Kong Yiji

Published initially in the fourth issue of the sixth volume of New Youth in April 1919, "e;Kong Yiji"e; was later included in the short story collection Call to Arms. "e;Kong Yiji"e; is the second vernacular Chinese novel published by Lu Xun after "e;Diary of a Madman"e; on the eve of the May Fourth Movement. It is also a fierce indictment of the feudal society's "e;cannibalistic"e; nature. Kong Yiji is a lower-class intellectual who has been fooled and poisoned by the imperial examination system. He wasted his youth year after year struggling in the imperial examinations, but even until his beard turned white, he couldn't obtain even the lowest scholarly rank of xiucai. Instead, he developed bad habits such as being fond of drinking and lazy, and despising labor. Even when he was destitute, he was unwilling to take off his tattered long gown, which was a symbol of his status as a scholar. However, the harsh reality excluded him from the ranks of those who could afford to wear such gowns. He became "e;the only one who stands while drinking and wears a long gown,"e; reduced to an object of amusement and ridicule for others, and was eventually wiped out of people's memories after being brutally beaten by Mr. Ding. "e;Kong Yiji"e; is narrated from the perspective of "e;I"e; - a 12-year-old hotel apprentice, which adds authenticity to the story, as "e;I"e; am a witness to Kong Yiji's tragic fate. The novel portrays Kong Yiji as a laughable yet tragic figure from the lower class, exposing some social issues of the time - the imperial examination system made scholars only good at poring over ancient books and lacking practical survival skills, revealing the indifference and ruthlessness among people in feudal society.