The greatest obstacle of China for its modernization had been an overconfidence that China with the oldest culture in the world must be the country to stand out definitely above other nations. "Why on earth would the side of China have to change?" This was a general question for the Chinese people.
In spite of being trodden on the territory by European powers,this overconfidence continued to expand, based on the Confucian thoughts and a rigid thought that all cultures were originated from China.
Lu Xun revolved to be a doctor of such a mentality. It happened at the magic lantern room of Tohoku University in Senday,Japan.


Lu Xun,his real name Zhou Shuren was born in Shaoxing on September 25, 1881. Shaoxing was the place famous for strong liquor and its former name was known as the place of revenge in the period of warring states.
He begun to write novels at the age of 38. His name Lu Xun was interesting name combining the meaning of smartness and dullness.
Zhou Family was distinguished because many members had passed official examination but his father couldn't pass the preliminary examination of it.
His father died of tuberculosis at the age of 36 when Lu Xun was 15 years old. After his father died, Zhou family rapidly had fallen.
After that, he was left in his relatives' charge and struggled to learn in a military school which had given him Western style education.
He was stimulated by Western studies,he resolved to go to Japan which had already completed Meiji Restoration and won the Sino-Japanese War.
Lu Xun went to Japan from Nanjing with the aid of Chinese government in March 1902. At first,he entered Koubun Gakuin School which was a preliminary school for Chinese students in Ushigome,Tokyo.
He went sometimes to secondhand bookstores and Qing Students' Hall in Kanda. About this time,he came to think that the Manchurian should be expelled from palace and Government by Chinese alone should be established,and that Western studies was to be introduced through studying from Japan.
And Lu Xun made a serious decision.He had his hair in Manchurian style cut because this hair style was a symbol of yielding to Qing dynasty.
Among Chinese students, the voice of overthrowing Qing dynasty and uprising for revolution were getting louder.
Lu　Xun　met Sun Yat-sen and formed "Light Revise Socety" together with students coming from the same homeland as his.
In 1904,Lu Xun graduated from Koubun Gakuin School,and Qing dynasty ordered him to study in Tokyo Engineering University, but he refused it and went to Tohoku district to study in Sendai Medical School.
He had given to his classmates an impression as a silent and serious man in those days.
Some day,a crucial incident happened to Lu Xun.
In the class of bacteriology,in the slide of magic lantern,he watched the scene of Chinese men arrested and shot to death by Japanese soldiers in the time of Ruso-Japanese War.
At this time, Japanese students shouted "Banzai Banzai",but Chinese people looking the scene in the slide hadn't expressed any anger or sorrow, despite their comrades were about to be killed.They looked the scene outmindedly.
Facing with the event,Lu Xun felt something more than sorrow,shame,and angry spreading in the depth of his mind.
Lu Xun convinced that it was necessary to cure the disease of nation rater than phisical disease as a doctor,and he decided to take literature as a means to be useful for changing the mentality of Chinese people.
There was another matter unforgettable for him. It was Professor.Fujino Genkurou who instructed Lu Xun in his days of Sendai Medical School.
He always placed Professor Fujino's picture on his desk and hadn't forgotten his favor.
In March 1906,Lu Xun had once left Sendai for his marriage and returned to Tokyo and begun to devote himself in writing a literature. Cooperated by his brother Zhou Zuoren,he published novels and became involved in literature steadily.
He retuned to China in July 1907,lectured in many schools,but resigned them.
In April 1918 he contributed "A Madman's Diary"to the radical montly "New Youth" published by Chen Du-xiu in 1918,find a means of a life in writings and published new novels such as "Home Village"and "The True Story of Ah Q" one after another.

Around Koubun Gakuin School（Tokyo）	Lu Xun came to Japan for study and entered Koubun Gakuin School at Ushigome,Tokyo. Koubun Gakuin was a preliminary school for Chinese students which Kanou Jigoru, principle of Tokyo Normal School in those days,was entrusted to manage it. According to Matumoto Kamejirou who had taught Japanese in this school, Lu Xun showed distinguished ability in the sense of linguistics. His translation to Japanese was exquisite,taking the original meaning faithfully. It is so proper and clear that his translation became a model of translation among students. He had attended at this school for 2 years.
The site of Sendai　Medical　School Katahira Campus of Tohoku University	Lu Xun who had graduated form Koubun Gakuin School entered Sendai Mecilcal School in September in 1904. The reason why Lu Xun wished to learn a medicine was that he deeply recognized the introduction of Western medicine became a impelling force of Meiji Restoration in Japan. He selected the place of Sendai for study because he apparently wanted to go to the place where there weren't Chinese students.
Former house he had lived in Sendai	Lu Xun had lodged at the 2nd floor of Satoya Shop in Katahira near the school,and moved to the house in Tohi. This lodging house is preserved even now in front of the entrance gate of Kataira Campus of Tohoku University.
Corrections of notes by Professor Fujino Material Hallin Tohoku University	In the days of solitude in Senday,unforgettable person for Lu Xun was Fujino Genkurou,a professor of anatomy. Professor Fujino corrected notes of Lu Xun with red ink from the first page to the last ,ranging from anatomical chart to Japanese grammar. When Lu Xun left Sendai,he was presented a picture on which was written "Sorrow parting" by Professor Fujino and he always put it on his side and hadn't forget his favor. The picture remains even now in the former residence of Lu Xun in Shanghai.
Lecture Theater Room in Katahira Campus in Tohoku University	The outward appearance of the theater Room in which he saw a slide of magic lantern, resulting in a turning point of his life. The crowd in the last scene of "Ah Q True Story" was definately the same as the one in the scene of this slide.
Lecture Theater Room in Katahira Campus in Tohoku University	Young Lu Xun saw the slide sitting at the fixed seat at the third raw from the front. It was after the Port Atther's Surrender,the War of Japan Sea,and Ruso-Japanese War had ended. At the time of bacteriology lecture,slide of Ruso-Japanese war happened to be shown, he saw arrested compatriots by Japanese army shot to death. He said later "At this time and this place, his thought had revolved completely"　 He deeply recognized that curing racial disease was more important than curing phisical disease . He resolved to take literature for changing the mentality of Chinese.
Uchiyama Bookstore in Kanda,Tokyo	There is an allay called Suzuran Street congested with Chinese bookstores and Chinese Restaurants. There used to be the sudent hall of Qing dynasty in Kanda which was a remnant of many Chinese students living there. Uchiyama Bookstore was founded in 1917 and was closed in 1945. Uchiyama Bookstore adjusted to the trend of May Fourth Movement,was tho most influential among the bookstores in Shnaghai,and became a window for cultured people both of Japan and China exchanging each other. Lu Xun bought most of Japanese books from Uchiyama Bookstore. Uchiyama Kanzou,the owner of the store,gave an aid to Chinese radical activists beginning with Lu Xun with all his might. After the war, he closed the bookstore in Shanghai and opened the same store in Kanda,Tokyo. Uchiyama Bokkstore in Kanda is still dealing Chinese books even now.
The former residence of Natume Souseki at Meijimura Park in Inuyama,Nagoya prefecture	Lu Xun left Sendai Medical School, once returned to China,again came to Japan with his brother Zhou Zuoren and had his heart set on becoming a writer. Lu Xun lived in the lodging house called Fushimikan in Yushima, then he moved to the lodging house called "Chuetukan" in Hongou,and followingly he lent a house with his friends in which Natume Souseki,Japanese famous novelist,lived before,and lived together with 4 friends. It is not surely a coincidence that he Lu Xun translated some Natume's works. The former residence of Natume Souseki was transferred to Meijimura in Inyuyama City,Aichi prefecture and reconstructed.

Lu Xun wrote novel "Madman's Diary", being conscious of the custom of man-eating. But the essence of "Madman's Daiary" is not only man-eating.
It is more serious than people knows about the custom very well that they never talk about it as if they promised each other tacitly.
Why did Lu Xun make the hero of the novel "madman"? If Lu Xun made a loud voice about the unknown truth to the people, they would made fun of him and recognize him as a madman. Such a solitude of Lu Xun is included in the novel "Madman's Diary".
The hero Ah Q of "The true story of Ah Q"was simply a vagrant rather than a peasant. He couldn't even write his own name in Chinese character.
But he devised the way of overcoming being always despised.That is the way he declared his triumph to his opponent one-sidedly only in his mind.
The way what Ah Q take is the same as the way of the China taking toward European counties and America.
In spite of being defeated by European and American powers, Chinese people couldn't get out of Sino-centrism,and indulged in the superiosity over the powers one-sidedly. Through describing a vagrant called "Ah Q" with a servile spirit,Lu Xun prosecuted the servile spirit which most Chinese held in those days. Lu Xun was not only a man of pen.
When the battle between National Party's army and Duan Quirui allied with Japan in March 1926,the citizens in Beijing held a protest meeting to protect the National Party's army, but dozens of them were killed by guard soldiers.
Some of them were the students of the University Lu Xun taught,the arrest warrant for Lu Xun was also issued and he could not help living in escape.
In April, the cabinet of Zhang Zuolin was inaugurated, but reactionary forces became strong,he left on 18 August,and became a professor in the Department of Literature of Amoy University.
He left the university and moved to Guangzhou where he was invited to the Sun Yat-sen University.
But before long,after the April First coup deat,the storm of anticommunism was blowing and about 40 students were arrested in Sun Yat-sen University as well.
Lu Xun made every effort to save those students but couldn't gain an approval because the faculty were inclined to the National Party.
Lu Xun resigned the University after three months and was involved in the edifying the magazine "Wild Grass".
In October 1927,he moved to Shanghai with his lover where he would live to death,and spent a lot of times to dispute with his opponents. Lu Xun entered an organization led by communist party and was oppressed by National Party. So he had to change his name and address in order to hide hmself. In Shanghai,it was immideately after the anticommunism coup de-tat in full scale, and severe oppressions were about to be exerted to the people of the left wing.
In January 1931,his comrades of communist were arrested in unison at the time of a secret meeting, he made effort to save them but failed,and 23 people including young novelists were executed to death.
In September 1931,Manchuruan Incident happned,not only National Party but Japanese Army oppressed him,but he had taken an attitude of resistance without budging an inch.
However,various struggles had undermined his health and finally he died on October 18,1936 at the age of 56 years old.
Lu Xun was dead,but his mind was inherited by many people and became a driving force of racial revolution.
Lu Xun had opened the door of new ages of China through literature.

E-mail to Yoshimura Naohiro.