Diary of a Madman (Lu Xun)

The story begins with a note from the narrator written in Classical Chinese, describing his reunion with an old friend. Having heard that the friend's brother was ill, he visits them, but discovers that the brother has recovered and taken up an official post. The rest of the story consists of 13 fragments the narrator has copied from a diary the brother kept while "mad," written in vernacular Chinese.

The diary reveals that he suffered a "persecution complex," and became suspicious of everyone's actions, including people's stares, a doctor's treatment, his brother's behavior, and even dogs barking. He came to believe that the people in his village had a grudge against him and were cannibals who carried the intent of consuming him. Reading a history book, the "madman" saw the words "eat people" written between the lines, as commentary placed in classical Chinese texts. As his "madness" progressed, he experiences psychosis thinking the villagers are attempting to force him into suicide, that his brother ate his sister and that he might have done so as well. He attempts to persuade the villagers to "change from the heart," but concludes that people have been eating each other for millennia. The last chapter concludes with a plea to "save the children."[4][5]

Image of Lu Xun, author of "Diary of a Madman"

Lu Xun's use of imagery, symbolism and metaphor serves as symbolic interpretation for his contempt for Chinese traditional values and thought.[1] The “Diary of Madman” can therefore be interpreted as a revolutionary call to action to reform the traditional belief system of Chinese society and bring Chinese values more in line with modern contemporary ones. The story is not just a depiction of a man suffering from mental illness with the delusion of being eaten but rather a symbol of the cannibalistic nature of Chinese customs and society wrapped up in the veneer of Confucianism. The story progresses with the appearance of imagery such as that of a dog, which symbolizes cannibalism and a certain "slave mentality".[5]

The metaphor of "eating people" symbolises the oppressive and feudalistic social structure and values entrenched within Chinese culture.[6] The madman represents the “awakened” individual who re-gains his individuality and refuses to abide by the traditional and harmful cultural norms society,[6] with the neighbors whom he believes to want to devour him representing Chinese society in general. The story also emphasizes how the madman is imprisoned both in his home and trapped psychologically in his mind, symbolising Chinese society's inability to escape its backward traditional and feudalistic roots.[7]

Because China was built upon and continued to be informed by Confucian morality and principles over long stretches of history, concepts such as democracy, individualism, natural rights and freedom of thought did not exist and were therefore difficult to take root within the Chinese psyche. Lu Xun remarked that “[we] Chinese have always been a bit arrogant --unfortunately it is never “individual arrogance” but without exception “collective and patriotic arrogance”.[8] Such arrogance appears in “Diary of Madman” when the madman states, "Wanting to eat men, at the same time afraid of being eaten themselves, they all eye each other with the deepest suspicion..."[9] a metaphor for the corruption of the Chinese people through the shackles of tradition, forming a fragmented and low-trust society incapable of working together for a better collective future. Another chilling example is the use of the literary device of: "medical science" being used to legitimize and perpetuate the existing oppressive feudal systems instead of curing diseases of the mind and body. As the prologue suggests, the lunatic/revolutionary is "cured" of his "persecution complex" and eventually assimilated back into the cannibalistic and sub-human culture he once denounced.[10]

The early 20th century marked a tumultuous time in Chinese history, marked by the fall of the Qing Dynasty as a result of the 1911 revolution and the start of the republican era China. During this time, both immense outcries against western imperialism as well as calls for greater democracy, adoption of western ideas and modernisation were rife among the general populace. Warlordism, regionalism and civil unrest dominated China.[11] Political instability dominated the young yet fractured republic nominally led by Sun-Yat Sen and considerable debate existed about future political direction which the country should take.The massive ensuing social changes remarkably shifted the development of Chinese literature and formed the development of a linguistic system known as baihua.

As a prominent intellectual and an important member of the May Fourth Movement, Lu is referred to as "the Father of Modern Chinese Literature",[12] Lu Xun’s contribution to Chinese literature exhibited a radical change in Chinese language and style.[5] Through his works, Lu demonstrated his pursuit of the objective of cultural change and the promotion of modern literature.  During the New Culture movement, the orthodox system of writing was replaced by the use of vernaculars.[5] Through the adoption of a new literary writing style Lu Xun essentially founded modern Chinese literature. His anti-traditionalism and calls to break the hold of traditional Confucianism in Chinese society are reflected through his narratives.  His most instrumental work: “Diary of a madman” reflects contemporary issues and social structure revolving around the society of republican era China post collapse of the Qing Dynasty. At this time, Confucian values still influenced Chinese culture strongly with rules and social hierarchy being held as superior to the rights of the individual.[5]

When the New Culture Movement (from which the May Fourth Movement sprang) emerged, many intellectuals argued that China needed to transform into a modern country. Intellectuals and writers declared a literary revolution to refashion the traditional system of writing. Officials who promoted baihua argued that "education for the whole population was necessary to establish democracy and science in China, and education required widespread literacy" (Chen, 1999).[13][14] Hu Shih, an important figure in the May Fourth Movement and a prolific writer in modern China, founded a movement known as "New Literature Movement" in 1917. The movement sought to build a reformed version of Chinese script replacing the classical Chinese so ordinary Chinese could more easily learn and understand it. Thus, a new writing system was established called baihua.[15]

Baihua was a vernacular literary language that was popularly used in folk stories, plays and commonly used as a everyday spoken language. Some scholars appealed to replace the traditional wenyan, and use baihua as a standard of writing and communication among the general population. During the Reform Movement of 1898, some development towards the application of baihua was found in newspaper and magazines.

"Diary of a Madman" was a famous and exemplary work of literature composed in May Fourth-style, presented as the fragments of a diary written in the vernacular language by the diarist. Baihua become a standard kind of written Chinese in 1940s.[14]

• A Madman's Diary. (2021). Retrieved 25 April 2021, from https://www.marxists.org/archive/lu-xun/1918/04/x01.htm
• Chen, P. (1999). Modern Chinese: History and sociolinguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Chen, P. (2007). China. In A. Simpson (Ed.), Language and national identity in Asia (pp. 141–167). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Chinnery, J. D. (1960). "The Influence of Western Literature on Lǔ Xùn's 'Diary of a Madman'". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. 23 (2): 309–322. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00149961. JSTOR 609700. S2CID 162259525.
• Tang, Xiaobing (October 1992). "Lu Xun's 'Diary of a Madman' and a Chinese Modernism". PMLA. 107 (5): 1222–1234. doi:10.2307/462876. JSTOR 462876. S2CID 164112019.  
• Chou, Eva Shan (2002). "Learning to Read Lu Xun, 1918-1923: The Emergence of a Readership". The China Quarterly. 172 (172): 1042–1064. doi:10.1017/S000944390200061X. JSTOR 4618817. S2CID 145100271.
• Jin, Ha (2017). "Zhou Yucai writes ʽʽA Madman's Diaryʻʻ under the Pen Name Lu Xin". In Wang, David Der-wei (ed.). A New Literary History of Modern China. Harvard, Ma: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. pp. 254–259. ISBN 978-0-674-97887-4.
• Norman, J. (1988). Chinese. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
• Sun, Lung-Kee (1986). "To Be or Not to Be 'Eaten': Lu Xun's Dilemma of Political Engagement". Modern China. 12 (4): 459–485. doi:10.1177/009770048601200402. JSTOR 189258. S2CID 144128341.
• Yang, Vincent (1992). "A Stylistic Study of 'The Diary of a Madman' and 'The Story of Ah Q'". American Journal of Chinese Studies. 1 (1): 65–82. JSTOR 44289180.

Wikisource has original text related to this article:

A Madman's Diary

Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article:

狂人日記

• Full Chinese text of 狂人日記 at Project Gutenberg
• English translation at Marxists.org
• Lesson Plan for Lu Xun's Preface and "Diary of a Madman"