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@ 51019 魯迅
A 哇，在看書呢！午休時間還要充電，有前途！
wā, zài kàn shū ne! wǔxiū shíjiān hái yào chōngdiàn, yǒu qiántú!
Hey, you're reading! Recharging your batteries during your lunch break--you'll go far!
B 哪裡哪裡，翻翻魯迅的小說。
nǎli nǎli, fānfān Lǔ Xùn de xiǎoshuō.
Oh, don't be silly. I'm just flipping through a novel by Lu Hsun.
A 到底是中文系出身，不一樣。魯迅的作品有些還挺深奧難懂的。
dàodǐ shì Zhōngwén xì chūshēn, bùyīyàng. Lǔ Xùn de zuòpǐn yǒuxiē hái tǐng shēn ào nándǒng de.
You have a background in Chinese-- that's different. Some of Lu Hsun's works are really mysterious and hard to understand.
B 是不大好懂。小時候閱歷淺，讀不出多少味道，現在再拿起來看看，理解就會深刻些了。
shì bùdà hǎo dǒng. xiǎo shíhou yuèlì qiǎn, dú bù chū duōshao wèidao, xiànzài zài ná qǐlái kànkan, lǐjiě jiù huì shēnkè xiē le.
They're not really easy to understand. Reading them when you're young and inexperienced, you can't get a lot out of them. Picking them up now, you can get a deeper understanding.
A 對，得慢慢讀。我們上大學的時候，老師足足講了半個學期的《阿Q正傳》。
duì, děi màn mān dú. wǒmen shàng dàxué de shíhou, lǎoshī zúzú jiǎng le bàn ge xuéqī de 《 A1guì zhèngzhuàn 》 .
Yeah. You need to read them slowly. When we were in college, the professor talked for a full half-semester about ``The True Story of Ah Q."
B 《阿Q正傳》真是絕了，戲謔的背後，又有著深切的悲哀。
A1guìzhèngzhuàn 》 zhēnshì juéle , xìxuè de bèihòu, yòu yǒuzhe shēnqiè de bēiāi.
``The True Story of Ah Q" really is a masterpiece. With a sharp, funny backdrop, it also tells a tragic tale.
A 魯迅當年棄醫從文，就是覺得精神的麻木比身體的病痛更可怕。他想通過自己的筆喚醒同胞。
Lǔ Xùn dāngnián qìyīcóngwén, jiùshì juéde jīngshén de mámù bǐ shēntǐ de bìngtòng gèng kěpà. tā xiǎng tōngguò zìjǐ de bǐ huànxǐng tóngbāo.
Lu Hsun gave up medicine for literature. He thought that spiritual numbness was even more terrifying than physical pain. He wanted to use his pen to wake up his countrymen.
B 魯迅的很多作品都是寫普通人的悲劇命運的，悲劇是時代和社會造成的，也與國民的劣根性息息相關。
Lǔ Xùn de hěn duō zuòpǐn dōu shì xiě pǔtōngrén de bēijù mìngyùn de, bēijù shì shídài hé shèhuì zàochéng de, yě yǔ guómín de liègēnxìng xīxīxiāngguān.
Lots of Lu Hsun's works are about the tragic fates of ordinary people. The tragedy is created by the times and the society. It's also related to the peoples' bad character.
A 骨子裡的奴性，勢利，逆來順受，自私自利，都是魯迅想要寫出來給人看，讓人反思的東西。如果國民精神麻木，物質再豐富也沒用。
gǔzilǐ de núxìng, shìlì, nìláishùnshòu, zìsīzìlì, dōu shì Lǔ Xùn xiǎng yào xiě chūlai gěi rén kàn, ràngrén fǎnsī de dōngxi. rúguǒ guómín jīngshén mámù, wùzhì zài fēngfù yě méiyòng.
The servility embedded in peoples' bones, their snobbery, selfishness and willingness to take abuse without fighting back-- these are all the things Lu Hsun wanted to write about to let people see and rethink. If people's spirits are numb, it doesn't matter how materially rich they are.
B 那個時代的人需要認識和反思自己，現代人同樣需要。如果魯迅現在還在世，肯定會用他的筆狠狠地寫出現代人的弊病！
nàge shídài de rén xūyào rènshi hé fǎnsī zìjǐ, xiàndàirén tóngyàng xūyào. rúguǒ Lǔ Xùn xiànzài hái zàishì, kěndìng huì yòng tā de bǐ hěn hěn de xiěchū xiàndàirén de bìbìng!
People in that time needed to get to know and rethink themselves, and
A 說的對， 我以前還懷疑是不是人們把魯迅捧得太高了。只要出名，放個屁都是香的。後來才發現，說他是文學的巨人，思想的巨人，實在不為過。
shuō de duì, wǒ yǐqián hái huáiyí shìbùshì rénmen bǎ Lǔ Xùn pěng de tài gāo le. zhǐyào chūmíng, fàng ge pì dōu shì xiāng de. hòulái cái fāxiàn, shuō tā shì wénxué de jùrén, sīxiǎng de jùrén, shízài bù wéi guò.
people today need the same thing. If Lu Hsun were still alive, he would definitely take up his pen and write about the evils of modern people.
B 比起小說，他的雜文要更犀利、刻毒一些。攻擊時弊，更是一針見血。連毛主席都非常推崇魯迅，說魯迅是中國第一等的聖人，硬骨頭的鬥士。
bǐqǐ xiǎoshuō, tā de záwén yào gēng xīlì, kèdú yīxiē. gōngjī shíbì, gèng shì yīzhēnjiànxiě. lián Máo Zhǔxí dōu fēicháng tuīchóng Lǔ Xùn, shuō Lǔ Xùn shì Zhōngguó dì yī děng de shèngrén, yìng gútou de dǒushì.
You're right. I used to suspect that people put Lu Hsun on too high of a pedestal. As long as you're famous, people will say even your farts smell good. But later on, I discovered that it's really no exaggeration to say that he's a titan of letters and thought.
A 嗯。有機會，我也要重新看看。有時間我們再切磋切磋！
ng4. yǒu jīhuì, wǒ yě yào chóngxīn kànkan. yǒu shíjiān wǒmen zài qiēcuōqiēcuō !
Compared with his novels, his essays are a bit more sharp and incisive. His attacks on the evils of his time are even more spot-on. Even Chairman Mao really admired Lu Hsun. He said that Lu Hsun was a first-grade Chinese sage, a dauntless warrior!
B 好啊。
hǎo a.
Hmm. If I get a chance, I want to check out his works again. When we have time, let's learn from each other some more!
Key Vocabulary
充電 chōngdiàn to recharge
前途 qiántú prospects
魯迅 LǔXùn Lu Xun
出身 chūshēn class origin
閱歷 yuèlì to experience
戲謔 xìxuè to banter
棄醫從文 qìyīcóngwén to give up a career in medicine in favor of writing
劣根性 liègēnxìng scoundrelism
息息相關 xīxīxiāngguān to be closely linked
奴性 núxìng servitude
勢利 shìlì snobbery
逆來順受 nìláishùnshòu to bear hardship well
自私自利 zìsīzìlì self-concern
反思 fǎnsī to reflect
在世 zàishì to be alive
弊病 bìbìng malady
不為過 bù wéi guò to be OK
雜文 záwén essay
犀利 xīlì incisive
刻毒 kèdú spiteful
時弊 shíbì present-day problems
一針見血 yīzhēnjiànxiě to get to the point
Supplementary Vocabulary
《吶喊》 Nàhǎn to cry out
《彷徨》 Pánghuáng to hesitate
《傷逝》 Shāngshì to mourn the loss of a loved one
《祝福》 Zhùfú to wish
《社戲》 Shèxì rural theatrical performance
《孔乙己》 Kǒngyǐjǐ “Kung I Chi"
《朝花夕拾》 Zhāohuāxīshí "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk"
百草園 Bǎicǎoyuán "The Garden of One Hundred Plants"
三味書屋 Sānwèishūwū "The Sanwei Study"
文學家 wénxuéjiā man of letters
思想家 sīxiǎngjiā thinker
革命家 gémìngjiā revolutionary
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