Abstract

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Title:: Restatement, Healing, and Farewell: Lu Xun’s Traumatic Experience and the Writing of Yecao

Abstract:: Yecao野草(Wild Grass)is situated in the transitional period from early Lu Xun to later Lu Xun, and exploring Lu Xun’s journey during this stage is of great significance for understanding this great Chinese writer. There is ample evidence that the dissolution of the “New Youth” group and the double blow of the rift with his brothers inflicted psychological trauma on Lu Xun and led to the formation of Yecao. From the fortuitous creation of Qiuye 秋夜(Autumn Night)to Ying de gaobie 影的告别(Farewell to the Shadow)to the final Tici 题辞(Inscription), it is evident that Yecao is positioned as a witness to the trauma of “farewell to the past”. The tripartite division of past life, deceased life, and decayed life, as well as the imagery of darkness, death, and abyss, constitute important connotations of the traumatic writing in Yecao. With the help of Xu Guangping’s love, Lu Xun emerged from the lonely “cocoon of solitude”, and the later inclusion of “wax leaves” and “wild thistles” in Yecao, as well as the act of hanging a portrait of Andreyev in his room, witnessed the healing of Lu Xun’s trauma. Lu Xun finally stepped into the light, ending his inward self-analysis and embarking on a new path of civilizational and social criticism.