Lu Xun's sentence "China's roots are in Taoism" comes from which book?

Debate on Lu Xun's famous saying "China's roots are in Taoism"

Source: Journal of China Academy of Social Sciences, June 2004/10 Author: Tian Yuan Published: June 2004-1/.

"China's roots are in Taoism" is a famous saying of Mr. Lu Xun. In recent years, it is often cited by Taoist scholars and widely publicized in the society to prove the important position and great role of Taoism in China culture. However, in academic circles, there is a completely opposite understanding of this famous saying of Lu Xun.

First, the original intention of Lu Xun

A: Mr. Lu Xun's famous saying that "China's roots are all in Taoism" affirmed the position and role of Taoism in China's traditional culture in extremely concise language. This is a scientific conclusion, which corrects a long-standing academic prejudice at home and abroad, that is, Confucian culture can represent the whole traditional culture of China, while Taoist culture is dispensable and worthless, and even advocates its complete elimination.

Since Mr. Lu Xun's so-called "cannibal nation" came from Reading Tong Jian by accident, to find out what "cannibal nation" means, it is necessary to find out who the author of Tong Jian is and what its purpose is. First of all, Tong Jian should refer to Zi Tong Zhi Jian, whose author is not Taoism, but the famous Confucian Sima Guang. Secondly, Sima Guang's compilation of "A Mirror of Learning from the Same Resources" is for the reference of feudal rulers, so what he preached was the feudal ethics of Confucianism, not the morality of Taoism. In addition, from the content of Diary of a Madman and Lu Xun's later statement that "Diary of a Madman is to expose the evil of family system and ethics", but he didn't mention it at all to expose Taoist thought, what Lu Xun's theory of "cannibalism" reveals should mainly refer to the essence of feudal ethics advocated by Confucianism, not the essence of Taoist thought.

B: We should understand Lu Xun's original intention from the specific context. 1918 may 15, Lu Xun published the short story Diary of a Madman for the first time under the pseudonym of "Lu Xun". After reading it, Xu Shoushang, a good friend of Lu Xun, thought it was "very similar to Zhou Yucai's handwriting", so he wrote to ask. Lu Xun wrote back on August 20th of the same year: "Diary of a Madman is really a poor work, written by a poet and a servant in vernacular Chinese. It has been said that China's roots are all in Taoism, which is quite popular recently. Reading history can solve many problems. Later, when I looked in the mirror occasionally, I realized that China people still eat people, so I wrote this article. This discovery has a lot to do with it, but few people know it. " This passage not only answers the question of signature, but more importantly introduces the creative thinking of Diary of a Madman. Diary of a Madman is a movement in which the May 4th New Culture Movement declared war on the cannibalism of the old culture. Although Lu Xun didn't directly say "cannibalism" in his reply and Diary of a Madman, the implication is very clear in terms of internal logic-"reading history from this", that is, reading history from the viewpoint that "China's roots are in Taoism" (including Diary of a Madman), how can Lu Xun's assertion about "cannibalism" reveal that "it should mainly refer to Confucianism ...

Second, Lu Xun's consistent attitude towards Taoism.

A: As Mr. Lu Xun is the standard-bearer of the New Culture Movement, he is critical of the traditional old culture, including Taoism. However, if it is concluded from these that Mr. Lu Xun completely negates the conclusion of Taoism without a positive sentence, it will not be established. For example, he said in "Little Miscellaneous Feelings": "People often hate monks, nuns, Muslims and Christians, rather than Taoists. If you know this, you will know more than half of China. " Here, he believes that only by understanding why people tend to hate the followers of the three major religions in the world but not the followers of Taoism can we really understand China, which shows that Taoism has a deep foundation in the eyes of ordinary people. This can also serve as a sideline to his scientific assertion that "China's roots are all in Taoism".

B: In fact, Lu Xun's criticism of Taoism is no less than that of Confucianism. From 19 18 to 1927, we can find that none of Lu Xun's writings about Taoism is positive, and many of them criticize and reprimand Taoism. It can be said that Lu Xun had no affection for Taoism. For example, "In China, listening to Taoist sermons and critics' essays makes people feel embarrassed and afraid to worry too much. However, this may be China's' eternal humanity'. " Isn't this "pore spasm, sweat dare not come out" and "eternal humanity" the most vivid annotation to the sentence "China's roots are all in Taoism"? What's more, the Taoist priests in Lu Xun's works are actually a group of unscrupulous people: "When Buddhism came to the East, several Buddhists translated the scriptures, but the Taoist priests stole the scriptures to make them, and at the same time they used obscene methods to harm monks, causing many troubles." "Since the Northern and Southern Dynasties, all scholars, Taoist priests and monks in China have the characteristic of' not specializing in exercises'." Needless to say, in Lu Xun's mind, not only Confucianism but also Taoism denied that "China people still eat people". What is the essence of Taoism as the "root of China"? What role did it play in the formation of people's "bad habits"? What kind of responsibility should I take? The conclusion can be imagined!

Third, is Lu Xun's assertion "by no means accidental"

A: It is no accident that Mr. Lu Xun can make a wise conclusion that "China's roots are all in Taoism". Among China people at that time, except Mr. Lu Xun, no one else had the knowledge to make this scientific conclusion. Therefore, we should not belittle the significance of Lu Xun just because he is not a famous Taoist historian.

B: This statement is not in line with the actual situation. In fact, "among the people in China at that time", there were many people who held this "scientific conclusion", and "by no means" Mr. Lu Xun was the only one. In Lu Xun's original words, it is "this is very extensive." Evidence shows that it was the consensus of many advanced intellectuals at that time to regard Taoism as the root of China's ignorance and backwardness. For example, Qian called Taoism "the most barbaric Taoism". Chen Duxiu said that Taoism was "the most harmful to China in ancient times". "Today's wind and water, fortune telling, divination, scribbling, chanting, exercising, alchemy, luck, looking at the sky, praying for rain, praying for the sun, welcoming the gods, talking about ghosts, all kinds of strange things are rampant all over the country, practical learning is not prosperous, and people's wisdom is declining. Going to evil and saying that people are from now on. " Zhou Zuoren also thinks: "The biggest obstacle to improving rural areas lies in the old ideas of rural people themselves, and the main force of this old idea is Taoism." Judging from the close relationship between Qian, Chen and Zhou and Lu Xun at that time, and the fact that they were all the main figures in the New Culture Movement, Qian, Chen and Zhou's views can be regarded as the standard interpretation of "China's roots are in Tao"; In other words, "China's roots are all in Taoism" is a high summary of Qian, Chen and Zhou.

4. Why are Lu Xun's famous sayings widely quoted?

A: Because Mr. Lu Xun has a thorough understanding of China's traditional culture, he can challenge this traditional academic prejudice and put forward the scientific conclusion that "China's roots are all in Taoism", which is refreshing. After the reform and opening up, with the gradual deepening of our research in the field of Taoist culture, the position and role of Taoist culture in China traditional culture has been recognized by more and more people. As a result, this wise saying of Mr. Lu Xun more than 80 years ago has been accepted by more and more people. More and more people will realize its scientificity and profundity, and think that it fully conforms to the historical facts of China's academic culture. This is the real reason why this wise saying is widely quoted by more and more people.

B: Taoist culture is one of the important pillars of China traditional culture, which has great historical and practical significance. Lu Xun's so-called "China's roots are in Taoism" is intended to criticize. Although literally, this is a positive judgment, but he totally denied China's "root", which expressed a total denial of Taoism. When we enthusiastically affirm the historical role of Taoism, it is really unreasonable to quote this great man's negative evaluation of Taoism as an authoritative argument. This is by no means a serious academic attitude. The reason why such strange things happen is that we have less time to read and identify the words to be quoted; Second, I want to rely on celebrities too much. The result not only misreads Lu Xun, but also does not help to correctly evaluate Taoist thought. Because this derogatory "famous saying" is Mr. Lu Xun's "patent" and is widely known; Therefore, if the main purpose of the book is to praise Taoism, even from the point of view of importance, it is not appropriate to quote it; Otherwise, it is easy to cause misunderstanding. Instead of correcting "prejudice" and promoting traditional culture, it is counterproductive and can only play a negative role in academic research and Taoism itself.