De-Familiarization and Binary Oppostion in Lu Xun's a Madman's Diary

Matthew Freire

Revolution & Modernity in Chinese Literature

Dr. Gao

3/31/16

Lu Xun: Literary Analysis of a Revolutionary Message

Zhou Shuren, also known by his pen name of Lu Xun became one of China’s most prominent writers during the 20th century. Raised to a wealthy beurocratic family, Lu Xun was exposed to the corruption that frequently occurred in China. Although he lived a relatively comfortable life, early on misfortune struck his family as his grandfather was sentenced to prison, and his dad became severely ill. While his father passed away, his grandfather’s actions had made their family “lose face”, and essentially become treated with contempt. Moreover, to keep his grandfather from being executed in prison, the family had to pay continuous bribes to ensure his “safety” (Xiaoming, Wang). Overall, Lu Xun’s childhood struggles would define his writing during his adult life as he denounced the injustice and corruption done by the Qing Dynasty.

Later, as a young student Lu Xun travelled to Sendai, Japan to study medicine. Nonetheless, after reflecting on the various political disasters and social chaos in China, Lu Xun became deeply rooted in pursuing literature. Lu Xun once stated that he needed “spiritual medicine” to heal his wounds and that of china’s as well (Xiaoming, Wang). His quote describes Lu Xun’s genuine concern for the country, and shows his willingness to send a message of change and inspire the Chinese people to fight for change. As a devout literary scholar, he wrote various short stories with underlying symbolism and motifs showing China’s socioeconomic and political climate during the 19th and 20th centuries. Crucial historical events such as the Boxer Rebellion, the Treaty of Shimonoseki, and the downfall of the Qing Dynasty were situations that further enhanced his literary style, as there was an increasing dichotomy between the old dynastic regime, and the more current and progressive movement. In the end, this series of events brought about a drastic change in China’s political and social culture, as young Chinese and liberal scholars were now rebelling against figures of authority. This change of events led to what is called the New Cultural Movement (May 4th movement) which became a platform for both young students and literary scholars alike to send out there message.

The New Cultural Movement or May 4th Movement was a revolutionary movement that shook the foundations of Chinese society during the early 20th century. The amalgamation of the Qing Dynasty’s downfall along with Yuan Shikai death in 1916 left China in ruins. The various warlords who carried out corrupt feudalistic policies and an incompetent government that could not appropriately handle foreign policy paved the way for the birth and strengthening of the New Cultural Movement.  While Lu Xun wrote many novels during the New Cultural Movement, it is in A Madman’s Diary where he subliminally conveys his revolutionary message calling for change within the country. In analyzing A Madman’s Diary the literary theories of binary opposition, and de-familiarization will be analyzed. Binary opposition describes two distinct elements or groups and tries to understand the relationship between them. On the other hand, de-familiarization is the act of taking an everyday object or idea and describing it in very different manner—often adding to the story’s meaning. The binary opposition literary element is present when Lu Xun highlights the relationship between the “sane” majority and the protagonist whom the people believe is “insane”. This relationship between the characters portrays the “us vs. them” mentality in which both sides believe that the other is wrong. This struggle to find the truth is reflected in this short story and closely coincides with the purpose of the New Cultural Revolution. Likewise, de-familiarization also plays a crucial role in Lu Xun’s A Madman’s Diary. The manner in which Lu Xun connects the concept of cannibalism, and presents it to the reader as a metaphor for oppressive Feudalism, attaches negative connotations of savagery and corruptness. Through the lens of binary opposition, and de-familiarization Lu Xun’s revolutionary message will be deciphered and his underlying symbolism will be clearly conveyed.

Lu Xun’s A Madman’s Diary has various instances where the binary opposition becomes the focus of the story. The most prevalent example is the relationship between people that are insane vs. people that are sane. When analyzing the story one realizes that the protagonist is quickly labeled by society as “insane.” When he states, “They eat human beings, so they may eat me” the reader, at first, gets a peculiar sense that the protagonist may actually be insane (Lu Xun, 10). Nonetheless, as the story progresses the reader can observe that this underlying meaning of “eating people” refers to the oppressive nature of Feudalism that the Chinese society was experiencing at the time. A prime example of this binary opposition between those who eat people (sane) and those who do not eat people (insane) is clearly portrayed when the protagonist states, “they want to eat me, and of course you can do nothing about it single-handed; but why must you join them” (Lu Xun, 14). Through this quote we observe that there is an opposing relationship between flesh-eaters and non-flesh eaters, especially as the protagonist tells asks his brother, “why must you join them” (Lu Xun, 14). This binary opposition is a persistent motif that occurs in this short story as the protagonist implies that flesh eaters and non-flesh eaters choose to act accordingly because of their perspectives. Evidence of this perspective is shown when protagonist states:

Brother, probably all primitive people ate a little human flesh to begin with. Later, because their views altered some of them stopped and tried so hard to do what was right that they changed into men, into real men. But some are still eating people—just like reptiles…When those who eat men compare themselves with those who don’t, how ashamed they must be (Lu Xun, 14)

In this quote, the protagonist eagerly tries to convince his brother that there are two sides to the situation. On the one hand, non-flesh eaters are the people who “tried so hard to do what was right”. On the other hand, flesh eaters are the people who prey on others and even each other, in hopes of surviving. The latter observation of flesh-eaters being preying on each other is evoked when the protagonist states, “Wanting to eat men, at the same time afraid of being eaten themselves, they all eye each other with the deepest suspicion” (14).