Excerpts from Lu Xun’s famous sayings:

1. China is probably too old. Everything in society, big or small, is in a bad state, like a black dye vat, no matter what new things are added Go, everything becomes pitch black. But there is no other way except to think of ways to reform. I think all idealists either miss the "past" or "hope for the future". As for the topic of "present", they all turned in blank papers because no one can give a prescription. The best medicine of all is "hope for the future." "Book of Two Places" 1925.

2. The most painful thing in life is waking up from a dream and having no way to go. The dreamer is happy; if he cannot see the way to go, the most important thing is not to wake him up.

3. Our immediate priorities are: first, survival, second, food and clothing, and third, development. Those who stand in the way of this future, whether ancient or modern, human or ghost, are all trampled down by the "Three Complements and Five Classics", the Hundred Songs and Thousand Yuan Dynasty, the Heavenly Ball and the River Map, the Golden Man and the Jade Buddha, the ancestral pills and the secret elixir. he. "Sudden Thought" 1925

4. There are walls everywhere in China, but they are invisible, like a "ghost hitting a wall", so that you can "touch" it at any time. Those who can hit this wall, The one who can touch without feeling pain is the winner. "After Hitting the Wall" 1925

5. The Chinese people's addiction to officialdom is too deep. The Han Dynasty emphasized filial piety and honesty, and buried children carved wood. "Qifu" and "however". In short: the soul has to be an official - acting in an official manner, putting on an official tone, and speaking in official language. ""Three Souls of Academia" 1926

6. The opposite of a dictator is a slave. When he has power, he will do anything, and when he loses power, he will be full of servility. "Proverbs" 1933

7. In fact, the Chinese are not without "self-knowledge". The only shortcoming is that some people are content with "self-deception" and thus want to "deceive others". For example, a patient suffers from edema and refuses to seek medical treatment, hoping that others will be confused and mistake him for obesity. "This Is a Record" 1936

8. When the brave are angry, they draw their swords against the stronger; when the timid are angry, they draw their swords against the weaker. In a hopeless nation, there must be many heroes who glare at children. These cowards! Children grow up glaring at other children and thinking: they have lived their lives in anger. ""Miscellaneous Feelings" 1925

9. The education of cool makes people see coolness and no longer think it is cool. For example, if you kill a few people for no reason, everyone would cry out before. Now I just see daily things like tea and meals. The people are really treated like thick-skinned, insensible leprous. But just because they have become leprous, they will move forward with cruelty. This is something that tiger officials and violent officials cannot expect, and even if they do, they will not. Still nothing can be done. ""Occasionally" 1933

10. People who have lived in embarrassment, once they have money, will easily fall into two situations: one is an ideal world, thinking about people in the same situation. , becomes humanism; the other is that he earns everything by himself, and his past experiences make him feel that everything is cold, so he becomes individualistic. We in China have probably become more individualistic. "The Wrong Path of Literature, Art and Politics, 1927

11. Unfortunately, China is too difficult to change. Even if you move a table or modify a stove, it will almost take blood; and even if there is blood, , and it may not necessarily be able to be moved or modified. The Chinese themselves would not move even if a big whip was slapped on their backs. "What Happened to Nora" 1926

12. The masses, especially those in China, are always spectators of dramas. If the sacrifice appears to be generous, they will watch a tragic drama; if it appears to be cowardly (hu su, trembling with fear), they will watch a farce. In Beijing's mutton shops, there are often a few people opening their mouths to watch the sheep being skinned, as if they are quite happy. Human sacrifice can only benefit them so much. And after a few steps, they forgot about it. "What Happened to Nora" 1926

13. I just don't understand why the Chinese people are so calm about the old situation, but so anxious about the newer opportunities; You are so reluctant to compromise on the situation; you are so demanding and blaming for the beginning of things? "This and That" 1926

14. Who says that Chinese people are not good at change? Every time new things come in, although they are repelled at first, they will naturally change when they see that they are somewhat reliable.

But it is not about adapting oneself to new things, but simply adapting new things to oneself. "Filler" 1925

15. I occasionally go to school sports meets. This kind of competition is not like a war between two enemy countries, which involves hostility. However, due to the competition, there will be scolding or even fighting. But these things are another matter. During the walking race, once the three or four fastest people reach the decisive point, the rest will relax. Some even lose the courage to complete the scheduled number of laps and squeeze into the crowd of spectators midway; or pretend to be afraid. He fell, causing the Red Cross to carry him away on a stretcher. If there is someone who runs as fast as he can even though he is lagging behind, everyone will laugh at him. Probably because he is too unintelligent and "has no shame in being the last".

Therefore, China has always had few heroes who failed, few who resisted with tenacity, few warriors who dared to fight alone, and few who dared to caress and cry for traitors; when they saw signs of victory, they gathered one after another, and when they saw defeat, they gathered Zhao fled one after another. The Europeans and Americans, whose fighting tools are more sophisticated than ours, and the Huns, Mongolians and Manchus, whose fighting tools may not be as sophisticated as ours, are all as if they are in an uninhabited land. The four words "falling apart" really describe it with self-awareness. As a nation with many people who are "not ashamed to be last", no matter what happens, they will never "fall apart" all of a sudden. Every time I watch a sports meeting, I often think like this: The winner is respectable, but even though he is lagging behind, he is still Competitors who do not stop running to the finish line, and spectators who do not smile when they see such competitors, are the backbone of China's future.

Note: This article is selected from "Huagai Collection." This and That》