In 1919, a mass protest of 3000 students was conducted to rebel against the signing of the Versailles Treaty, which would hand over Chinese territorial rights from the Germans to the Japanese (Spence, 2013, p. 287). The students were enraged by the Chinese government’s acquiescence to the decision and hence decided to protest through demonstrations (Spence, 2013, p.286). Later, this came to be known as the May 4th movement which became the intellectual turning point for the Chinese people. Lu Hsun, the distinguished classical scholar who had primary influence on many youths, was one of the driving force in such literary change. Using ‘plain language’, which was not the prevalent way of writing at the time, Lu Hsun effectively emphasized the evil present in Chinese society. Moreover, he also had strong opposing views against feudalism, the monarchical system, and the overwhelming role of the Confucian culture. In his literary work, he cited such opposition as being the root cause of China’s lack of growth. A Madman’s Diary is one of such renowned work by Lu Hsun. This paper will analyze the Diary of a Madman in attempt to understand Lu Hsun’s influence during China’s May 4th movement. …show more content…
Then, immediately, the reader is allowed to explore into the mind of the “madman”. The readers observe the “madman” perceives the world around him to be filled with cannibals. Initially, the “madman” feels “like a new man”, having not seen the moonlight “in over thirty years” (Hsun, 1960, p. 8). From this, it can be suggested that Lu Hsun may have had a revelation similar to the “madman” in that he may have seen the need to bring about a change in the mindset of the modernizing nation, after thirty odd