HSG-Vortrag von Wang Shengshuang: “An Old Story from China” or “A New Voice from Foreign Lands”: “Cheng” in Lu Xun’s Discourse of Anti-Scientism

16. Juli 2025, von AAI Webmaster

Foto: Wang Shengshuang

Die Abteilung für Sprache und Kultur Chinas und die Hamburger Sinologische Gesellschaft laden zu einem Vortrag von Frau Dr. Wang Shengshuang (Johns Hopkins University) am Mittwoch, 16.07.25, um 18 Uhr in Raum 123 am AAI ein.

“An Old Story from China” or “A New Voice from Foreign Lands”: “Cheng” in Lu Xun’s Discourse of Anti-Scientism

Lu Xun (1881–1936) was a leading intellectual of his time, yet he notably remained silent during the 1923 “Science and Life” debate that drew widespread participation among prominent thinkers. However, Lu Xun expressed a clear stance against scientism in a series of essays written in classical Chinese between 1907 and 1908 while staying in Tokyo, despite valuing science for its contributions to human welfare. This talk explores how Lu Xun employed the concept of “cheng” (诚) to develop his early critique of scientism.
It has been argued that his notion of “cheng” reflects a “new voice” borrowed primarily from European Romanticism—as suggested by his own statement in “On the Power of Mara Poetry” (1907), “I let the past drop here and seek new voices from abroad.” Instead, I argue that “cheng” in Lu Xun’s writings bears a strong Confucian imprint. This challenges the conventional image of Lu Xun as an uncompromisingly anti-Confucian figure. Reexamining “cheng” in Lu Xun’s early discourse can help us gain insights on Lu Xun’s complex relationship with both Chinese tradition and Western thought that shaped his unique diagnosis of modernity, which inspired the later generations of intellectuals who similarly seek an alternative modernity for China.