When it comes to Lu Xun, we all know that he is the founder of modern Chinese literature, a great thinker, writer and revolutionary. His works such as "The Scream", "Hesitation", "New Story", etc., are all familiar classics. Mr. Lu Xun has made indelible contributions to the country and the people, culture and art, truth and justice, and freedom and progress throughout his life.
But Mr. Lu Xun is not only an outstanding cultural person, but also a wealthy income person. It is said that Mr. Lu Xun's monthly salary was 360 yuan at the peak, which was a fairly high figure at the time, even exceeding the income of many government officials and business owners. So, what is the income level of these 360 oceans today?
1. The source of Mr. Lu Xun's monthly salary
At its peak, Mr. Lu Xun's monthly salary was 360 yuan, which was his income when he was teaching at Peking University from 1919 to 1924. At that time, Mr. Lu Xun was a professor at the School of Literature and Literature of Peking University and the deputy director of the Peking University Library, where his duties were mainly to teach the history of Chinese literature and selected readings of Chinese literature, as well as to manage the affairs of the library. According to Mr. Lu Xun's diary, his monthly salary consists of two parts, one is the professor's salary and the other is the deputy director's allowance, which adds up to a total of 360 yuan per month.
In addition to this fixed monthly salary, Mr. Lu Xun has other sources of income, such as his manuscript fees and royalties. Mr. Lu Xun was a prolific writer, who not only wrote many novels, essays, essays, reviews, etc., but also translated many foreign literary works, and his works were frequently published in newspapers and magazines at the time, and also published a variety of books, which brought him a lot of manuscript fees and royalties. According to statistics, Mr. Lu Xun's lifetime manuscript fees and royalties totaled nearly 20,000 yuan, which was a very considerable figure at that time.
2. Mr. Lu Xun's monthly salary
Mr. Lu Xun's monthly salary was 360 yuan at the peak, what was the level at that time? We can compare it from the following aspects:
Compared to the prices at the time. According to the data at that time, a piece of ocean could buy about 44 catties of rice in the Shanghai area, while in the Beijing area, a piece and a half of the ocean could buy a bag of 30 catties of foreign flour. Also in Beijing, the price of pork is two and a half jiao per catty (one piece of ocean is equal to ten jiao), while the price of beef is three jiao per catty. In addition, at that time, many people liked to buy Shanghai-made leather shoes, which cost 2.5 yuan per pair, and a new bicycle cost 150 yuan. According to such prices, Mr. Lu Xun's monthly salary of 360 yuan is enough for him to live a life of worry-free food and clothing, and even a little luxury.
Compared to the average salary at the time. At that time, the administrator of the Peking University Library had a monthly salary of only 8 yuan, and a manager of Shanghai Ocean Bank at that time had a monthly salary of only 25 yuan. If you are an ordinary employee of a foreign bank, your monthly salary is between 14 and 20 yuan. Even the patrol police at that time had a monthly salary of only 7 to 8 yuan, and as for those who made money by pulling rickshaws on the street or setting up stalls to sell things, the monthly salary was naturally lower.
In the rural areas, some people who work long hours for the landlord's family can only earn a dozen yuan a year, which is converted into only one ocean per month. In this comparison, Mr. Lu Xun's monthly salary of 360 yuan is very high, and his monthly salary is equivalent to 45 times that of a librarian of Peking University, 14 times that of a manager of Shanghai Ocean Bank, 18 to 25 times that of an ordinary staff member of a foreign bank, 45 to 50 times that of a patrol officer, 360 times that of a rickshaw driver, and 360 times that of a long-term worker in rural areas.
Mr. Lu Xun's monthly salary was 360 yuan at its peak, which was a fairly high income level at that time, whether it was compared with prices, average wages, or the income of intellectuals, it was very good. However, Mr. Lu Xun did not become complacent or greedy for pleasure because of this high income, but spent most of his income on supporting the revolutionary cause, sponsoring poor students, buying books and materials, and giving relief to disaster victims. Mr. Lu Xun was diligent and thrifty all his life, did not buy brand-name clothing, did not eat high-end food, did not live in luxury residences, did not drive expensive cars, his lifestyle was simple and simple, and his spiritual pursuit was noble and noble.
360 oceans, what is the income level today?
From the perspective of purchasing power, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the per capita disposable income of urban residents in China was 42,659 yuan in 2019, while the per capita consumption expenditure of urban residents in China was 21,559 yuan in 2019.
According to the information at that time, Mr. Lu Xun's monthly salary was 360 yuan, and he could buy about 16,000 catties of rice, while the average monthly salary of urban residents at that time was 20 yuan, and he could buy about 900 catties of rice. If converted according to this ratio, Mr. Lu Xun's monthly salary is equivalent to 17.8 times the monthly salary of Chinese urban residents in 2019, or 759,772 yuan.
To sum up, Mr. Lu Xun's monthly salary was 360 yuan at the peak, which was a fairly high income level at that time, and it is also a fairly high income level today. However, we cannot only see Mr. Lu Xun's high income, but ignore his high contribution, his high income is the embodiment of his high talent and high morality.