Kung I-Chi Essay

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In Kung I-chi, Lu Xun creates the protagonist Kung I-chi, a poor and studious figure. Kung I-chi was the second vernacular novel written by Lu Xun in 1919, right before the May Fourth movement. The archaic official examinations had not yet been abolished; therefore, this era in China was a time full of unfairness, oppression, and exploitation. Some scholars even devoted their lives to passing this exam. The story, Kung I-chi was first distributed through the magazine New Youth, published by Chen Duxiu during the May Fourth Movement. New Youth strove to expose scholars and elites to adopted new ideas and knowledge from the West and discard the old, traditional, culture and language of China. In Preface to Calls to Arms, Lu Xun confides, "my loneliness had to be dispelled because it was causing me agony. So I used various means to dull my senses, to dull my senses to immerse myself…I lost the enthusiasm and fervor of my youth"(Lu 6). Therefore, the stimulation of the May Fourth movement slowly awakens his enthusiasm and fervor. Lu Xun often portrays misfortunate characters with low social status. Lu Xun focuses on the protagonist, Kung I-chi to criticize the selfishness, lack of sympathy, and cruelty he sees in society. The failures of the official examination system and the governance it enacted. The story filled with the inconstancy and jealousy of human relationships, the strong bullying the weak and the stagnant consciousness of the "diseased" period in Chinese society. However, a criticism of society isn't enough. The complexity and sympathy surrounding the protagonists are what makes Lu's stories outstanding. This essay will critique the world and works of Lu Xun, the themes behind his character Kung I-chi, and examine his criticisms of the examination system and his belief that it creates a morose society. Lu Xun voices the story using a nameless
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