Appreciation of Kong Yiji's Works

This work is a famous novel by Lu Xun, a master of modern literature in China, and it is also one of the classic short stories in the history of China literature in the 20th century. With extremely frugal pen and ink and typical details of life, the author created the image of Kong Yiji, a scholar who was cruelly abandoned at the bottom of society, lived in poverty and was finally swallowed up by powerful dark forces. Kong Yiji's pitiful and ridiculous personality and tragic ending are not only vivid portrayal of the unfortunate fate of the broad masses of lower-class intellectuals in old China, but also the concrete expression of the "cannibalism" essence of the feudal traditional cultural atmosphere in China. It reveals the indifference of feudal society, the indifference and numbness of people, and the cruelty of society to the unfortunate, which reflects the decay and morbidity of feudal society from one side.

The preface (paragraph 1-3) introduces the social environment of Kong Yiji's activities-Xianheng Hotel in Luzhen.

The first level (paragraphs 4-9) describes Kong Yiji's identity, status, experience, words and deeds, and personality, which is the beginning and development of the plot of the novel.

The first sentence of the fourth paragraph, "Kong Yiji is the only one who wears a gown when standing and drinking", continues the above words and begins to describe the protagonist Kong Yiji in detail. This sentence describes Kong Yiji's peculiar identity and reveals his social status, which is implicit and profound. "Drinking Standing" shows that Kong Yiji's economic situation and social status are similar to the "short coat gang" among drinkers mentioned at the beginning of the novel. But Kong Yiji wears a gown, implying that he is a "scholar". Although he is poor, he is unwilling to put down the shelf of "scholar". He was proud of his death, poisoned by feudal culture and education, and unwilling to associate with the "short coat gang". Therefore, he became the "only" person standing drinking and wearing a gown. This "uniqueness" marks his special social status and unique personality and identity. He wants to "go up" but doesn't want to "live down", which is the difference between the upper and lower levels of hotel customers.

The article then describes the portrait of Kong Yiji in detail. Gradually portray his personality characteristics. "Very high" means that he already has the conditions to make a living; "Pale face" and "There are often some scars between wrinkles" indicate that his living conditions are not good, and he is often tortured by life and humiliated by others; Then when Kong Yiji arrived at the store, the drinkers exposed his shortcomings and made fun of him. At first, he didn't answer. When people repeatedly exposed his "scars" and teased him, the proud Kong Yiji had to get up and complain, "How can you defile people's innocence out of thin air?" "Stealing books is not stealing … stealing books!"! The result of his argument was "to make everyone laugh". Here, the author vividly shows the absurdity and sadness of Kong Yiji. He was the object of ridicule, and his arrival filled the inside and outside of the store with joyful air. In this passage, the author vividly depicts the image of a poor and pedantic lower-class intellectual through the above portrait description and shows it to readers.

The fifth paragraph describes people's dark comments on Kong Yiji and explains Kong Yiji's life and experience. This is a supplement to the previous plot. Kong Yiji didn't even get in as a scholar, so he couldn't make a living. He drank too much to do it. He is getting poorer and poorer, and he is going to beg, so "it is inevitable to do something to steal from time to time". But I don't owe the hotel money. This shows his honesty.

The sixth paragraph, followed by the fourth paragraph, helped the drinkers to laugh at Kong Yiji's topic, which advanced layer by layer and fluctuated. People first asked him, "Can you really read?" Kong Yiji "showed disdain". People went on to say, "Why can't you even get half a scholar?" At this time, Kong Yiji "immediately appear upset, some gray face". These vivid descriptions profoundly reveal Kong Yiji's inner activities: first, they show the arrogance of the scholar, but later they reflect his unspeakable pain.

The seventh paragraph further describes Kong Yiji's character and misfortune through comparison. Kong Yiji knew he couldn't talk to drinkers, so he "had to talk to children". Once, Kong Yiji asked the twelve-year-old hotel waiter "I": "Have you ever read a book?" "How to spell fennel for fennel?" Kong Yiji more say more happy, also show the appearance of "extremely happy". Later, when I saw that I was impatient and walked away with my mouth shut, Kong Yiji sighed again and looked sorry. This wonderful comparative description of "one old and one young, one cold and one hot" reflects Kong Yiji's low position in people's minds, shows the cruelty of society to the unfortunate, and also shows Kong Yiji's loneliness and kindness.

In the eighth paragraph, Kong Yiji surrounded the neighbor's children with fennel beans several times, and wrote fennel characters together with the cultural and educational assistant "I", all of which showed Kong Yiji's kind character of loving children and lonely "bosom friend".

The ninth paragraph can be summarized in one sentence as follows: Kong Yiji only exists as the object of people's teasing, and other people's lives are boring, so they get some happiness by teasing Kong Yiji. However, without Kong Yiji, "others will live like this".

The second level (paragraph 10- 1 1) describes the unfortunate experience of Kong Yiji, which is the climax of the plot of the novel.

In the tenth paragraph, Kong Yiji, who still owes 19 yuan, was told by the shopkeeper that "he hasn't been here for a long time". From the conversation between the shopkeeper and the drinker, it shows that Kong Yiji was broken by Ding for stealing. This is an unfortunate development in Kong Yiji. A series of questions and answers not only reflected people's great indifference to this unfortunate incident, but also highlighted the ferocity of Ding, the representative of the feudal ruling class. Ding, who climbed up in the imperial examination era, interrupted Kong Yiji's leg, who was too poor to be admitted as a scholar, and wanted to kill him. This fact itself is also a profound exposure of the evil of the imperial examination system.

In the eleventh paragraph, first write about the environment and climate, render a sad atmosphere, and then lead to the long-lost Kong Yiji. Kong Yiji's appearance in this passage began when "I" suddenly heard "Warm a bowl of wine", which was a deep but familiar voice, but I had never seen him before. Kong Yiji at this time, "the face is black and thin, and it is no longer like; Wear a torn coat, cross your legs, put a cattail bag under it and hang it on your shoulder with a straw rope "; "He took out four pence from his broken pocket and put it in my hand. When he saw that his hand was covered with mud, it turned out that he had come with this hand. "From the description of these appearances and movements, we can see that the tragic situation of Kong Yiji has obviously changed and formed a strong contrast with the previous description of Kong Yiji. Kong Yiji, deeply poisoned by the feudal imperial examination system, was even physically destroyed. Even so, shopkeepers and drinkers did not forget to make fun of him. In the face of this ridicule, he didn't argue as he did before. He just said "Don't be ridiculous", and then whispered "Fall, fall, fall …", with a pleading face. Finally, Kong Yiji "sat with this hand and walked slowly" in the laughter of others. In the laughter of others, we can see that the world is cold.

The third layer (12- 13) describes the tragic ending of Kong Yiji.

While portraying the sadness in Kong Yiji's character and criticizing his feudal backward consciousness, the author also showed his kindness and sympathy. For example, he wrote that he taught me to read and gave fennel beans to children, but his conduct in the store was better than others, that is, he never defaulted on his debts and wrote a good hand. These descriptions aroused readers' resentment against the feudal society and the imperial examination system that poisoned and destroyed him. This is the social root of Kong Yiji's tragedy. Kong Yiji is an unfortunate man, who lives in a numb and indifferent social environment. Kong Yiji suffered more mentally than physically. Kong Yiji was a weak person who couldn't find his place in the society at that time. He used everyone's laughter to run through such a sad story, which set off and strengthened the tragic effect of the novel. This kind of guffaw is a numb laugh, which adds a suffocating sadness to Kong Yiji's tragedy. On the one hand, it is tragic experience and pain, on the other hand, it is not sympathy and tears, but boring jokes and fun. It is even more sad to write sadness in a happy environment, which shows that Kong Yiji's tragedy is not a personal tragedy, but a social tragedy, and the anti-feudal significance of his works is far-reaching.

Feudal order is the foundation of feudal society. Under such a hierarchical feudal rule, the people's vitality, enthusiasm and sympathy were stifled and they became insensitive, selfish and indifferent. In the short coat gang's mind, Kong Yiji, who can't even catch half a scholar, is of course a rotten product, which is only worth mocking and teasing. They didn't realize that they were at the bottom of the oppressed society like Kong Yiji under the feudal order, which was also very tragic, so they didn't sympathize with and help such an unfortunate person as Kong Yiji. On the contrary, they only know how to laugh in a tired and depressed life and seek a moment of happiness.

On the other hand, "in order to reveal the social cool thin to the people in trouble" is also one of the themes of this paper. Accurate and vivid use of words is a major feature of this article. It is embodied in describing static things with specific verbs, such as "he is tall; His face is blue and white, and there are often some scars between wrinkles. They added, "Why aren't there even half a scholar?" ",or through the continuous use of different words to reveal the changes in the situation of the characters. For example, Kong Yiji said to the cabinet, "Warm two bowls of wine and ask for a plate of fennel. "I will pay a lot of money." "He took four pence out of his broken pocket and put it in my hand." In contrast, Kong Yiji was rich when he was discharged from hospital. Later, when my leg was broken and I was poor, I used "feeling it out" to describe it. The word "touch" shows that he doesn't have much money in his broken pocket, but he is always groping around, trying to find more pennies.

The diversity and novelty of rhetorical devices is another feature. The article uses various forms of exaggeration and repetition, and the characterization is accurate and profound. Kong Yiji's protagonist Kong Yiji, according to Mr. Lu Xun himself told me, does have this person. The man surnamed Meng often drinks in Xianheng Hotel. People call him "Master Meng", and his behavior is similar to that described in Kong Yiji. His real name is Meng, and everyone calls him Master Meng, so his real name is lost. He studied, but in the end he didn't go to school, and he couldn't make a living. He was so poor that he had to beg. He copied books for others, but he liked drinking and sometimes even sold books, pens and paper. When he was very poor, he sneaked into the study to steal something and was caught. He insists that "stealing" books is not stealing ... He often comes to Xianheng Hotel for drinks and may live near the ground, but no one has ever known. Later, he put a sack on the ground, walked with his hands behind his back, had a drink, and then disappeared. The author's home is called "Si Qi". This man likes drinking and smoking opium, but he can write well. He often wears a shabby and dirty bamboo robe and a melon seed hat on his head and wanders around. He likes swearing, but he is often beaten.

It is said that there is also a man named "Mr Yiran" in Shaoxing. Because of poverty, he had to sell biscuits and fried dough sticks to make a living. Because he refused to take off his gown and shouted loudly, he had to follow other vendors selling cakes and fritters. The peddler shouted once, and he also whispered "yes", which is ironic. When the children in the street saw him wearing a long gown and carrying a basket, they all burst into laughter and called him "Mr. Ye Ran" in unison. From then on, "Mr. You Ran" became famous in Shaoxing.

"Mr. Ye Ran" strolled slowly to Xianheng Hotel after selling fried dough sticks, took out a few coppers, asked for a bowl of wine and a plate of fennel beans, and chewed fennel beans slowly while drinking. When the children saw Mr Ye Ran drinking, they rushed to ask for fennel. He gave one to the children until there were not many fennel beans left on the plate, then he covered the plate with his hand and murmured, "There are not many! how much is it? Not much ... "

It is said that this poem "Mr Youran" is the prototype of Kong Yiji written by Lu Xun. Xianheng Hotel: The Symbol of Old China Society

Kong Yiji's story happened in Xianheng Hotel in Luzhen. "Tomorrow" in "Scream" also happened in Luzhen, and the place where the characters (masses) in the novel often go to drink is also called Xianheng Hotel. Among the drinkers, five people, red nose, old arch and blue skin, including the shopkeeper, are rogues, either flirting with women or cheating money. In addition, there are Luzhen and Xianheng Hotel in The Storm, but this time Luzhen is a water town, but the hotel is in the city, and the blessing background collected in Wandering is also called Luzhen.

In Lu Xun's novels, Luzhen seems to have the background of other place names, such as hometown in Hometown, Wei Zhuang in The True Story of Ah Q, Jiguangtun in The Ever-burning Lamp and S City in Restaurant. Not only the local prototype Shaoxing (including his mother's hometown of Anqiaotou), but also these places symbolize the old China society, Luzhen or hometown, which is just a big background that Lu Xun likes.

The hotel opposite Lu Xun's former residence was also opened by Zhou's relatives. Once written into the novel, it became a microcosm of old China. No wonder he said in the postscript of this novel, "This very clumsy novel ... is just a description of society or a kind of life." The drinkers in this hotel are well aware that there are two different grades: short-sleeved gangs who make a living by selling labor and long-sleeved customers who are mainly landlords, literati and rich people. Short-sleeved gang can only stand outside the counter and drink. Long-sleeved guests can walk into the private room of the house, order wine and order food, and eat and drink slowly. In this small hotel, besides the class difference between customers, there are also great grade differences among hotel staff. The shopkeeper is cruel and stern, and often puts on a lost face for the boy, thinking that he is "too stupid" and forbidding him to wait on the gown guests. "Fortunately, I recommend a big head and a big heart" not to be dismissed. Little buddy, even joking depends on the face of the shopkeeper. There is no trust among customers, shopkeepers and waiters, because shopkeepers are mercenary and selling wine requires muddy water to make a profit. Although Kong Yiji is poor and humble, and trampled by shopkeepers and gown customers, others who are also insulted and damaged, such as the short coat gang, also scoff at Kong Yiji's ruthlessness. Even the poor and humble boy didn't like Kong Yiji, who earnestly taught him to write. He thought he was a "beggar" and didn't deserve to be tested.

The relationship between people in Xianheng Hotel, the indifference of national spirit, and Kong Yiji's double tragedy: the tragedy of the oppressed and the insulted, were not these symbols of China's "sick society" and its "unfortunate people" at that time? It is precisely because Lu Xun reduced old China to a small town in Shandong Province and focused on Xianheng Hotel that the problems of the old society were shown in a three-dimensional way through the symbol of hotel.

Lu Xun's symbolic realism is an important reason why his realistic novels are more complicated and profound than other contemporary novels. Unfortunately, at present, most people only pay attention to Diary of a Madman and Medicine. This novel is short of breath and not the best. Another representative work of Lu Xun symbolizing realism is Hometown, in which the symbol of hometown is also a powerful symbol of old China. These two symbols become a matching pair. "Hometown" takes hometown as a microcosm, and people's events take place in the house, while "Luzhen" focuses on hotels that are open, and the tragedy takes place at the counter on the street. Sun Fuyuan said in a brief account of Lu Xun's love for Kong Yiji: "The main intention of the author of Kong Yiji is to describe cool thin, who is suffering in the general society." So when we read Kong Yiji, we may not always put it in the specific social environment of China to explain its significance. In the past, most people explained it from the perspective of the poison of the imperial examination system to the Chinese people. Kong Yiji represented a typical old intellectual and became a victim of feudal society. But as Lu Xun said, "whoever enters the novel as a whole, if the author is clever and the work lasts forever, what the reader sees is the people in the book, which has nothing to do with the people who once existed." Therefore, he insisted that to understand A Dream of Red Mansions, we should not pursue Cao, but learn from him the significance of Jia Baoyu or his novels. Because "life is limited, but art is more eternal." Similarly, we can read Kong Yiji beyond the specific social background of China when writing, which is also of universal significance.

When we don't confine this novel to China's feudal society, it is "a sober reflection describing the suffering people in general society". This kind of bitter people, all over the world. This cool thin society, no matter ancient or modern, will not disappear today or tomorrow. On the surface, Lu Xun wrote about the society and China people in China in the late Qing Dynasty. In fact, he also expressed an eternal tragedy of mankind and its society. On the surface, Kong Yiji was poisoned by the imperial examination system. "Everything is inferior, only reading is high", but he is also a universal symbol of the conflict between individuals and society. In any country, any society, how many people, like Kong Yiji, are not accepted by the society and laughed at, bullied and insulted by the masses, just for different reasons. Kong Yiji represents the conflict between ideal or fantasy and real society, and his tragedy lies in his confusion between fantasy and fact. In the imperial examination era, stealing books was not a shameful or even a criminal act. After he got into this old habit, society changed. So Xianheng Hotel, a small society, will always be a trap to bury Kong Yiji and kill him.

Today, from the east to the west, how many people live according to their own thoughts, ideals, fantasies or values, but he doesn't understand or wake up. He lives in a dream, and the society he lives in simply can't accommodate such people. When we read Kong Yiji outside the framework of the imperial examination, we can feel the richness and universal significance of the novel. Rosso, a stranger in Kong Yiji and Camus' Sharger, and a salesman in Miller's Death of a Salesman are also representatives of the significance of all mankind. Lu Xun: The article "Kong Yiji" can describe the indifference of the society to the suffering people in a few pages. The irony is not obvious, and it has the demeanor of everyone.

Liu Zaifu (aesthetician): A poor "redundant person", a lower-class intellectual who lost his dignity and qualification and was ashamed by society.

Qian Liqun (Professor Peking University): An intellectual worthy of sympathy and anxiety has a tragic and absurd position and fate.

Zhu Shoutong, Director of the Chinese Department of the University of Macau: Through decades of Chinese textbooks or other means, it has entered the minds of the vast majority of China people, deeply influenced the concepts of China people from generation to generation, and then quietly changed the spirit of many China people.