In the ancient society since the pre-Qin period, there has been no substantial development and breakthrough in the ancient cultural model and civilization degree, and the "historical cycle view" is a universally recognized historical view. The origin of this view of history has a clue since Mencius. Who wrote in Mencius? Xia said: "The world is born for a long time, and one rule and one chaos." His political views and historical views are retrogressive, and the historical cycle is inevitable, and history has become a game of destroying buildings. [1] At the end of the Warring States, Lv Buwei developed on the basis of Zou Yan's theory of "Five Virtues at the End of the Warring States", which made the structure of "gold, wood, water, fire and earth" have the functions of self-movement and self-adjustment and become a complete system. While the Western Han Dynasty formally established the "Five Virtues Cycle", Dong Zhongshu put forward the theory of historical cycle of "three unification" and "three righteousness", and there are two complete forms of historical cycle thought here. This traditional historical view of historical cycle has continued to this day since historians such as Sima Qian and Ban Gu applied this theory to historical practice. [2] The first sentence of the victory of Romance of the Three Kingdoms: "It is said that the general trend of the world will be combined for a long time, and it will be combined for a long time." Is a continuation of this idea.
China's classic works, such as The Analects of Confucius and Mencius, are familiar to ancient scholars since childhood and are recited every day. Lu Xun, who passed the imperial examination, was naturally familiar with this point and naturally accepted the concept of cycle. Under the influence of this concept of historical cycle, generations of intellectuals with innovative ideas are in a state of repression. Lu Xun was born in such a society, experienced the decline of his family from a well-off society, and deeply understood the changes in the world under this social system. China, where he lived, also experienced the humiliation of any western powers from his dream of going to China and America. He is full of dissatisfaction with reality, but he hates reality. This pessimism about the historical cycle has brought him heavy pressure. Wang Xiaoming had a keen understanding of Lu Xun's oppression by the concept of historical cycle. He believes that the concept of historical cycle and his attached concept of "now is not as good as the past" hinder Lu Xun's vision of the ideal world. This pessimistic view of circulation tells Lu Xun that his spiritual sustenance-the future is not the real future, but the past. Changing the status quo will revive the past, but the existing strength of reality is closer to the past than him, and pessimism will lure him to the edge of disappointment. [3]
Second, accept the "evolution theory"-the ecstasy of breaking through the "historical cycle view"
When Lu Xun was studying in Nanjing Mining Railway School, he began to contact new books under the influence of the General Office of the New Party. In Flowers in the Morning, he recalled his first contact with the theory of evolution. Regardless of the newspaper given to him by his elders, he participated in Kang Youwei's political reform and read Evolution whenever he had time. At this time, he searched everywhere for Yan Fu's books. The first volume of "Yan Fu Ji" "The most different and incompatible, the people of China like the past and ignore the present, and the western human resources are better than the past." People in China regard one rule and one chaos, one prosperity and one decline as natural principles and personnel, while westerners regard heaven as boundless, which is the ultimate principle of academic politicization. "[4] This questioning of China's traditional concept of cultural and historical cycle makes his patriotic youth excited.
1902, Lu Xun came into contact with Zhang Taiyan's The Theory of Evolution of Various Scholars. 1907, in Japan, he sorted out Thales, Hegel, Huxley, Paul and others' later evolutionism views. It became a paper "The History of Mankind", which surpassed Yan Fu's "Evolution". His early papers, The Teaching of the History of Science, On Cultural Paranoia and On Moro's Poetic Power, all have a clear main line, that is, to establish a country through establishing people, so that everyone can have their own independent voice, and to establish a real "human" country through Nietzsche's superman enlightenment.
He believes in the evolution of human nature, thinks that young people are better than old people, and pays attention to guiding and cultivating young people's thoughts. In How Do We Be Fathers Now, he fundamentally negates the "historical cycle view" of "seeking safety" without considering "nurturing" and "protecting". Faced with the impact of China's old moral concepts, he occupied the commanding heights of "saints" and publicized his new ideas. How to be a father means that traditional people should break away from tradition completely, cultivate the next generation with sincerity and love, and liberate them from the old darkness. However, "awakened people must settle old scores and open up new roads in order to liberate young people with their elders." "I shoulder the burden of tradition, shoulder the dark door, and let them go to a wide and bright place; After that, I will live happily and be a reasonable person. " [5]
At the same time, Lu Xun also criticized China's traditional decadent ideas. He criticized the so-called "national quintessence" and revealed the bad mentality of the nation from behind the language and words. He lashed out at those ancient and difficult classical Chinese that were not easy to popularize. He thoroughly exposed the Confucianism that ruled China: "Confucius was held up by powerful people in China, a saint of those who were powerful or wanted to be powerful, and had nothing to do with the general public." [6] In his view, Confucius Thought and Confucianism are "soft knives" to kill people [7]
Third, the annihilation of the theory of evolution-the struggle caught in the historical cycle
Doubt about a theory comes from setbacks in practice. Doubt about a theory is a great pain because it is over-believed and highly respected. After accepting the theory of evolution and testing it, Lu Xun established his new belief and couldn't wait to put it into practice, becoming the enlightener of the new China. However, the magazine "Freshman" miscarried in a clamor. Hu recorded this experience and Lu Xun's mood. He anesthetized his soul in various ways, and even wanted to "sink into the people", "return to ancient times" and enter the old system of "historical cycle" [8]
The Revolution of 1911 broke out when he was in a mental dilemma and struggling for a living. His old acquaintance with the Guangfu Association became the governor of Shaoxing military government, and he was appointed as the principal of Shaoxing Normal School. His inner enthusiasm was soon ignited again, and everything seemed to be "evolving" as he had dreamed. He encouraged students to set up "Yuedu Daily", which restored their original enthusiasm for running a "new life". However, the reality soon let him down. Wang Jinfa not only stopped defending the revolutionary program, but also colluded with the original bureaucrats and destroyed the editorial department of Tudor Daily. He accepted Cai Yuanpei's invitation to become a member of the Ministry of Education of the National Government, but under the oppression of Yuan Shikai, who was ambitious and proclaimed himself emperor, he lived a life of copying ancient monuments to avoid disaster. [9]
"Try to remember the Five Dynasties, the Southern Song Dynasty and the late Ming Dynasty. Compared with the present situation, it is thrilling and similar, as if the passage of time has nothing to do with us in China. The current "Republic of China" is still five generations, which is the end of the Song Dynasty and the next season. " In this article, Lu Xun first exposed people who were completely controlled by traditional culture. They are not people who stand up for themselves and the country, but they hinder the progress of history according to traditional fixed thinking. Lu Xun asked indignantly and painfully, "There is a vast territory and a vast population." So many good materials, can't it be a reincarnation trick? " [ 10]
Lu Xun's longing for the "Republic of China" vanished, and he experienced the Revolution of 1911. He realized that the modern revolution in China was just a kind of rebellious logic of farmers. In "Three Souls in Academic Circles", Lu Xun said that rebellion was China's most favorable business. His evolutionary thought of "the teenager wins the old man" was hurt in the argument with the Creation Society and the Sun Society, but it was also disintegrated from the heart. He found that young people such as Cheng still had revolutionary speculation, which was basically no different from the original peasant uprising. In A Glimpse of Shanghai Literature and Art, he once again warned that "the revolution of the ruling class so far is just a struggle of old chairs. When I pushed it, the chair seemed hateful. Once I got it, I felt it was a treasure and realized that I was with this' old'. As a master,' slave' will never give up the title of' master'. I'm afraid his posturing is more complete and ridiculous than his master. " [1 1] With the disintegration of Lu Xun's theory of evolution, before he accepted the theory of class, he constantly jumped into the confusion of historical cycle and struggled in it.
Fourthly, the life consciousness of circular pessimism in Lu Xun's novels.
Lu Xun tried his best to get rid of the pessimistic theory of historical cycle and even denied all the traditional cultures of China. However, it is this resolute attitude of resistance in the constant struggle that shows the depth of this circular consciousness. As a concept rooted in Lu Xun's consciousness in his early years, this circular pessimism unconsciously grew in the background of consciousness. Even if you forget for a while, when you face yourself alone in a certain situation, it will unconsciously pervade your life. This pessimistic circular consciousness is sometimes revealed in Lu Xun's novels.