Comparison of Life and Death Views in To Be Alive and Disgraced

"Alive" tells the story of the protagonist Fu Gui from a rich dude who eats, drinks and gambles to a poor farmer in simple words. During this period, Fu Gui experienced the unfortunate death of his mother, his son bled to death, his daughter died in childbirth, his wife died sadly, his son-in-law died unexpectedly, and finally he and the old cow were left alone. In this work, we can feel the heavy tragic atmosphere, and at the same time, we can feel the strong will of the protagonist to survive after so many hardships, which reflects the author Yu Hua's view of life and death to some extent, and also shows his attitude towards death and survival from China's cultural thought.

Disqualification on Earth is an autobiographical work by Osamu Dazai. The style and thought of the whole work are closely related to the author's personal experience and life perception. Ye Zang, the hero, experienced self-exile, alcoholism, suicide, drugging himself, and was finally forced to be sent to a mental hospital. He escaped from reality, walked towards destruction step by step, and gradually "lost his qualification to be a man". The whole work is immersed in a sense of self-loathing, which shows the author Osamu Dazai's tortuous and miserable life.

The concept of "life and death" is people's attitude towards survival and death. The difference of "outlook on life and death" has a great relationship with this person's living environment, psychological state, thinking cultivation and so on. People have different attitudes towards life and death, because people have different values about life and death. "People are inherently mortal, which is more important than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather" is the embodiment of this different attitude towards life and death. In addition, the formation of different views on life and death is closely related to the religious and social atmosphere. Different religious concepts can convey different ideas, affect a person's behavior habits, moral concepts and ways of thinking, and play a great role in the formation of the "view of life and death".

Alive and Disqualification are from China and Japan respectively. The two works show different views on life and death, which to some extent reflects the views on life and death of China and Japan, and also shows the cultural differences between China and Japan. China and Japan have different social structures and forms of social organization, and they believe in different religions. There are some surprises in the history and culture of the two countries. These factors play a very important role in the formation of the "view of life and death" between China and Japan.

Living and disqualification are closely related to death. There are many deaths in the two works. In the face of these events, different protagonists have different moods and reactions, but it is precisely because of these endless death events that different people show their own "view of life and death" when facing death.

Yu Hua, the author of Alive, tells the story of a rich man who lost all his property and finally became a lonely poor farmer in a simple and plain style. Fu Gui, the hero, experienced the death of his family, and strung the whole novel into a line through endless deaths.

Fu Gui experienced this death: for the first time, when Fu Gui had money at home, he ate, drank, gambled, especially gambled. He owed a lot of gambling debts without telling his family. His father was angry when the creditor asked him for money, was attacked and finally died. At that time, Fu Gui was a young man, and he never had deep feelings for his father, so his father's departure didn't have much influence on him, but it was the beginning of "family breakdown". The second time, Fu Gui had to live in poverty. At that time, Fu Gui's wife, Jia Zhen, and his mother followed him through a bitter life that he never thought of. Fortunately, the wife is virtuous and supports the family, but the good times are not long. Fu Gui's mother was seriously ill and died unfortunately because she didn't have enough money to treat her. At that time, Fu Gui had already felt the warmth and coldness of the world, and realized the pain and sadness of white-haired people sending black-haired people. The third time, I thought my life was getting on track. Although my daughter became mute because of improper care when she was a child, fortunately, she is kind and virtuous, and a kind and responsible lame son-in-law is willing to marry her. It never occurred to me that when my daughter and her family were getting better and better, Fu Gui's wife died of rickets for many years. Fu Gui watched helplessly as his wife who had been with him for decades died, and his heart was very sad. The fourth time, my kind son died because he saved the county lady from drawing too much blood in the hospital. This is the fifth time that the son-in-law has been very kind to the daughters of Fu Gui and Fu Gui. A few years later, Fu Gui's daughter got pregnant successfully, and her son-in-law and Fu Gui were very happy. However, Fu Gui's daughter died of massive bleeding during childbirth in the hospital, and Fu Gui and her son-in-law were heartbroken, leaving her son-in-law and her motherless son alone. The sixth time, the grandson grew up, thinking that the bitter days were over. Unexpectedly, his son-in-law went out to work and was killed by a cement board, so Fu Gui began to adopt his grandson, who was also his only relative in the world. The seventh time, because the family was poor, my father and grandson were always hungry and didn't eat anything delicious. One day, Fu Gui was very rich. He went to town to buy some beans and put them at home. His grandson found out in advance, and his grandson began to eat seaweed and finally died. Fu Gui was finally alone and bought an old cow to live alone, which was very sad.

In the face of these deaths, Fu Gui remained strong, and always wanted to win back all his possessions when he lost them at first. This indomitable spirit is indeed one of the manifestations of China culture. For Fu Gui, the pain has disappeared invisibly, and his mind is only detached and calm in the face of life in Taoism and Zen. His patience with the hardships of existence and Lotte know life's attitude towards life fully reflect the understanding of "life" and "death" in China's traditional culture.

Disqualification on Earth is the work of Japanese writer Osamu Dazai, and its narrative prototype is Osamu Dazai's personal life experience. Ye Cang, the protagonist in the book, can neither understand the shallowness of a woman's heart nor be constantly used by her friends, but thinks that compromise is the way to survive. Even in order to wander around the world and learn from the despicable behavior of human nature, he experienced self-exile, alcoholism, suicide, and drugging himself. Finally, he was forced to enter a mental hospital and chose to commit suicide to end his miserable life. Wild Tibetan experienced death every time he committed suicide, and finally "lost the qualification of a great man" and lived a "life full of shame", which well reflected Japan's social atmosphere with "shame" as its cultural keynote.

Ye Cang, the hero, committed suicide five times in his 39-year life. The specific performance is as follows: The first time, he chose to take a lot of sleeping pills because of his poor academic performance and his family's incomprehension, but the rescue was ineffective because of insufficient drug dosage. Since then, many people have been prejudiced against Ye Zang. The second time was with the waitress in Ginza bar. This time, he also took a lot of sleeping pills. His lover left him, but Osamu Dazai was saved. Suicide made him feel guilty for life. The third time, I failed in my studies and had little hope of graduation. I didn't get into the newspaper. In desperation, I ran to the mountain to hang myself, but the rope was broken. Osamu Dazai came back angrily. The fourth time, he knew that his wife, whom he had always trusted, was having an affair with someone else. He was miserable and angry. He took his wife to Guchuan Hot Springs in Gunma County, and planned to go to the grave together. This time, the two also survived because of insufficient medicine. The fifth time, Ye Zang was forcibly sent to a mental hospital, which was a great blow to him. He decided to commit suicide and chose to end his life by drowning. Afraid of suicide, he took potassium chloride before drowning and finally got what he wanted.

Ye Cang finally committed suicide. He once said, "I'm sorry for being born a man", expressing his deep disgust for himself. This aversion comes from the humiliation he suffered before his death, including his academic difficulties, his career difficulties, his wife's infidelity and being regarded as a mental patient by others. These humiliations accumulated in Ye Zang's heart. In the face of these disgraceful events, all he can think of is to wash away these shame with death. He feels that after death. It shows Japan's "view of life and death", that is, "impermanence", and also shows Japan's social atmosphere with "shame" as its cultural keynote.

Two works, Living and Disqualification on Earth, focus on death. Fu Gui and Ye Zang, the protagonists, have both experienced many deaths, but their moods and attitudes towards death are different. Fu Gui shows the indomitable spirit of the Chinese nation, while Yezang shows the cultural connotation of Japanese "shame" as its basic thought. Living and disqualification on the earth show two completely different views on life and death. Fu Gui never thought about suicide when many relatives died, but when Ye Zang was faced with something he thought shameful, such as unsatisfactory studies, blocked career and his wife's infidelity, his first thought was suicide. These two different attitudes towards death show the cultural connotation and mental outlook of different countries.

In life, Fu Gui experienced the death of one relative after another. After the death of seven relatives around him, Fu Gui was heartbroken, especially when his son and wife died in the same hospital, leaving him alone in this world. An ordinary person may lose confidence in life and find no hope to continue living, but he is strong enough to live in this lonely world. In his later years, he bought an old cow similar to himself and kept him company. At the end of the story, Fu Gui sang: "Teenagers wander, middle-aged people dig and hide, and old people become monks ... I know that dusk is fleeting and night falls from the sky. I saw the vast land with huge breasts. It was a summoning gesture, just like a woman summoning her children and the land summoning the night. "

Fu Gui, who is in his twilight years, seems to be recalling his miserable life, calmly and calmly, as if he could meet death at any time. From Fu Gui, we can see China's attitude towards life and death. Although Fu Gui did a lot of outrageous things when he was young, he was eager to make up for his mistakes in his later years, learned to do farm work, learned to submit to humiliation in the face of the landlord who bullied him, and tried to take care of his wife and children. Fu Gui lived a hard life, but he wanted to die, but he couldn't, because he knew his responsibility and his mistakes, and he continued to live for "atonement". This spirit is consistent with the positive thoughts of Confucianism and embodies China's "view of life and death".

From beginning to end, Fu Gui has been living in a humble state, except that he did some bad things when he was young. Even if he has to do heavy farm work every day, he still needs to take care of his children and his wife. Facing the arrogant landlord, he can also put down his former gentleman's face and humble himself. At the beginning of losing his fortune, he tried to make a comeback and win back his hometown. Fu Gui's great changes come from his strong desire for survival and his expectation and yearning for the future. This spirit is positive.

Ye Cang in Disqualification on Earth seems to be living in a good state, but he has been full of distorted ideas about the world since he was a child, and he is very eager to integrate into the world, but it backfires, but at the same time he hates himself very much. Ye Zang suffered human humiliation in his 39-year life course. He is eager to wash away these disgraces, but after repeated efforts, he is unwilling, as if the whole world is against him. The biggest blow to Ye Zang should be that his most trusted wife is having an affair with another man, which is extremely shameful for a normal man. He dragged her to commit suicide, but she was saved. Ye Zang tried to end his life by suicide again and again, but all four suicides ended in failure, so he had to continue to drag out an ignoble existence. This helplessness of wanting to die but not dying, Yuzryha hides in the whirlpool of self-doubt and self-denial again and again. He once wanted to be independent and eager to make some achievements, but he was beaten by the society, so he paralyzed himself with drugs, and he was in a trance every day under the stimulation of drugs, although he was still alive. In Ye Zang's many inner monologues, we can feel his despair for himself and his desire for death. For example, "there is no turning back. No matter what you do, it will only be futile and will only make people feel ashamed."

Ye Cang's Longing for Death shows the concept that death is the rebirth of life in Japanese culture. He believes that people can get rid of all the shame before death and regain a pure and beautiful soul, which is also the embodiment of the "impermanence view" At the same time, Ye Zang's wife's betrayal violates the Japanese concept of "loyalty and righteousness", so Ye Zang wants her to die with herself and make amends with the end of her life. Ye Zang has been hostile to the world from the beginning. When he was young, he tried to get on well with the people around him, pretending to be crazy and trying to make others like him, but it backfired. On the contrary, he fell into the quagmire of self-doubt and denial. When he failed in his studies at the age of 20, he thought about suicide to end this failure and humiliation, but he failed. Later, he committed suicide at the age of 2 1, 26, 28 and 39 respectively, but the first three times ended in failure, until the last time he committed suicide in a mental hospital by taking poison and throwing water, and finally died. Throughout his life, Ye Zang longed for death but could not. When he was alive, he was like a walking corpse, losing confidence in life and longing for the future. This kind of muddle along mentality makes people deny themselves step by step, doubt themselves and lose the motivation to continue living in the afternoon.

Alive and Disqualification on Earth are two excellent literary works, which come from China and Japan respectively. Their similarity lies in the endless death in their works, both of which are strongly tragic. In the process of telling the stories of the characters, they show different views on life and death. The difference of life and death views of characters lies in the different environmental and cultural influences, so we can see the difference of life and death views between China and Japan, as well as the historical culture and values of the two countries.

About the author—

Wen Qing, a young man who insists on writing and likes photography.

If we meet, how lucky we are and how grateful we are for our company.