Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 12, 2023

 

An Alternative Thought Experiment: Rereading “Regret for the Past”

(Abstract)

 

Zhu Guohua

 

As a thought experiment, the love in Lu Xun’s story “Regret for the Past” (Shang Shi) constitutes a metaphor for the possibility of individualism in China. Its focus on the problem of individual autonomy is combined with Lu Xun’s early theoretical reflections on individualism and his analysis of the logic of Zijun’s and Juansheng’s actions and the roles of ordinary people. The story draws in particular on a set of intrinsically linked conceptual symbols—individualism, truth and immorality, from which we can discern the inevitable fate of individualism in Chinese society. Lu Xun’s own helplessness in the face of Juansheng’s double rejection is, in fact, an adherence to the enlightenment ideals of his early years. As an experiment in thought, “Regret for the Past” provides a high quality model for literature; in this light we can rethink the nature of this kind of literary text, one that destroys common knowledge and provokes deeper thought through literary symptoms.