Introduction

first modern vernacular story (May, 1918)

modern in its tight and ironic form

allegedly inspired by Gogol's story "Diary of a Madman" (1830s); very different in style (as both Hanan and Chinnery say); others say figure of madman based on Zhang Taiyan or mad relative

anti-traditional message is generally accepted by all camps; Westerners tend to emphasize the Nietzschean individualism; Chinese emphasize the political and ideological messages

all scholars accept it as a seminal story in the history of modern Chinese literature

Questions about the preface

1. What is the function of the preface for the whole story?

2. Why are the conventional literary expectations of the diary genre? What is the language of the preface, versus the language of the diary

3. What do we learn about the madman after the writing of the diary?

Questions about the diary

The text at first is something of an enigma. We are presented with an array of odd and somehow disconnected symbols and images that seem to be simply the product of the irrational mind of the madman. Only gradually does the reader begin to make sense of the imagery and to understand it terms of oppositions that form the basis of an allegorical reading of the story.

1.What images are we given in Part One and can these be organized into oppositions?

2. What is the significance of the disappeared moon?

3. How are the oppositions presented in Part One intensified in Part Two?

4.In Part Three the reader begins to see the irony that the madman's ravings are to be taken seriously. How is this achieved? By the end of part 3, the reader has established a clear opposition between the madman and the others, and associated certain images with the former and the latter, which point to irony. Why does the reader read this story ironically, as a symbolic allegory?

5. What is the focus of the Lu Xun's critique of Chinese tradition, through the voice of the madman?

6. Does the object of the attack shift or change throughout the entire story? If so, what is he saying in this shift?

7. How far does Lu Xun take this critique?

8. Is there a further ironic twist to the story? What clues do we have in the preface for a reading which may subvert our entire reading of the story as ironic allegory? What does this tell us about Lu Xun's view of iconoclasm?

9. Is there hope presented in this story?

10. How is the victim/ victimizer union made in the story?

11. Can the story been seen as ultimately an allegory about writing? How?

12. How is this story modern in comparison with earlier fiction?