Lu Xan Preface and Diary of a Mad Man

Besio 2nd Class – Lu Xan Preface and Diary of a Mad Man

Snake wrapped around me- lonely depressed, make him suffocate, he got no attention-positive or negative neither

By copying ancient inscriptions-he is doing sth that won’t explicitly get him into trouble. He is doing this to just make his mind numb and not think about his disappointment,

First he published a short story book?

The idea of this being the first short story to publish(first short story in modern colloquial language) – Madman idea came from Gogol’s writing story about a

Madman.

Sanity is writing in classical chinese and then coming back to it.  

End- has he given up his sense of helping people? What is madness and what is sanity? At the end who has a better view one who snaps from status quo or one who follows traditional sanity?

He is afraid of eating him in flesh- envelope him in their ideas

Symbolizes consumption of the weak. He is worried that people will go back to their primitive state and they will regret it. The diary shows progression of his madness. Metaphorically it is picking up all aspects of traditional chinese society that he has problems with- so who is really mad? The madman or those stupid ones who follow traditional chinese society

Story ends with his idea of save children. Not only are our actions modeling a canabilistic society but also the education we are giving to our children is modeling a canabilistic society.He sees the ills of chinese society as deep rooted and connected to the education that the chinese get.

He mentions three animals and their personification- the rabbit, ,…… and ………….he is picturing the ppl of chinese society by these animals- timid is oppressed rabit, lion is powerful rich oppressor, fox-crafty sly people you know enough not to get the lion angered but eat the rabbits/take advantage of other people’s misfortune- all of this allow this situation to continue.