Lu Xun’s Allegory of Realism: Psychology and the Aims of Writing

Abstract

As a key figure in China’s May Fourth movement, Lu Xun has been discussed as a pioneer in the development of narrative realism and also as a bold experimentalist whose literary innovations justly place him in the forefront of modern letters. His early short stories in particular have been singled out as seminal examples of early Chinese realism, whereas their formal qualities alone guarantee their importance to subsequent literature. However, the problematic aspects of realism as a critical term have become increasingly evident in recent years and have prompted a re-examination of his style and subject matter. In this short paper, I shall consider Lu Xun’s early short story, Diary of a Madman, in terms of how exaggeration and humor constitute the basis for a new understanding of modern Chinese writing. By considering this story as an allegory concerned with the birth of modern Chinese writing, I hope to show that Lu Xun’s contribution to literature has a phenomenological significance that is inseparable from an implicit challenge to realism as an ideology.