without any commemoration.
Everyone must forget about him and concentrate on living their lives, otherwise they will be really confused.
If the son grows up without special talents, he can do simple work, but he must never become an empty writer or artist.
Don't take other people's promises seriously.
Don't take revenge on those who hurt you, and advocate tolerance.
Particularly notable is Article 5, in which Lu Xun asked his only son, Zhou Haiying, not to engage in "empty" literary or artistic work. This request may be questionable, since Lu Xun himself is a literary scholar and has also been involved in art, and has published many articles on fine arts. However, Lu Xun's meaning is very clear, he does not oppose his son to work in these two fields, but firmly opposes his son using his own reputation to wander around at will and become a literary artist or artist with a reputation but empty reputation. In fact, instead of working in literature or art, Zhou studied physics at university and studied radio technology. This will highlights Lu Xun's integrity and firmness, even in his own son. Mr. Lu Xun's unique style is difficult to find in the next world.