Who said "cannibalism"?

"Diary of a Madman" is a short story by Lu Xun, and the first novel in vernacular language.It was published in May 1918 in the magazine "New Youth". It is included in Lu Xun's short story collection The Scream. It consists of 13 diary entries, which record the mental state and psychological activities of the "madman", profoundly expose the "cannibalistic" nature of feudalism, and show the spirit of fighting against feudalism. Artistically, it uses a combination of realism and symbolism. It is the first vernacular novel in the history of modern Chinese literature.

The Diary of a Madman

A certain gentleman and his friends, whose names are now hidden, were all good friends of mine in high school in the past; separated for many years, the news is gradually queued. A few days ago, I occasionally heard that one of them was very sick; and when I returned to my hometown, I took a detour to visit them, but I only met one person, who said that the sick person was also his brother. Mr. Lao came from afar to see, but has been healed early, to go to a certain place to wait for a replacement (2) carry on. Because of laughter, show diary two books, saying that the visible symptoms of the disease, may be offered to old friends. When I returned to read them, I realized that I was suffering from "persecution mania" and so on. The language is quite disorderly and incoherent, and more ridiculous words; also not the month and day, but the ink color font is not the same, I know that it is not a moment of the book. There is also a slight liaison between, this summary recorded a for medical research. Remember the language error, a word is not easy; but although the names of people are all villagers, not known to the world, unrelated to the general, but also all easy to go. As for the title of the book, the title of my healing, not to change. The book's title is the title of the book that I have inscribed after I have recovered, and I will not change it again.

One

This evening, very good moonlight.

I haven't seen him for more than thirty years; today I see him, and my spirit is extraordinarily refreshed. I realized that the previous thirty years were all a blur; however, I must be very careful.

This is the first time I've seen him in the past thirty years, and I realize that the previous thirty years were all a blur.

I am justified in my fear.

Two

There is no moonlight today, and I know it is not good. In the morning, I was careful to go out, and Zhao Guiweng's eyes were strange: they seemed to be afraid of me, and they seemed to want to harm me. There were seven or eight other people, talking to each other about me, with their mouths open, smiling at me; and I was cold from head to toe, knowing that they had arranged it all properly.

I was not afraid to go on my way. I think I have some kind of grudge against the children, and he is like this. I could not help saying aloud, "Tell me!" And they ran away.

I think: I with Zhao Guiweng have what hatred, with the road and what hatred; only twenty years ago, Mr. Gujiu's old running water book (3), kicked a foot, Mr. Gujiu is very unhappy. Although Zhao Guiweng did not know him, must have heard the wind, on behalf of the injustice; agreed to the road, with me for the injustice. But what about the children? At that time, they have not yet been born, why today also open strange eyes, seems to be afraid of me, seems to want to harm me. I am afraid, and I am puzzled, and I am grieved.

I understand. This is what their mothers taught them!

Three

I can't sleep at night. Everything must be studied to be understood.

They--there were those who had given the governor the yoke, those who had slapped the gentleman's mouth, those whose wives had been taken by the magistrates, and those whose sons and mothers had been driven to death by their creditors; and their faces then were not as fearful or as fierce as they had been yesterday.

The strangest of all was the woman on the street yesterday, who beat her son and said, "I'm going to bite you a few times to get rid of you! I'm going to bite you a few times to get out of it!" His eyes but looked at me. I was shocked, couldn't hide it; the group of green-faced fangs, then they all laughed. Chen Laowu caught up with me and dragged me home.

Dragging me home, the people at home all pretended not to recognize me; their faces, too, all the same as others. I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but I'm sure it's a good idea for me to be a part of it.

The other day, the tenants of Wolf Village came to sue, said to my brother, a big villager in their village, to everyone killed; a few people then dug out his heart and liver, fried in oil and ate, can be strong courage. When I made a remark, the tenants and my elder brother looked at me. I realized today that their eyes are exactly the same as those of the people outside.

When I think about it, I get cold from the top of my head to my heels.

If they can eat people, they may not eat me.

You can see that the woman's words "bite you a few times", and a group of green-faced fangs laugh, and the tenant's words the day before yesterday, clearly is a code. I can see that his words are all poison, laugh all knife. Their teeth, all white stern rows, this is the guy who eats people.

According to my own thinking, although it is not an evil person, since kicking the book of the ancient family, it is difficult to say. They seem to have something else in mind, I can not guess all. Moreover, when they turn their backs, they say that people are evil. I still remember my big brother taught me to do the theory, no matter how good people, turn him a few words, he will play a few circles; forgive bad people a few words, he will say "turn the sky wonderful hand, different". I can't guess what they are thinking, what they are doing; besides, it's time to eat.

All things must be studied before they can be understood. In the ancient times, people used to eat people, and I still remember that, but I don't know much about it. I turn over the history of a check, this history is not dated, crooked each leaf is written on the "benevolence, righteousness and morality" a few words. I couldn't sleep, so I looked at it carefully for half a night, and only then could I see the words through the cracks in the text, which were all filled with the word "cannibalism"!

The book is full of these words, and the tenants have said so many things, but they are all smiling and looking at me with strange eyes.

I am a human being too, and they want to eat me now!

Four

In the morning, I sat in silence for a while. Chen Laowu brought in food, a bowl of vegetables and a bowl of steamed fish; the fish had eyes, white and hard, and its mouth was open, like that of the gang of would-be cannibals. After eating a few chopsticks, I don't know whether it was a fish or a human being, so I spit him out with his belly and intestines.

I said, "Old Five, said to the big brother, I am bored, want to walk in the garden." The old five did not agree, went away; stop for a while, can come to open the door.

I also did not move, to study how they manipulate me; know that they must not relax. Sure enough! My elder brother led an old man, slowly came; he was full of fierce eyes, afraid I can see, just bowed his head to the ground, from the horizontal edge of the glasses secretly look at me. My brother said, "You seem fine today." I said, "Yes." Big brother said, "Today, please Mr. He to come, give you a diagnosis." I said, "Yes!" In fact, I didn't know that the old man was an executioner! He was just using the name of checking his pulse to speculate on the fat and barren: for this credit, he would also share a piece of meat to eat. I'm not afraid; although I don't eat people, my guts are stronger than theirs. Stretching out two fists, see how he does it. The old man sat, closed his eyes, touched for a while, stayed for a while; then opened his ghostly eyes and said, "Do not think. Keep quiet for a few days, and you'll be fine."

Don't think nonsense, quietly raise! After fattening up, they can naturally eat more; what good am I, how can I be "better"? They want to eat people, but they are also sneaky, trying to cover up, do not dare to go straight down, really want to make me die of laughter. I couldn't help it, so I burst out laughing, very happy. I knew that this laughter was full of righteousness and courage. The old man and big brother, all lost color, was my courage and righteousness suppressed.

But when I have courage, they want to eat me more and more, so that they can get some of this courage. The old man stepped out the door, not far away, they whispered to the big brother, "hurry up and eat!" Big brother nodded. So there you are! This is a great discovery, although it seems to be an accident, but also in the heart: the people who ate me together, is my brother!

The man who eats people is my brother!

I am the brother of the cannibal!

I have been eaten myself, but I am still the brother of the man-eater!

Five

These days is to step back and think: If that old man is not an executioner in disguise, but really a doctor, he is still a cannibal. Their ancestor, Li Shizhen, did the "herbal what" (4), clearly written that human flesh can be fried and eaten; he can still say that he does not eat people?

As for my elder brother, he was not wronged. When he told me about the book, he personally said that he could "eat the child" (5); and once he happened to talk about a bad person, he said that not only should be killed, but also "eat flesh and skin" (6). I was still young, my heart skipped a lot of time. The day before yesterday, Wolf Village tenants to say eat heart and liver, he was not surprised, nodding his head uncontrollably. It is clear that his heart is as hard as before. Since it can be "easy to eat", it is easy to get everything and everyone can eat. I used to listen to his reasoning alone, but also fooled around; now I know that when he reasoned, not only was his lips still smeared with human oil, but his heart was full of cannibalism.

Six

It was dark, I don't know whether it was day or night. The dogs of the house of Zhao barked again.

Lion-like fierce heart, the rabbit's cowardice, the fox's cunning,......

seven

I know their method, straight kill, is not willing to, and do not dare, for fear of woe. So they all connected, full of nets, forcing me to kill myself. Try to see the appearance of men and women on the street a few days ago, and my brother's behavior in the past few days, it can be realized eight or nine points. The best thing is to take off the belt, hanging on the beam, tightly strangled to death; they do not have the crime of murder, but also to fulfill their wishes, naturally, all the joy of a kind of whimpering laughter. Otherwise, they died of shock and sorrow, and although they were a little thin, they could still be first.

They are the ones who only eat dead meat! --I remember what the book said, there is a thing called "Hai Bina" (7), vision and appearance are very ugly; often eat dead meat, even the great bones, are chewed, swallowed, think of it also teaches people to be afraid. "Hai Bina" is a relative of the wolf, and the wolf is the dog's family. The day before yesterday, Zhao's dog, look at me a few times, can see that he is also complicit, has long been contacted. The old man's eyes on the ground, can not hide me over.

The most pitiful thing is my big brother, he is also a human being, why not afraid; and eat me together? I'm not sure if this is the right thing to do, but I'm sure it's the right thing to do, and it's the right thing to do. Or is it that he has lost his conscience, and knows that he is doing it?

I cursed the eater of men, and began with him; and to persuade the eater of men, I will begin with him.

Eight

In fact, this kind of reasoning, by now, they should also have long understood,......

Suddenly came a man; the age of twenty or so, the appearance is not very clear, full of smiles, and nodded to me, his smile does not look like a real smile. I then asked him, "Cannibalism, right?" He still smiled and said, "It's not a barren year, why would I eat people." I knew at once that he was one of the gang, and liked to eat people; so I was a hundred times more courageous, and asked him about it.

"Right?"

"This kind of thing ask him what. You really can ...... tell jokes. ...... It's a beautiful day."

The weather is good, and the moon is bright now. But I have to ask you, "Right?"

He didn't think so. He replied, "No......"

"No? Why do they even eat?!"

"Nothing ......"

"Nothing? The wolf village now eats it; and it's all in the books, reddish and chopped new!"

He then changed his face, ironically green. He opened his eyes and said, "There are some, this is never so ......"

"Never so, then right?"

"I don't want you to talk about these reasons; in any case, you shouldn't say it, and if you say it, you're wrong!"

I jumped straight up, opened my eyes, and the man was gone. My whole body broke out in a large sweat. His age, far younger than my big brother, actually also a gang; this must be his mother's old man first taught. Also afraid that has been taught to his son; so even the little children, also look at me viciously.

nine

They themselves want to eat people, and are afraid of being eaten by others, all with a very deep suspicion, face to face. ......

Go this mind, rest assured to do things walking eating and sleeping, how comfortable. This is only a threshold, a juncture. They are father, son, brother, husband, wife, friend, teacher, student, enemy, and various people who do not know each other, have formed a group, exhorting each other, holding each other back, and dead refused to cross this step.

Ten

Early in the morning, I went to find my elder brother; he stood outside the door of the hall, looking at the sky, so I went behind him, stopped the door, and said to him in an unusually calm and peaceful manner,

"My elder brother, I have something to tell you."

"Just say it," he said, hurrying back and nodding.

"I have only a few words, but I can't say them. Brother, about the time the savage ones were savage, they all ate a little of the people. Later, because of different minds, some didn't eat people anymore, and when they wanted to be good, they changed into people, into real people. Some still eat, - the same as worms, some changed into fish, birds and monkeys, and have been changed into human beings. Some do not want to be good, and remain worms to this day. How much more ashamed is this man-eater than the man who does not eat. Fear than the worm's ashamed monkeys, is still far, far away.

"Yi Ya (8) steamed his son and gave him to Jie Zhou to eat, or has been a thing of the past. Who knows from Pangu after the opening of the heavens and earth, has been eating to the son of Yi Ya; from the son of Yi Ya, has been eating to Xu Xilin (9); from Xu Xilin, and has been eating to the people caught in the village of Wolf Zi. Last year, the city killed prisoners, and a man with consumption, with steamed bread dipped in blood licking.

"They want to eat me, you alone, originally also can not think; however, why go into the gang. A cannibal can do nothing; they will eat me, and they will eat you, and in a gang, they will eat themselves. But if only one step be turned, if only one change be made at once, there will be peace for all. Though it were never so, we can be extraordinarily good today, and say it cannot be! Brother, I believe you can say, the day before yesterday tenants want to reduce rent, you said can not."

At first, he only sneered, then his eyes turned fierce, and once he got to the point of breaking their hidden agenda, then his face turned green all over. Outside the gate stood a group of people, Zhao Guiweng and his dog, also inside, all probing next to come in. Some can not see the face, seems to use the cloth masked; some are still green fangs, pursed lips smile. I recognized them as a group, all of them were man-eaters. But I also know that their minds are very different, one is to think that never so, should be eaten; one is to know that should not be eaten, but still want to eat, but also afraid of others to break him, so listen to my words, more and more angry, but pursed lips sneer.

At this time, the elder brother also suddenly showed a ferocious look, shouted, "All out! What's there to see in a madman!"

At this point, I understood one more thing about their ingenuity. Not only did they refuse to change, but they had already set up; they were ready to cover me with the name of the next madman. This is exactly the way the tenant said we ate an evil man. This is their old recipe!

Chen Laowu also angry straight into. I'm not sure how to hold my tongue, but I'm going to say to this group of people, "You can change, start from the heart! I want to know that there will be no room in the world for cannibalism in the future.

"But if you do not change, you yourselves will be eaten up. Even if you have many, they will be destroyed by the true man, just as the hunter finishes with the wolf -- just as the worm! -- the same as worms!"

The group, all of them, were driven away by Chen Laowu. I don't know where he went. The house was all dark and gloomy. The beams and rafters were shivering overhead; after shaking for a while, they got big and piled on top of me.

It was so heavy that I could not move; he meant me to die. And I knew that his heaviness was false, and I struggled out, and sweated. But he said to me, "Change at once from your heart! Know ye that there shall be no cannibalism in the future,......"

XI

The sun did not come out, neither was the door opened, but the days were two meals.

I pinched up my chopsticks and thought of my elder brother; knowing that the cause of my sister's death was also all in his hands. I was only five years old at the time, and I still see my sister in front of my eyes," he said, "but I don't know what to say. My mother couldn't stop crying, but he advised my mother not to cry; about because he ate, crying a bit too much. If you can still feel bad,...... sister is eaten by the big brother, the mother knows no, I can not know.

Mother wants to also know; but when crying, but did not explain, about also thought it should be. I remember when I was four or five years old, sitting in front of the hall to take a cool, big brother said that the master and mother are sick, do the son must cut off a piece of meat, cooked to please eat, (10) is considered a good person; mother also did not say no. If you can eat a piece of meat, you can naturally eat the whole thing. But the way he cried on that day, when I think of it now, it really makes me sad, and it is really a strange thing!

Twelve

Can't think about it.

Four thousand years at times to eat people's place, today to understand, I also in which I have been mixed for many years; big brother is in charge of the household, sister happened to die, he may not not and in the meal, secretly give us to eat.

I may not be unintentional, do not eat a few pieces of my sister's meat, and now it is also my own turn,...... with four thousand years of cannibalism resume I, at first, although I do not know, and now understand that it is difficult to see the real people!

Thirteen

No cannibalistic children, or there?

Save the children ......

April, 1918

Notes 1) This piece was originally published in May 1918 in New Youth, Volume 4, Number 5. The author first adopted the pen name "Lu Xun". It is the first novel in the history of modern literature in China that fiercely attacked the feudalism of "cannibalism". In addition to mentioning the reasons for its creation in the Preface to this book ("Scream"), the author also pointed out in the Preface to the Second Collection of Novels of the New Literature of China that it was "intended to expose the evils of the family system and rituals", which can be found in the following. (2) Alternate: the Qing dynasty official system, through the imperial examinations or donations and other ways to obtain the official title, but there is no actual position of the lower and middle-level officials, by the Ministry of the Ministry of the lottery distributed to a certain ministry or province, waiting for the appointment, known as the alternate. (3) Mr. Gujiu's aged running water book: here is a metaphor for the long history of feudalism in China. (4) "Materia Medica What": refers to "Materia Medica Compendium", a pharmacological work by the Ming Dynasty medical doctor Li Shizhen (1518-1593), **** fifty-two volumes. The book once mentioned and disputed the record in Chen Zangqi's "Gleanings from the Materia Medica" of the Tang Dynasty that human flesh was used to cure consumption. It is said here that Li Shizhen's book "clearly states that human flesh can be fried and eaten", which is a "mistake in the record" made by the "madman". (5) "Easily eat": in the fifteenth year of Xuan Gong of Zuo Zhuan, Song general Hua Yuan told Chu general Zi Xiang about the tragic situation when the capital of Song was besieged by the Chu army: "I have easily eaten my son in my euphony, and I have analyzed the remains of my body and cooked a meal in my house." (6) "Eating meat and sleeping on skin": From the twenty-first year of the Duke of Xiang in Zuo Zhuan (《左传》), the state of Jin, Zhou Chao, told Duke Zhuang of Qi, "The two sons are like beasts, I eat their meat and sleep on their skin." (Note: "Two Sons" refers to Shikuo and Guo most of Qi, who had been captured by Zhouchuo.) (7) "Haiyena": the phonetic translation of English hyena, i.e. hyena (also known as hyena), a kind of carnivorous beasts, often followed by lions and tigers and other ferocious beasts, to eat the leftover carcasses of the beasts they ate as food. (8) Yi Ya: a native of Qi during the Spring and Autumn Period who was good at seasoning. According to "Guanzi? Small claims": "Fu Yi Ya to season and serve the public (according to: refers to Duke Huan of Qi), the public said 'but steamed baby's not yet tasted', so steamed its first son and offered to the public." Jie, Zhou for China's Xia Dynasty and the last generation of the Shang Dynasty monarch, Yi Ya and they are not contemporaries. Said here, "Yi Ya steamed his son, to Jie Zhou eat", is also "madman" "language is quite mixed and incoherent" performance. (9) Xu Xilin: Hidden refers to Xu Xilin (1873-1907), the word Bethune, Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, an important member of the late Qing dynasty revolutionary group of the Restoration Society. 1907, and Qiu Jin to prepare for the simultaneous uprising in Zhejiang and Anhui provinces. On July 6, he took the Anhui police office and police school supervisor identity as a cover to take the opportunity of the graduation ceremony held in the school stabbed Anhui governor Enming, led the students to seize the ordnance bureau, the bullet was arrested, was brutally killed on the same day, the heart and liver was Enming's guards dug out of the fried food. (10) refers to "cut the stock to cure parents", that is, cut their own flesh decoction, in order to cure parents' serious illness. This is a kind of foolish filial behavior in feudal society. Song history? Election Zhi I ":" on the filial piety to take people, then the brave cut the stock, the cowardly Lushu tomb."