Call to Arms 呐喊

by Lu Xun, 魯迅

Lu Xun (simplified Chinese: 鲁迅; traditional Chinese: 魯迅; pinyin: Lǔ Xùn) or Lu Hsün (Wade-Giles), was the pen name of Zhou Shuren(September 25, 1881 - October 19, 1936) is one of the major Chinese writers of the 20th century. Considered by many to be the founder of modern Chinese literature, he wrote in baihua (the vernacular) as well as classical Chinese. Lu Xun was a short story writer, editor, translator, critic, essayist and poet. In the 1930s he became the titular head of the Chinese League of Left-Wing Writers in Shanghai.
Lu Xun's works exerted a very substantial influence after the May Fourth Movement to such a point that he was lionized by the Communist regime after 1949. Mao Zedong himself was a lifelong admirer of Lu Xun's works. Though sympathetic to the ideals of the Left, Lu Xun never actually joined the Chinese Communist Party. Lu Xun's works are known to English readers through numerous translations, especially Selected Stories of Lu Hsun translated by Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang.

Contents:
A Madman's Diary,
True Story of Ah Q,
Kong Yiji,
eleven other important works

Genres: Fiction, China, Classics, Literature, Short Stories, Chinese Literature, Asia

443 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2000

About the author

Lu Xun (鲁迅) or Lu Hsün (Wade-Giles), was the pen name of Zhou Shuren (September 25, 1881 – October 19, 1936), a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. Writing in Vernacular Chinese as well as Classical Chinese, Lu Xun was a novelist, editor, translator, literary critic, essayist, and poet. In the 1930s he became the titular head of the League of Left-Wing Writers in Shanghai.


For the Traditional Chinese profile: here.
For the Simplified Chinese profile: 鲁迅

Reviews

[Tocotin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m glad I read some more of this author at last. It took me forever though, one of the reasons being that the book has super tiny print. I quite liked some stories in this collection, some not so much.

“A Madman’s Diary” is first in the collection, but I read is as second, after “Kong Yiji”. It is an extremely depressing story of a man who is convince that all people around him are cannibals, waiting to devour him. He finds allusions and instructions pertaining to cannibalism everywhere, even in Confucian classics, and in the end recalls his sister who died when she was five, and he starts wondering whether his family, especially his brother who is now taking care if him, hadn’t fed him her meat as well, so that he himself is also, in fact, a cannibal, just like everyone. It is easy to see the allusions to contemporary society here; also cannibalism seems to be a recurring theme in Lu Xün’s writing.

“Kong Yiji” is a horribly sad and pessimistic story set in a fictional town of Luzhen, about a failed scholar who is supporting himself by writing letters and documents, and occasionally stealing. The story is narrated by a young servant in a tavern, where Kong Yiji comes to drink and be ridiculed by other patrons. There is virtually no ray of hope here, everyone is either cruel or ignorant, or both. Lu Xün was highly critical of Confucianism and of various traditional Chinese institutions – here he is laying into the old imperial examination system and, by extension, into the hypocrisy and cruelty of society. This is nothing new, of course – I was reminded of similar Russian stories, Chekhov’s especially (and Lu Xün did study and read Russian literature prior to writing Call to Arms) – but it is a good story, one of my favorites in this collection.

“Medicine” is another horribly pessimistic and cannibalistic one; it deals with an old folk superstition, according to which a steamed bun dipped in fresh human blood is a cure-all medicine. A father buys such a bun for a lot of money; it is supposed to cure his son who is ill with tuberculosis. The blood comes from a young revolutionary who has been executed in the morning. I didn't like this story as much; I thought it was a bit too simplistic and ideologically inclined. The thing I liked the most about it is a little piece of background info. The revolutionary's name, Xia 夏 ("summer") is an allusion to Qiu Jin, who was beheaded when she was only 31 years old, and who was a friend of Lu Xün's; her name, Qiu 秋, means "autumn". She was a poet and a feminist, and she studied in Japan, so I'm going to find out more about her.

“Tomorrow” and "An Incident". I liked the former, although it was, again, a horribly depressing one; it's about a poor, young widow, whose little son falls ill. No, I won't spoil it – but perhaps I already have?... (I liked the portrayal of a poor neighborhood, though – there was some brightness in it.) The latter one was barely a sketch; the narrator describes a rickshaw accident. There is a bit of optimism in this story; I guess Lu Xün had some hopes for the new China after the fall of the Qings.

“The Story of Hair” was not much of a story, it was more of a dull, didactic dialogue of two friends about the opposition of Chinese activists and reformers (who often fought by adopting nontraditional hairstyles) against various forms of tyranny, and about the way the sacrifices of are now forgotten. Lu Xün himself has once decided to cut off his queue (which was mandatory for Han Chinese under the Qings) during his stay in Japan, and he had problems because of that when he came back to China. Yeah well, "but it really happened" doesn't a good story make...

"A Storm in a Teacup" – it's a sort-of funny story about a boatman who has cut his queue after the fall of the Qing dynasty, and who, upon hearing the news of the restoration of Pu Yi to the throne, is afraid that he'd be executed. His family members are outright panicking. The writing itself is funny, but the situation is anything but.

"Hometown" – I loved this one. It's probably autobiographical, about a guy who returns briefly to his ancestral home before it is sold, and meets his childhood friend with whom he shares his most beautiful childhood memories, but who is poor and of a low social standing, and who now acts all scared and subservient. They succeed in overcoming their class differences (not without the help of the main character's mother) and having a brief, honest talk together, but then have to part again. Very touching and sad.

"The True Story of Ah Q" – wow. This is the most famous of Lu Xün's stories, and I can see why. It is very long, more a novella than a short story, and describes the life of the eponymous hero in a series of episodes. I purposely avoided learning anything about this story prior to reading it, but still I was able to tell almost straight away that it was meant as a huge general allegory of Chinese national character. It's full of anger and love at the same time; the main character is a thoroughly despicable person and yet my heart ached for him at the end. And I love how alive it is today, how certain elements and names from it are used in political satire and internet commentary.

"The Double Fifth Festival" – this was supposedly autobiographical, but the main character was, in my opinion, a caricature of an aloof, apolitical Chinese scholar rather than the compassionate intellectual from "Hometown". The story describes his troubles with the Republican government withdrawing payment to public officials, amongst them teachers; the main character does nothing, leaving actual protesting and finding money to his colleagues and his long-suffering wife. I must say that reading about his situation was a bit too close to home for me right now...

"The White Light" – it was a sad story about an old teacher from a once well-to-do family who has been trying, year after year, to pass government exams, and fails for the 16th time. When he returns home, he suddenly remembers an old family legend about a huge silver treasure which had been hidden somewhere by his ancestors – maybe on the premises, maybe somewhere else... No spoilers, but Lu Xün being the author, the story does not have a happy ending. (Apparently the main character Chen Shicheng was based on Lu Xün's uncle's tragic life story.)

"Some Rabbits and a Cat" – this was a simple story about a family of rabbits which the author's sister-in-law kept under the mulberry tree, and about the black cat who was suspected of murder by everyone, including the author. I read this with a lot of anticipation, and while there was no direct cruelty to animals described, I did not like the ending (frankly, I hope it was a joke).

"A Comedy of Ducks" – an extremely short, autobiographical story about a blind Russian poet Eroshenko's visit in Lu Xün's home in Beijing. Eroshenko loves animals and complains that unlike in other countries he's visited, he cannot hear any animals in Beijing at all. To make his friend happy, Lu Xün starts raising tadpoles in his lotus pond, and Eroshenko buys chicks for Lu Xün's sister in law. One day a lady selling ducklings comes to the house, Eroshenko can't resist the ducklings... This was a simple, cute story.

The last story – "A Village Opera". What can I say, I loved this story, it's one of my favorites, or maybe the favorite of this author. Before reading this, I'd had Lu Xün pegged as a total pessimist, but now I am not so sure. A Village Opera is autobiographical, like a few previous stories, but it deals with a childhood memory of watching a village opera from the boat with friends and then sailing back home during a summer night – a memory that is beautiful through and through, and is contrasted with the feeling of boredom and reluctance the grown-up narrator feels whenever his acquaintances try to make him watch Peking opera in the city. The descriptions of his enforced encounters with Peking opera actually made me laugh out loud.

[东赫 · Rating 4 out of 5]

《呐喊》笔记

控诉一下goodreads竟然不能直接编辑字体！要编辑代码才做得到。为什么要这样对懒人！？

孔乙己最好，阿Q正传次之，狂人日记、故乡和社戏再次之。以上可列入鲁迅最好的小说。


狂人日记

“《狂人日记》的中心思想是礼教吃人”（周作人），可有意思的是，鲁迅如果不从狂人的视角写来，我们（读者）则会是狂人的反面了，也就是预备要吃他的人了。这么写法，或者更有力量。而鲁迅选择从狂人来讲故事，除了意思的显豁及小说做法的不够成熟以外，或者还因为鲁迅其时心境与狂人的相合。“这寂寞又一天一天的长大起来，如大毒蛇，缠住了我的灵魂了”，“亲历或旁观过几样更寂寞更悲哀的事”。在这寂寞的八九年光阴里，鲁迅只是做抄碑一事，等死而已。可想而知他的悲观与寂寞的广大。如此来看《狂人日记》中，狂人的恐怖与寂寞，乃是鲁迅的心情的反映，是无人呼应、鬼兽潜伏的环境里的恐怖与寂寞。抄碑等死，或者与被吃的区别也不甚大，都是因为一己的无能为力与一群他者的“凶心、怯懦、狡猾......”

孔乙己

孔乙己同样是个孤立无援的人物，大家都哄笑他（尤其是他作为半吊子知识分子的身份），“店内外充满了快活的空气”（想起张爱玲母亲或/和姑姑不许孩子把快乐说成快活）。就是小孩，也不屑正经对待他。而这篇小说正是以孩子的视角出发写作的。对照《狂人日记》结尾“救救孩子......”，实在更其绝望和讽刺。而在“救救孩子”以先，本就有一答案肯定的设问“没有吃过人的孩子，或者还有？”《孔乙己》便在此较《狂人日记》更深一层。“可是没有他，别人也便这么过”，孔乙己的可有可无或者还不如狂人。因此吃人的意思在这里更明白地点了出来，即对人的尊严的抹杀。
“我”的附和旁人的对孔乙己的笑，和狂人设想自己“未必无意之中，不吃了我妹子的几片肉”正是一种意思。虽孔乙己使人快活，在他被打折腿以后，再没有我的对他的态度的描写，而他人的哄笑与冷漠却是在我的叙述里继续着。“便用这手走来的”，走比爬体面些，想来文字里有慈悲，其后记述孔乙己好比流水账，最终“我到现在终于没有见——大约孔乙己的确死了”。周作人的衍义有句很可注意的：“本家的那些人，似乎气味更是恶劣，这大概也是使他选取孟夫子的一个原因吧。”《孔乙己》愈往后写，文字中的态度愈斩截，有天地不仁的意味，也就是超脱的慈悲。我想鲁迅对孔乙己是很有一种怜悯在的。而描摹出的“我”的形象，也是因为“那时的主将是不主张消极的”。
（又，《铁屋中的呐喊》写“我”是成年以后讲述此事，是我读书粗陋，我只注意是回忆视角，并未再想更多。

药

“秋天的后半夜，月亮下去了，太阳还没有出，只剩下一片乌蓝的天；...（华老栓）擦着火柴，...弥满了清白的光。 ”“街上黑沉沉的一无所有，只有一条灰白的路，看的分明。灯光照着他的两脚，一前一后的走。”诗人的言语，历历在目的笔触，有《野草》的瑰魅。
“从窗户往外看的都昏暗，街门关闭，推磨的响声微小，雀鸟一叫，人就起来，歌唱的女子，也都衰微，人怕高处，路上有惊慌，杏树开花，蚱蜢成为重担，人所愿的也都废掉，因为人归他永远的家，吊丧的在街上往来，银链折断，金罐破裂，瓶子在泉旁损坏，水轮在井口破烂，尘土仍归于地，灵仍归于赐灵的神。”（《圣经·传道书》）
华老栓如何看那些士兵与人，我们即如何看华老栓。“鬼似的在哪里徘徊；定睛再看，却也看不出什么别的奇怪。”
这篇即从《狂人日记》化出：“去年城里杀了犯人，还有一个生痨病的人，用馒头蘸血舐。”前半写明暗（黎明是矇昧而未开化的时刻，一个好象征），后半写色彩。语言舒展很多，却并不多余，仍是结实的。但和前两篇比照，给我车轱辘话的感觉。这一整篇，意思上未必比《狂人日记》里随带的一句更有力量。最喜欢结尾，虽然我嫌弃这般捏造，只是有枉然的韵味：未来依然是无可奈何的、虚妄的。

明天

周作人的衍义说“这里没有本事与模型，只是著者的一个思想借着故事写了出来”。“一个思想”容易看出，概指中医的杀人与愚昧者的自食其果（虽然在后者只是无可奈何）。不过，“看宝儿的病大概是肺炎吧，著者那么地细细叙述，可能心里想念着六岁时因肺炎死亡的四弟，那是在光绪戊戌的冬天，鲁迅进了南京学堂，适值告假回来在家里，看见那时的情形的。”我主观上将这事看作了“本事与原型”。如果从鲁迅丧失弟弟的私事来看《明天》，或者这是一篇悼亡的作品，一篇永恒的葬礼。
衍义里提到：“宝儿死时说是三岁，照乡下通例，是不算怎么一回事的，这就是说简单包殓掩埋，不需要多少人帮忙的，...”虽说鲁迅四弟死在六岁，周作人也认为鲁迅写时想着四弟。再看“收殓的时候，给他穿上顶新的衣裳，平日喜欢的玩意儿，——一个泥人，两个小木婉，两个玻璃瓶，——都放在枕头旁边。”鲁迅写到如此细致，家中有小孩的人没有不会动容的。
这篇小说完全地是从中间写起，其实《狂人日记》《孔乙己》《药》也是一样。狂人为何发狂？小栓和宝儿为何生重病且非得死去？这都是出于作者意志的设置。而小说人物的具体面目或说前世今生到底怎样？鲁迅几乎没有细写，只在行文间随带着或间接透露。这使小说密实许多，也有了可耐琢磨的余地。再者，《药》中的康大叔、驼背五少爷多少都有情节或氛围上的托衬作用，《明天》里的老拱、蓝皮阿五却似乎可有可无，起初让我不解。后来再想还是为了写单四嫂子的孤独，这般的孤独，比前几篇更要进了一步，因为是骨肉也无力挽救的孤独。我觉得无论是意思上还是作法上，这篇含蓄隽永，比《药》更高明一些。
虽说小说针对的是中医骗术，但行文中又时时对普通人的愚昧有所刻画。本来骗子总是需要蠢人才得以成立。“何小仙伸开两个指头按脉，指甲足有四寸多长，单四嫂子暗自纳闷，心里计算：宝儿该有活命了。”这里“指甲足有四寸多长”是单四嫂子眼中所见，后接“宝儿该有活命了”，读来总不免令人嗤笑。回家以后请王九妈“老法眼看一看”也是妙笔。只是鲁迅却也反复写到：“他是粗笨女人。他能想出什么呢？”所以这愚昧者虽自食其果，却终究无可奈何。鲁迅对他们许是有恨，但亦有怜悯。而一切确实没有出路的：小说里写了两个明天，一是宝儿之死的一天，一是宝儿的葬礼。而暗夜还在想着变为明天而奔波。
又，宝儿死后鲁迅把单四嫂子眼泪流尽写作“单四嫂子的眼泪宣告完结了”，特有意思的一句，琢磨半天也猜不出这句的用意。到底在当时系正常写法，只是我的语言习惯不适应，还是鲁迅确乎有其用意？

一件小事&头发的故事

《一件小事》“当时也并不一定算是小说，假如在后来也就收入杂文集子里算了”（周作人）。以小说论，实在没有什么意思，若以杂文论，亦未必在鲁迅集里算是最好文章。不过“而且他对于我，渐渐的又几乎变成一种威压，甚而至于要榨出皮袍下面藏着的‘小’来”，“几年来的文治武力，在我早如幼小时候所读过的‘子曰诗云’一半，背不上半句了”，这是鲁迅思维方式的两处小小体现。他人未必写不来这个小说的意思，却一定写不出鲁迅文字里苦笑参差的幽默，更写不出鲁迅所抵达的思辨深度。这篇倒适合收在《华盖集》里。
《头发的故事》也有精妙的幽默描写，如“各家大半懒洋洋的踱出一个国民来，撅起一块斑驳陆离的洋布”。懒洋洋的踱步、斑驳陆离的洋布，谁想不到？“国民”一词却只有鲁迅能够写出。这样云淡风轻的笔力，简直是杀人不见血。这篇作为杂文，是很值得一读，若作小说，更值得一读。这是一种全新的小说写法。周作人说：“《头发的故事》也是自叙体的，不过著者不是直接自叙，乃是借了别一个人的嘴来说这整篇故事罢了。”这和《野草》里的若干文章乃至《在酒楼上》《铸剑》是一样的，都是假借了一个口吻来说事。这所说是深刻尖锐的，甚至乎显得像是在自我诘问自我辩驳。古今中外，这倒不是多稀有的写法。只是古人不把“文章”当小说写，现代作家如卡夫卡的短篇和笔记也多此类文章，但鲁迅也没有接触过。所以鲁迅是伟大的。我觉得这是鲁迅内心/思想最好的表现方式。诗的语言的暧昧，虚构文体的含蓄，都能在显示鲁迅的狠辣的同时，赋予另一种的文体上的厚重感，如此映衬，更可看出鲁迅思维方式本身的美感。当然鲁迅是复杂的，这也是为何后来的《野草》里有了真正的分身彼此言说，而不只是“我”听某人说。而在此处，小说本身成了思想与历史的言说者。也就是说，小说这一文体不是作为思想或历史的载体，乃以思想与历史作为“人物”了（其实就是作为小说本身了），因此其中熠耀着的光辉是小说依靠其“人物”的内向挖掘而获得的特殊美感。不过早期作品普遍意思显豁、余味略浅，要到《彷徨》《野草》，鲁迅才实在做到了将文学之美与思想之美合二为一的成熟。
又，想起，这般写法，可在陀氏的作品里找到，尤其《卡拉马佐夫兄弟》，所谓“复调”。鲁迅的敏感的天才在这方面或者受其（潜在的）影响。

风波

“文豪见了，大发诗兴，说，“无忧无虑，这真是田家乐呵！””这当中的“诙谐成分”，周作人在衍义里说得分明，还直把韩愈抓来做了靶子。这里或者可以更严肃地探讨一下，也就是宇文所安在《中国传统诗歌与诗学》中所说：“在中国古典文学和帝制之间存在一种共谋。这种共谋在那种为帝制代言及御用的文学的公共形象中较为常见。…诗歌占统治地位的“私人”模式是自我定义——极力将自我置身于秩序化的帝制宇宙。/说得更直白些就是：诗是一种忠于中央政府的象征行为。因此并仅因此，诗歌的撰写被用作进士考试中对未来官员的一种考核手段。...在其他诗歌中，应试诗的僵化规则看似有些松动，但这种自由仅仅是幻觉：在这一表象下所有规则都得到遵守或以一种可接受的方式拒绝。诗歌成为孔夫子“正名”的延伸：诗歌用政治上认可的词句来理解和表达人类精神的深层情感。…从诗歌表达“个人”价值开始，就存在对政府权威表达顺从与承认的强烈要求。…“隐逸”将不服务政府的所有动机都转化为一种纯粹的个人倾向，它解除了与当地经济和政治利益任何明显的联系。这种“隐逸”的权威主题有效地让一个人无须确认除朝廷之外任何社会组织的特权。在诗学意识形态中只存在可以渴求的两种处境——服务朝廷，或作为“隐士”生活，即相对政府服务的，可带来“心灵宁静”的个人选择。”
这篇最宜于看出鲁迅处理材料的游刃有余，现实的任何边角料都可以为我所用，随意裁剪，甚而比现实更要触目、幽默、发人深省。正因这最宜于，所以也没有什么意思。

故乡

“我冒了严寒，回到相隔二千余里，别了二十余年的故乡去。”这是化用古诗，汉魏诗多是此类句子，挑拣最有名的一首：“相去万余里各在天一涯”，“相去日已远衣带日已缓”。
“瓦楞上许多枯草的断茎当风斗着，正在说明这老屋难免易主的原因。”后半句还是不写的好，罗伯-格里耶最讨厌的写法。《在酒楼上》也多此类描摹，只是后半句都省去了，意味更耐琢磨。
周作人说「故乡」“前后有两个故乡，其一是过去，其二是现在的”，是解人。「故乡」的美尤其生动感人，但在这感人却几乎是靠的最残忍的底子呈递到读者眼前的。闰土“辛苦麻木而生活着”，其实「明天」里写单四嫂子也是一样的笔法，鲁迅对他的人物特有一种残忍，也特有一种爱，这里的具体说来该是对旧友的爱。这小说的结构，除了周二大人所谓两个故乡外，还有一层即现在时的进程，其实这两层都可直用小说里的话概括，这话写得太美：“我这儿时的回忆，忽而全都闪电似的苏生过来，似乎看到了我的美丽的故乡了。”最后离家时写到“我躺着，听船底潺潺的水声”，周作人评价“很简单却写的很是得神”，这好处还在这简单的几段里复杂的内涵，更在于前文几乎都是晦暗的现实，即使少年闰土的光彩也不过证明了现下粗粝的悲哀。行文至此，小说的文字也要远离故乡了，朦胧中展开了这短短的几段，正如那“一轮金黄的圆月”。周作人最后说宏儿本是三弟妇的七月大的次子，乃是“诗化”的角色，为了对上年纪做闰土的儿子的朋友。小说结尾关于路的一句话很有名，或者是“不主张消极”的用意，但这里的闰土的儿子的朋友，我却觉得是情到此处自然的生发。因为始终克制着，在小说结尾照亮了世界也照亮了小说的那轮金月，以及月下的少年，是我最爱这篇小说的缘由。

阿Q正传（所用页码引自《周作人讲解鲁迅》）

95阿Q→不朽之人入传→反讽
95∵历史身份之缺席/剥夺→史书不写之人
社会身份之虚悬/剥夺→无名无姓无生地
∴局外人
而做这剥夺的人，是鲁迅
96“即使与古人所撰「书法正传」的“正传”字面上很相混，也顾不得了”→毕竟是混了，此处是鲁迅说嘲讽话的特色一种，明知是废话还要说，戳到极深，杂文中更多见
97“然而未庄人真是不见世面的可笑的乡下人呵”→鲁迅的意见→与其说意见，莫若说是补加一笔，证是阿Q的想错了（是我想错了，这里是阿Q的意见）
98“未庄的闲人们便愈喜欢玩笑他”→其他闲人（其他阿Q）？至少阿Q之为阿Q，不是生来的
98他人讥笑阿Q却喜欢+99被打了以后得心理宽慰（所谓“精神上的胜利法”）→如果我们是阿Q，我们又会怎么做呢？就是鲁迅，也只能委屈赖活着。阿Q被欺压多年，心理畸形是难免，况乎常人都总有点心理的变态
∵100阿Q赌博，“汗流满面的夹在这中间”+100“桩家揭开盒子盖，也是汗流满面的唱”+100“阿Q的钱…渐渐的输入别个汗流满面的人物的腰间”+100“他终于只好挤出堆外，站在后面看，替别人着急”+替阿Q着急（不知是原文有（此处没找见，别处懒得找），还是我想阿Q赌博时，别人在后边也是在替阿Q着急）
∴联系前文“未庄的闲人”，我想他们都和阿Q是一种人，不过后者是最惨的，但无论谁都是头上有人，把他们压在下边
100“打完之后，便心平气和起来，似乎打的是自己，被打的是另一个自己” →被侮辱与被损害的人/双重人格，前边所说或者可以说阿Q是社会人格的一个分身，未庄的闲人们和阿Q没有本质的不同，这里则是阿Q本性的分身→陀氏笔下的小丑式人物
∴或许整篇只有阿Q（除了尼姑），其他人不过是分身，是阿Q在别的遭际里的模样
101被赵太爷打了，“阿Q此后倒得意了许多年”→此句单一段，下一段接以“有一年的春天”，确是（中国古代）传记的写法，以事相叠
101“在墙根的日光下”和王胡互打→对比狂人的月光→日光之下，并无新事
103““忘却”这一件祖传的宝贝”→这和精神胜利法不同（又，读「阿Q生命中的六个瞬间」，这书对此处有点放过的意思，我倒觉得挺重要）
104调戏小尼姑，“阿Q十分得意的笑”“酒店里的人也九分得意的笑”→又一处同类的证明
104“我们的阿Q”“是永远得意的:这或者也是中国精神文明冠于全球的一个证据了”→鲁迅第一次显露的反讽
104“他飘飘然的似乎要飞去了！”“他飘飘然的飞了大半天，飘进土谷祠”+105“他从此总有些飘飘然”+117“阿Q飘飘然额的飞了一通”
没再翻前后，但猜想从阿Q感受入手可能看出某种变化（或者说心理感受与感官感受出现时的区别），不过最后的“那些眼睛们…咬他的灵魂”“他早就两眼发黑，耳朵里嗡的一声，觉得全身仿佛微尘似的迸散了”倒是感官与心理高度融合的描写
110“阿Q并不鉴赏这田家乐”→「风波」“文豪见了，大发诗兴，说，“无思无虑，这真是田家乐呵！””
117赵太爷称阿Q为老Q，赵白眼则称其为阿Q哥→这两人也是阿Q，身份的置换，何况阿Q“姓”赵
123赵太爷家被抢，“这一夜没有月，未庄在黑暗里很寂静，寂静到像羲皇时候一般太平”→「狂人日记」的第一篇写的是月光，这里连月光也没有。阿Q什么也没有做，“有些不相信他的眼睛”，为什么呢？我只能猜想是他是被排除在他们之外（“白盔白甲的人明明到了，并不来打招呼…又没有自己的份”“这全是假洋鬼子可恶，不准我造反”），这篇小说写的也不过是等级而已

以下所引为周作人的衍义
131“鲁迅时常引了来说明士大夫的那种怪思想”:“即形式上虽是失败，但精神上胜利了”→132阿Q胜利一的“不屈”本自本家伯父四七，“在这里著者正是借了他暗指那士大夫，也说不定”→132阿Q忌讳癞、光、灯等字的自大，作为闲人，“那种自大是并非闲人所有的”→虽然“并非闲人所有”，但提到士大夫“这边虽然也似乎是闲人模样”，真是好言语！阿Q本是乡下闲人，但双方都称闲人，也就没有本质的差别，鲁迅只是多加这一成分在阿Q身上，好教人领悟到更深广的社会结构:即用闲人来写士大夫，一是反讽，一是写制度结构性的自上而下的污染
134阿Q赌钱赢了却乱中被抢，“本来他在社会上混，这点经验也该有的，只是著者要写赌摊那一幕，不能不把他暂且屈尊一下了”→全是鲁迅本人的残忍，也可看出鲁迅使用材料的随心所欲
135种种意见“都有联系，都是士大夫的正宗思想，在小说里却来借给了阿Q了”→同上上
137“这表面是说阿Q，可是千百士大夫的面目也在里面了”→而阿Q又确实是汗流满面的闲人的一个→所以阿Q是桥梁，是上层的影响物，是底层的一个普遍而最有特色的人物
148“阿Q在静修庵革命失败，原因是赵秀才与钱假洋鬼子先下了手，这里显示出来他们三人原是一伙儿，不过计划与手段有迟早巧拙之分罢了”→同上，同上上上（我也不知道几个上了），anyway，所谓这小说写的人物其实都是阿Q罢了
151“新式的坏人只有一个”，即是“呆而且坏”的钱假洋鬼子→盘辫子的这个人物，写到这篇小说里，意思体现得讽刺生动，远胜多写那两篇「头发的故事」「风波」
155「阿Q正传」“有一种相似的夸张的倾向…它的结果是一幅人生的善或恶的扩大图”，而“人生的“实物大”的绘图…只有真正伟大的写实家才能做到”→一，终究离平淡而近自然差点味道；二，鲁迅还是伟大的，该从陀氏的角度来考察，鲁迅的现实主义乃是最高意义的现实主义
156鲁迅这篇吸收外国小说特色，却没有外国小说里的种种的国民性，“当作贬词去看也未始不可”→不懂周二大人为啥这么说，虽然联系后文说得通，但“贬词”在我看来还是有点过了
157鲁迅“想撞倒阿Q…却反将他扶了起来了，这或者可以说是著者失败的地方”→非也——如果这里的“扶了起来”指的是读者对阿Q的同情乃至爱的话——鲁迅这篇小说有慈悲/残忍之美，也正是他的悲悯使小说摆脱了意识形态的局限

端午节&白光&兔和猫&鸭的喜剧&怀旧

这几篇没做笔记，凭印象说一下，也是因为我觉得没那好。鲁迅杂文未读全，不知是否写到工资拖欠一事，《端午节》倒不是不好，可还是做成杂文好。《白光》《兔和猫》《鸭的喜剧》则适宜作散文收在《朝花夕拾》里。虽然《白光》比较的讽刺，做成散文的悲哀味道也许更好些，当然是我个人看法，鲁迅本人对周子京（陈士成原型）应该没这感情。至于《兔和猫》《鸭的喜剧》，主观情感的分量特别重，且周作人衍义里全无对实际与虚构的区分，我则直接视作散文了。《怀旧》则以孩童视角写古文值得一观。

社戏

和上边五篇一样，也是体裁不明，但写得特好，就分开来说。和《故乡》可看作姐妹篇，活泼而有韵味，比较起来特别的读不厌。《社戏》和《故乡》两次都让我想起木心《童年随之而去》，后者倒也是好文章，只是鲁迅似乎独有一种干净与纯真，不可思议。

[spillingthematcha · Rating 2 out of 5]

Na początku byłam naprawdę pozytywnie nastawiona, ale szybko straciłam zainteresowanie i trudno było mi skupiać na tych opowiadaniach swoją uwagę.

[Emma Nebelung · Rating 3 out of 5]

Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun, was one of the most influential figure of Chinese modern literature. Lu Xun was born in a family of government officials and land owners during the period of Republic of China (中華民國) and was sent to study abroad.

Regardless how critics portrait his political perspectives, I personally don't see any of that political views should play much a role in his points. In his introduction, he mentioned how he chose to study medical science in Japan and later dropped his study to focus on writing, for he said he wanted to save Chinese people which were suffering, but then how he realized that no matter how strong and healthy Chinese people might become, but their minds are weak, this the suffering shall continue. He wanted to write in-order to free peoples mind from thousands years of oppression.
His writings are down to the earth, easy to read, but not lacking styles. His perspectives are interesting, for example the story is from the perspective of a mentally insane person that lives among the regular people and was taken care of by his family. How he listened and observed the regular people convinced him that they are planning on cannibalizing him and each other to show that how cruel, cold, fake and selfish people can be towards each other at the time and revealing the ugliness of the society.

Lu Xun vividly descripted what life were like for the peasant class under the influence of feudalism, the ignorance and fear that even themselves were not fully aware of.
He gained Mao's favor by his hostilities and criticism towards feudalism in his writings (However, Lu Xun refused, or more precisely speaking, dismissed Mao's proposal to join the communist party), that's the reason why his works are so encouraged in the school education system in modern china.

3 stars for the reason that so many of Lu xun's intention has been overlooked or rather distorted over the years, it is being said that his writings are solely for the purpose of criticizing the last dynasty. In fact it is a portrait of the life of peasant class under any type of authoritarianism.
Overall, his works are great, I did grew a bit weary at the end of the book, for that a few stories seem to be rather similar.

[nate :3 · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Before the term was over I had left Tokyo, because this slide convinced me that medical science was not so important after all. ….
The most important thing, therefore, was to CHANGE their SPIRIT; and since at that time I felt that literature was the best means to this end; I decided to promote a literary movement.”

[Emily Hu]

This book is so gooood!! I like this book because it uses a metaphor to put people on guard during the Republic of China period. At the time, China and foreign countries belonged to an aggressive relationship. And China has also been affected. The Chinese people and the people are divided into many divisions and have different views.The ingenious metaphors used in this book enable us to better understand the situation at the time. Let the reader know the history at that time.The author's method of writing this book also helps us learn how to write.

[nexuzxyz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chyba oczekiwałam, że w tym zbiorze opowiadań znajdą się pozycje, których nie czytałam wcześniej, a część opowiadań pojawiła się już w tomie wydanym w latach 50. Mimo wszystko pojawiły się też nowe, wcześniej nieprzetłumaczone opowiadania, co bardzo doceniam, tak samo jak przetłumaczone przez kogoś innego niż P. Sarek Dziennik Szaleńca i Prawdziwą Historia AQ. Niezmiennie, ulubione, ale niezwykle smutne Jutro.

[koey · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3.5

[Wyatt strawbridge · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally came back to this book too. Mid, super easy to read and short stories but like… nothing more to say maybe. Some nice nature scenes, last story was nice, idk

[庆忌 · Rating 5 out of 5]

《狂人日记》、《孔乙己》、《阿Q正传》都是耳熟能详的，但最后面的儿时记忆，也很动人。

[Peiyao Yan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe that the book Call to Arms should be counted as a folk literature. It is a collection of 14 stories. The stories are short enough that I can finish reading some of them in an hour, which indicates that it is easier to get the main idea of the whole story. The characters are different in the 14 stories, and most of them showed the dark side of the society those days. The aim of the book was meant to warn the people then to stop from yielding to the enemies but to stand up and fight against the Evil force. I really like the book because that it shows a moral problem existing then and meant to get them solved, and all of those ideas are included in the really short texts. The book just described the normal life of a normal person.
I think that I will introduce the book to teenagers in Middle school or even High school, especially for history learners. It should be a great example to analyze the difference between now and then, and the difference of the situation changed. I do recommend the books need both reading and thinking.

[Joel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lu Xun is considered by many to be the greatest modern Chinese writer (he died in the 1930s). His hometown is Shaoxing, which is where I am living right now, so I thought I should read this. A lot of it is sort of classic short story sad AND classic Chinese sad, which makes for stories that read like "A man had a hard life, and everyone made fun of him, and he died and everyone forgot him."

His foreword is actually very optimistic and stirring, and the final story in the collection, the one about opera, is funny, wistful, and sweet. Probably his most famous story, "the True Story of Ah Q," is funny, almost black-humor funny, but ends on quite a dark note.


P.S. I think this is the only translation available (Selected Stories of Lu Xun uses the same one as this Chinese/English one), but this printing, from a Chinese publisher, is riddled with typos.

[Carlos · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this collections of stories quite charming. Having read almost nothing of Chinese literature and much less of the literature of such a pivotal moment in history of modern China, I had no expectations for this book. I was surprised to find how accessible it was and how honest it was with the problems with both the previous imperial regime as well as with the first few years of the revolution. The stories are mainly about the day-to-day of the common people and allow the reader to get quite a good feel of the atmosphere of early 20th century China. Certainly an interesting book and I would gladly recommend it to anyone curious to expand their perception of what China was.

[Joseph Yue · Rating 4 out of 5]

在眾人都自以為康健時，唯有魯迅看到了病；憂心之下，他寫出了這部社會的診斷書。可歎的是他清楚地看到了病，卻不十分清楚病因；看到了病灶的表層，但未曾深入其中，自然也就不知何藥得治這似是不治之症。從來病急者多要亂投醫，文豪亦不能免俗，社會主義的藥引子像是用消暑涼茶來治肺癌，不僅誤了病，多飲還會弄壞肚子。須知醫社會的病需要的既不是進步主義，也不是保守主義，亦非各樣其他的“主義”，而是基督，唯獨祂看到了一切的病根在人心：“那入口的不能污穢人，從心而發、從口而出的倒污穢人”。未識基督的社會要進步主義，向基督進步，已歸基督的社會要保守主義，保守基督的一切恩典。若如此，則天下無伯牛之疾。

[吕不理 · Rating 5 out of 5]

在那个年代，清醒的人最痛苦。
BYW，《药》写于整整一百年前，可是吃人血馒头的还是那么多。
“造物主造得太滥，毁得也太滥。”

[william ♡ · Rating 2 out of 5]

吶喊！Call to arms


Finally finished one of my summer homework for this course .... :))

This book is everything about the decadence of China after the collapse of Qing Dynasty. The moral decadence, the decadence of the political system... just felt like China at that time was the end of the world. The attack on the long ingrained roots of Confucianism, the Chinese 科舉 exams that brought upon twisted, weird values of the society, and the perspectives of how people in the lower class attempt to elevate themselves. It's basically social commentary, not something to look for to be entertained. It just puts you in a sour mood and so sorry that your ancestors suffered this and that it all seemed like the West was better.

[Lordoftaipo · Rating 5 out of 5]

我一邊讀，一邊為自己旁觀的清高視野暗喜，冷不防魯迅還站得更後更高，用那道是要看穿我們的目光來執筆。若說今天我等「只緣身在此山中」為之高尚，那更反襯出魯迅不以布衣為恥，毅於「飛入尋常百姓家」。

原以為在境況上、時代上、地域上，筆下都是過去的人和過去的事。可是我好像掃把鏟後的螻蟻，看著掃不到我，只不過仍未掃到我。劃時代的文章就是那把不停往後掃的掃把。

至於像《故鄉》、《社戲》中被歌頒的單純，依然不是我等所能「低攀」。最後讀來讀去，嘴邊的碎碎念只是兜個圈把自己罵一頓。

[Tatiana J]

DNF, nie powinnam zaczynać przygody z klasykami chińskiej literatury od tego ale kiedyś podejmę się jeszcze raz (póki co ni chuja nie rozumiem)

[Tomasz · Rating 2 out of 5]

mocno nierówny poziom opowieści

[Scaffale Cinese · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Grida" raccoglie i racconti scritti e pubblicati su diverse riviste da Lu Xun tra il 1918 e il 1922. Alla prefazione di Lu Xun, seguono i quattordici racconti: Diario di un pazzo, Kong Yi Ji, Medicina, Domani, Un fatto da nulla, Storie di capelli,Tempesta passeggera, Il paese natale, La vera storia di Ah Q, La Festa delle Barche Drago, La luce bianca, Conigli e gatti, La commedia degli anatroccoli e L’opera del villaggio.Questa edizione si chiude con una postfazione scritta da Nicoletta Pesaro, traduttrice e curatrice del volume, che approfondisce le tematiche dei racconti, aiutando il lettore a contestualizzare la figura e l’opera di Lu Xun.
I quattordici racconti suonano come grida appunto che, come spiega lui stesso nella prefazione, intendono «confortare quel guerriero coraggioso che corre nella solitudine». Scritti in un periodo di transizione per la Cina, riflettono l’esperienza di Lu Xun, con richiami all’ambiente in cui è cresciuto e alla società in cui vive. Sullo sfondo del villaggio di Luzhen, scorrono le storie di personaggi attraverso le quali Lu Xun prende le distanze dal potere e dalle tradizioni, puntando il dito contro le ingiustizie e solidarizzando con i deboli.

[カエルロッタ 娃蛙 · Rating 5 out of 5]

La raccolta contiene i primi racconti di Lu Xun – tra cui "La vera storia di A Q" e il "Diario di un pazzo" – nei quali dopo anni di traduzione di testi occidentali comincia a sperimentare l'uso del baihua, la lingua volgare simile alla lingua parlata in contesti non ufficiali, ancora in fase di elaborazione.
Sono storie ironiche e ricche di simbolismo con cui l'autore critica la società dell'inizio della Repubblica di Cina sperando che le sue grida scuotano la coscienza del popolo cinese e incitino gli intellettuali a cui è affidata la missione di modernizzare la Cina attraverso la nuova letteratura che si sta affrancando dalla tradizione confuciana.

[Vilis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ja nebūtu garā (gandrīz trešdaļa grāmatas), pamīšus smieklīgā un skumjā stāsta par ciemata dzērāja Ah Q dzīves spožumu un postu, ieliktu trīs zvaigznītes un atliktu "interesantās, bet droši vien ne pārlasāmās" klasikas plauktā. Bet Ah Q stāsts ir brīnišķīgs un pēc naftalīna nesmird. Nav pat neviena mirstoša zīdaiņa!

[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is a reflection of society, deeply uncivilised in some aspects and struggling to come to grasps with a true national identity. The story is constructed in a way which shows Ah Q as both the perpetrator and the victim and it makes for an interesting reflection over some aspects that are still prevalent in other societies and countries.

[Ofirbe · Rating 5 out of 5]

a piece of literature by the father of modern Chinese literature anyone who interested in China's history in the 20th century most read.
I read it in Hebrew edition that translated by Amira Katz in 1992.

[Lujia Bai · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of things did change after so many years. The words are vivid, sharp and critical for the description of Chinese society. As a student I also hate Lu Xun due to the examination. At this age, however, I rediscover my passion for his work.

[bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

少年不懂鲁迅小说，中年适逢新冠疫情中，重读别有一番滋味。

[Athenazlx · Rating 4 out of 5]

阿q正传是最好看的，特别是结尾感觉特别引人深思。其它的章节感觉就一般般，主要就是批斗封建社会的

[Maomao Kuo · Rating 4 out of 5]

魯迅應該會希望有一天自己的作品過時

[yy · Rating 5 out of 5]

又一次读到《故乡》，写得太好了，让人想流泪。这个版本内封是《呐喊》初版的封面，纸质非轻型纸，没有注释，天头略大，内封没有压膜/覆膜/上光油，时间一长就会掉色，影响观感。

[Merry The Witch Flower]

przykre historie o przykrych ludziach