Author ｜
Lee Kuei-yun
Abstract ｜
Lu Xun’s poetry collection Weeds was considered an example of “depression writing" and "spiritual autobiography,” where the two “Revenge” poems reveal the ugliest side of humanity: the enjoyment of watching the pain of others. The two “Revenge” poems both employ religious allusions but resist religious salvation of humanity. This article argues that the two poems show Lu-Xun’s dark thoughts and concepts of the original sin, as well as his anxiety and frustration resulting from his eagerness to reform the national character. The article will use a psychoanalytic approach, referring to Susan Sontag’s Regarding the Pain of Others, to investigate several levels of the viewers’ psychological state. It also analyzes the conceptualization of the original sin and human nature in Lu-Xun’s poems, and his resistance to and explanation of them.
keywords ｜
Lu-Xun, “Revenge,” Regarding the Pain of Others, original sin