"Kong Yiji" () is a short-story by Lu Xun, a leading figure in modern Chinese literature. The story was originally published in the journal New Youth (Chinese: 新青年) in April 1919 and was later included in Lu Xun's first collection of short stories, Call to Arms (Chinese: 吶喊). The story's narrator reminisces about Kong Yiji, a pedantic scholar who became the laughing-stock of the tavern where the narrator worked. His character embodies the plight of many low-class scholars, who, despite being members of the upper-class, studied the classics for many years but continuously failed to pass the civil service examination. Like Kong Yiji, these scholars were subjected to other people’s indifference and ridicule. The story critiques pre-modern China’s imperial examination system which produced people like Kong Yiji. In March 2023, the song “Happy Sunshine Kong Yiji” was produced by Chinese netizens to satirize the issue of unemployment faced by many Chinese youth. The song, which was based on the story, has been used as a meme by unemployed Chinese youth, who see themselves as modern versions of Kong Yiji.
Plot
The story takes place towards the end of the 19th century, in at the Xianheng Inn in Luzhen (Chinese: 鲁镇), a fictional town where many of Lu Xun’s stories are set. Although he was not able to pay his debt, he paid for his wine that day, promising to pay off the rest later. Upon paying, the narrator notices that “his hands were full of mud. It turned out that he had walked here with this hand. After a while, he finished drinking, sat down and walked slowly with this hand.”
After the Xinhai Revolution in 1911, Yuan Shikai attempted to become emperor. The restoration forces were rampant, and the results of the revolution were stolen. During the late Qing reforms of 1905, the imperial examination system was abolished, but traditional culture and education were still deeply rooted.
The October Revolution occurred in 1917. Chinese revolutionary intellectuals such as Li Dazhao initiated the New Culture Movement and mounted a fierce attack on Confucian culture and education. Lu Xun was a powerful voice in this movement to crush Confucian culture, and to "depict a life or a life in society for readers to see".
Creation background
"Kong Yiji" was written in the winter of 1918, when the New Youth unveiled the prelude to the New Cultural Movement, but the counter-current of retrogression was still rampant. Although the imperial examination system was abolished in 1906, the social foundation for cultivating people like Kong Yiji still existed. Confucius and Mencius were still the core elements of social education. To arouse the young generation, Lu Xun created a set of the Xianheng Tavern in Luzhen and artistically showed the lives of poor intellectuals in society more than 20 years ago. He aimed to inspire readers to think about the social situation and criticize the imperial examination system. </blockquote>The original intention of Lu Xun's novels was to encourage people to reflect on and critique the social reality and the sub-standard living conditions of ordinary people under the imperial examination system. Lu Xun also opposed to using novels to make personal attacks. He hoped that through his fictional descriptions of social reality, he would encourage people to reflect and criticize China’s feudal culture and imperial examination system.
The lower-class of the educated upper-class
The story divides the customers of Xianheng Inn into two groups:
- Customers wearing long gowns: upper-class people who sit down to drink.
- Customers wearing short gowns: lower-class people who can only stand and drink outside.
Kong Yiji is a long-gown man who drinks his wine standing, which seems to be quite contradictory to the status-quo.
The archaism in Kong Yiji's speech and the long gown show that Kong Yiji is a scholar, who should be considered as part of the upper class. However, Kong Yiji's long gown is tattered, and he is ridiculed by others. Even the nickname "Kong Yiji" has become his official name. This character feature reflects the miserable fate of a lower-class scholar in the old society. It is also representative of how the imperial examination system created people like Kong Yiji. This shows how Kong Yiji was deeply influenced by the imperial examination system. Although he had become a laughingstock, he still believed that only those who studied could enter the upper class. Even though he failed to pass the Xiucai examination and was reduced to begging for a living, he still despised labor and put on the air of a scholar.
Kong Yiji had good handwriting. He copied books by hand to earn money and buy some food. However, he also had a bad temper. He is known for being lazy and taking to drinking. After accepting a job, it did not take him long to disappear with all his books, paper, pen, and ink. Since this happened several times, people no longer wanted to ask him to transcribe books. With no other options, Kong Yiji resorted to theft to sustain himself. However, within the community at the Xianheng Inn, his behavior was better than some other people's because he never defaulted. Although his name sometimes appeared on the debt board when he had no cash to pay his bill upfront, he would always pay off his debt within a month. Although Kong Yiji prides himself on being a scholar and has dignity, he steals books. It is the greatest contradiction in this character. Since he believes that scholars are more noble than others, he does not admit that stealing books is theft, reflecting his pedantry and absurdity. It is also the main reason for his tragedy in the end.
Meng Fuzi’s real name was lost. He had studied but finally did not enter college. He did not know how to make a living, so he was poor and could only beg for food. He copied books for others, but he liked to drink, and sometimes he even sold his books, paper, and pencils for drinking. When he was poor, he went into the school to steal something, but he was caught, saying that it was "stealing" books and could not be considered stealing. He often came to the Xianheng Tavern to drink wine and probably lived near the place, but no one knew it. After breaking his legs, he used two hands to support the walk and came to the tavern to drink. However, after that, nobody has ever seen him.
Siqi
The prototype of Kong Yiji is called “Siqi”. The man was addicted to drinking and opium, but he had good handwriting. He often wandered around wearing a shabby and ragged gown and a skull cap on his head. He liked to swear and abuse and was often beaten by people.
"After selling breakfast, Mr. Yiran slowly paced to Xianheng Tavern, taking out a few coins and asking for a bowl of wine and a plate of fennel peas, and slowly drank while chewing the fennel peas with great relish. When the children saw "Mr. Yiran" drinking, they rushed to ask for fennel peas to eat. He gave one to each child until very few fennel peas were left on the plate, then covered the plate with his hand and chanted, "Not many. Not too many." As a result, many people staked their fate on the imperial examinations and wasted a lot of time, but still lived in poverty. Kong Yiji is the epitome of the intellectuals in the lower class. This character shows the psychological state and tragic end of such scholars. Lu Xun uses this character to illustrate the decadence of people educated by the imperial examination system and the tragedy of Chinese intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty.
Reflection of the indifference between people
The misfortune of Kong Yiji was not an isolated case but a common phenomenon in the old society. The ridicule of the customers in the Xianheng Tavern further led to the tragedy of the times. People made fun of the lower-class intellectuals to gain temporary satisfaction and pleasure without sympathy for their miserable situations. The suffering of those people has become derision for others. Lu Xun uses the character to reflect the indifference of society and the numbness of people's minds. It became popular overnight and resonated because young people compared themselves to Kong Yiji and compared their academic qualifications to Kong Yiji’s “long gown.” In today's society, Chinese youth continue to work hard to excel academically, but despite their efforts, it is difficult for them to find a high-paying and decent job. Their helpless situation stems from China's education system which pushes all students to compete with each other starting in childhood, forcing them to learn in a high pressure environment, but with no reward. As a result, many Chinese youth empathized with Kong Yiji, and see themselves as modern Kong Yiji.