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. Kong Yiji Comics (20)
Lu Zhen in Lu Xun's novels is like the hometown in Hometown, Wei Zhuang in The True Story of Ah Q, Ji Guangtun in The Ever-burning Lamp and S City in Restaurant. Not only the local prototype Shaoxing (including his mother's hometown Anqiaotou), but also these places symbolize the old China society. Taking the hometown in Hometown as an example, I analyzed this symbolic structure. Luzhen or hometown is just a big background. Lu Xun likes to condense the society and its characters in old China into a hotel. In Kong Yiji, Tomorrow, Storm and Fubao, this image is called Xian Heng, but in the ever-burning lamp and medicine, it is only called teahouse, and there is no clear signboard.
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. He often puts on a lost face for the little boy, thinks he is "too stupid" and forbids him to wait on the gown guests. "It's a good thing I recommended the boss" was not 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.
Xianheng Hotel Xianheng Hotel (15) was the symbol of China's "sick society" and its "unfortunate people" at that time, including interpersonal relationship, indifference of national spirit and Kong Yiji's double tragedy: the tragedy of the oppressed and the insulted. 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.
Four bronze statues created by Lu Xun for Kong Yiji.
In his life experience, Lu Xun combed out some characteristics related to Kong Yiji, a typical image of the old intellectuals, among many related figures, and then shaped a series of symbolic images, scenes and dialogues. It is precisely because of this structure that this novel with only more than 2,000 words can produce a powerful explosive force.
When reading Kong Yiji, the first impression is that its visual image is particularly strong. Lu Xun condensed Kong Yiji's complicated life into a series of sculptures from the narrative discourse that should have been used. Kong Yiji appeared only four times in the novel, and Lu Xun replaced many narrative words with statues every time. Kong Yiji first appeared in Xianheng Hotel in this image: Kong Yiji was the only one standing drinking and wearing a gown. He is very tall; Blue and white face, often with some scars between wrinkles; A shaggy gray beard. Although I am wearing a robe, it is dirty and torn. It seems that it hasn't been mended or washed for more than ten years. When he is talking to people, he always gushes.
The first sentence "Kong Yiji is the only one standing drinking and wearing a gown" is the main feature of this statue. It is a portrayal of Kong Yiji's life, including his identity, life experience, personality and social background of his life. He is a striking tall man, because he used to be an educated man, and only fell into poverty after failing to catch half a scholar, so that his legs were broken when stealing. Finally, he appeared, broke his leg, and crawled along. No one in the counter could see him. It was a symbol that he was trampled and knocked down. His rags are a sign of his inner consciousness, and he can't forget the noble status of a scholar and a gentleman. He is tall (strong) and works, poisoned by old ideas, and let him be trampled by people of the upper and lower classes.
Kong Yiji "often has some scars between wrinkles on his face", and these old and new scars contain a lot of social cruelty and his own lazy character. Kong Yiji's tragedy is twofold. On the one hand, he is the tragedy of an old scholar, and also the tragedy of oppression and humiliation of the bottom society.
The second time Kong Yiji appeared in the novel, he appeared with this statue, and there was a little buddy beside him: Kong Yiji just dipped his nails in wine and wanted to write on the counter. When he saw that I was not enthusiastic, he sighed again and looked sorry.
When Kong Yiji made his third appearance, he was even surrounded by a group of children. "He gave each of them an fennel bean." The statue is engraved with him and the children. This shows that there is a kind and sincere heart in his pedantic thoughts. He is better than others in Xianheng Hotel, honest and never in arrears. His sigh is not only because he realized his inferiority complex and became the object of contempt, ridicule, bullying and insult, but also because the younger generation actually joined the masses who took pleasure in the shame and pain of others. He thinks that adult society is ruthless, so he seeks comfort from children, but they are also realistic ("all eyes are on the dishes"), desperate (they dare not be shopkeepers, so they don't need to learn to write) and heartless ("Is a beggar worth testing me?" )。
On his fourth and last appearance, Lu Xun suddenly reduced the originally tall Kong Yiji to a beggar with a broken leg and walking with his hands: his face was black and thin, and his figure was out of shape; Wearing a shabby jacket, his legs crossed, and there was a cattail bag under it ... His hands were covered with mud, so it turned out that he walked with this hand ... The tall Kong Yiji could not stand up now. Because he stole some books, paper, pens and inkstones, he was hung up and beaten, and finally his leg was broken. Lu Xun used this statue to represent Kong Yiji's eternal and final tragedy.