The Iron House: Lu Xun’s Literary and Culture Paradox

Lu Xun is honored by the people as the soul of the Chinese nation, is regarded as the most influential Chinese writer who was closely associated with the May Fourth Movement. His masterpiece Call to Arms was created during the climax of the May Fourth Movement, Lu Xun actively took part in this epoch-making movement after experienced a profound observation for a long time, with intense passion of opposing to the old culture, old morality. He was an accomplished “painter”, He used his sardonic, humorous, and sharp pen to depict the force of the dark and rotten society. During this time, he wrote lots of brilliant works of new literature, including essays, poetry, novels, especially his vernacular novels, Lu Xun emerged from the decaying feudal society. His life he fought for truth and freedom from the standpoint of the proletariat and national liberation. Many characters in Call to Arms based on unfortunate and pathological people in the society aims to gain the attention of healing by explore the pain(Jon).

In the preface of Call to Arms, Lu Xun provided a concrete explanation of The Iron House. There is an iron house with no window and the wall around the house was almost built for eternity. In the house, there are many people, who were sleeping and will suffocate to die soon. However, if they die from the lethargy, no sorrow will be felt. If you start to yell, awake a few people who still have some consciousness physically and psychologically, as a matter of fact, it may bring these unfortunate minority endless suffering of irreversible dying(Lu). That is how Lu Xun came up with the question” do you think you treat them fairly?”. Without question, the question he came up express Lu sun's inner struggle. Although Lu Xun was always the most active member of the May Fourth Movement, who promote the new culture and literary and did make a significant difference in both of the context and styles of literature. Lu Xun still felt indecisive to those people who were locked in the iron house, which tells the fact that Lu Xun was experiencing the strong inner struggle when he was taking part in reform. On the one hand, as a Chinese, this deep-rooted traditional ideology has already permeated into people’s life and mind during thousands of years. On the other hand, Lu Xun as a writer, it is even harder to gain people’s approval at the very beginning of the reform with the high profile of opposing in public. Lu Xun regarded his pen as a gun, which help win the change by literary. So. There are lots of paradox of literary and cultural in his works. Just like the iron house, it is always been a question of choosing the right side between keeping and moving. There are always miserable sacrifice in reform, just like the people in the iron house, Lu Xun was always thinking about the advantages and disadvantages of change, although some of them present the old culture, some of them like those “sleeping people” has no conscious to wake up, even worse, some of these people who seems entirely innocent by “lying quietly”, who were easily to receive compassion, were becoming the obstacle, the hard rocks “lying quietly in front of the reform. Either break them into pieces or move them. There is no way to complete the reform, to insist the new culture with keeping the innocent but wrong things that were out of step with the change. From the point of view of the iron house image, this essay will focus on the inner struggle of Lu Xun and paradox he expressed in his works in literature and culture.

Firstly, from the view of the iron house, what Lu Xun mentioned was the condition of the house. The house with no window and was created in iron, however, Lu Xun put images of people, alive people who were sleeping in the iron house with less air, which implies that from the dark heart of Lu Xun, he designed the story with pessimism. , Lu Xun has already told the result of these people; the only fate was suffocation. Lu Xun lost all hope of the situation, he even oppose to wake them up, because he thought that since there is no chance to destroy the iron house, the fate of suffocation was out of the question, there is no more help but suffering before death if they were awake. It is better to die from lethargy. Obviously, the iron house was the symbol of despair, we can see the inner struggle of Lu Xun, who would rather to endure the loneliness and pain by himself than to wake up those people, to speak out what he insist from the deep of his heart. To some degree, the pessimism Lu Xun had closely related to his personal experience. As Lu Xun’s father died of illness, he came down in the world. Lu Xun was forced to see the real face of the world of hypocrisy and vanity. Promoted his dislike of feudal ethical code and the traditional way of life. During the study period, he witnessed the ordinary people at the bottom of the pile who were enslaved and tormented. Also witnessed in the helpless of A few awakening people who sacrifice for the new hope. Promoted Lu Xun’s more deep understanding of the iron house with pessimism. However, it is undeniable that Lu Xun cared a lot for the a few people who still had consciousness, Lu Xun regarded them as the hope of escaping the iron house, a few individuals were the key to waking up others who were sleeping, these few people had the crucial effect. Just as he saw the only light in the darkness, Lu Xun decided to abandon the illusion of saving the nation by engaging in industry, chose to use language and words to wake people's consciousness, to let them see hopes and cheer them firstly. As a matter of fact, Lu Xun was pretty optimistic during the despairing and anxious time.

Secondly, focus on the iron house. Which intends the situation of nationals of all walks of life and destiny at the beginning of the show China's social 20th century. The iron house is a metaphor for the decay of Chinese society at that time. “no windows” is a metaphor for the Chinese stubborn feudal forces. The reality was that China was a fragmented nation dominated by warlords, who were more concerned with their political powers and private armies than national interests. The Chinese Beiyang government occupied with suppressing internal affairs and did little to counter the influence exerted by foreign powers. The complex and disadvantageous situation, the iron house interpreted the complex and unfavourable situation entirely. However, as the outbreak of the May Fourth Movement, marked the end of thousands of years of powerful imperial rule, and theoretically ushered a new era in which political power rested with the people(Schoppa). Lu Xun as one of the leaders of the New Culture Movement called for a discard of traditional values and the selective adoption of Western ideas of "Mr. Science" and "Mr. Democracy" in order to strengthen the new nation(Jonathan 117). These iconoclastic and anti-traditional views and programs have shaped China's politics and culture down to the present(Jon Kowallis) The revolution was an opportunity to released those a few people who can be awakened, and break the hard wall around the house. Which expressed Lu Xun’s paradox between revolution and feudalism. Lastly, there is always paradox between change and stagnation reflected in Lu Xun’s works. In the iron house, Lu Xun was the one who stood out of the house, who wanted to take action to wake up those people, who decided to abandon his job and use language and literature to wake people up from the deep of their heart. Lu Xun was always changing and completing the way he thinks and implement. However, just like how Lu Xun feel entangled with those people who were not willing to figure out the new situation, who already admit their corrupt and ignorant, who stay in the dangerous situation with willingness. The change Lu Xun, which asked for himself and the stagnation people, stopped at became a major paradox in Lu Xun’s works.

In conclusion, Lu Xun as a reformer of the revolution of China, he was called “a revolutionary soldier "and " the image of innovative spirit portrait." People always pay attention to his indomitable spirit but ignored his inner contradiction. The picture of the iron house is the picture of his mind at that time, to reflect his ambivalence and inner struggle of his literary and culture paradox.

Works Cited

Jon Kowallis. Interpreting Lu Xun. Chinese Literature: Essays, 1996. Print. Page 153–164.

Jonathan D. Spence. The Chinese and Their Revolution. 1895. Print.Page 117-123

Lu Xun. Call to Arms. People’s LiteraturenPublishing House. 1937. Print.

Schwarcz, Vera. The Chinese enlightenment: intellectuals and the legacy of the May Fourth movement of 1919. No. 27. Univ of California Press, 1986.

Schoppa, R.Keith. Identities and Change in Modern Chinese History. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall. Page 177–179