Title

Mara, Anomaly and Folklore: On the Visions of Irrationality in Lu Xun's Poetics

Author

Cheng-chung Liu

Genre

Article  

Pages

429-472  

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

Satanic poetics, anomaly writing, folklore， Lu Xun, irrational poetics   

Abstract

   This article discusses the visions of irrationality in Lu Xun's poetics and explores modernity in Chinese esthetics. I consider three factors synthetically- poetic influences from the West, local folklore, and the personality of the author-which, studied together, reveal their complicated features. First, the Satanic poetics that Lu Xun had accepted since his youth in Japan is re-examined. My interpretation emphasizes what he criticized about the ethical trends toward docility as well as the esthetic trends toward peace. Next, this article analyzes how Lu Xun applied the “experience of folk belief" and developed the “tradition of anomaly writings" (zhiguai). I connect foreign “Satan" (Mara) and local “vengeful ghosts," on the one hand, and recognize their particular type and content on the other. Finally, I focus on “poetic meaning" and “poetic language" to observe how irrational factors were practiced in texts. The result has been a brand-new poetic paradigm which is rich in modernity.