BeforeIwas8yearsold,Icouldreadwithverylittleassistahesuggestioher,myteachermademereadTheGeneralMirrover,whirealityageoryofologipiledbythegreathistorianSsu-maKuangintheyear1084A。D。ThishistiedmegreatlyandIsoonbegan,asanaidtomemory,topilearhymedsummaryofthedynasties,emperors,andologicaleras。
Thenonedayinaerboxinmyuncle’shouseIatornvolumeofapartofthegreatnovelShuiHu(TheHundredaHeroesofLiang-shahroughwhilestandingbythebox。IranaboutthevillageandsoonfoundapletesetofthehattimeonIdevouredeverynovelknowninourunityandinthenear-byvillages。Theywerewritteninthepeihua,orspokenlanguage,aelligibleandabslyeaimelife,foodandforevil,aerarymediumwhichyearslaterewhathasbeeheLiteraryRenaissana。
Iime,myreligiouslifeuacuriouscrisis。IwasbroughtupinanidolatrouseandaedtotheuglyandfiercefacesofthegodsandtothefolkversionsofHeavenandHell。asaloudTheElementaryLessonofChuHsi,whichIhadmemorizedwithoutmuderstanding。IapassagewheretheRationalistphilosopherquotedthehistorianSsu-maKuanginanattathepopularbeliefinHeavehequotationreads:“Whenthebodyhasdecayed,thespiritfadesaway。EveniftherebesuchcrueltorturesinHellasg,Burning,Pounding,andGrindihesetobeihissoundedlikegaodoubttheideaofjudgmeh。
Shortlyafterward,IwasreadingSsu-maKuaoryandapassageinits136thchapterwhichmademeahepassageiellsofaphilosopherofthefifthturyA。D。namedFanpioheoryofthedestructibilityofthespiritainstthewholeImperialCourt,atronizingMahāyānaBuddhism。Fan’sviewwassummedupbySsu-maKuanginthesewords:“Thebodyisthematerialbasisofthespirit,aisoionihespiritistothebodyoasharpknife。Wehaveheexistenceofsharphedestruoftheknife。Howweadmitthesurvivalofthespiritwhenthebodyisgone?”
ThiswasmhreasoningthanSsu-maKuahespiritfadesawaywhenthebodyhasdecayed,atheorywhichstilladmitsthespiritassomething。Fandamehespiritasaisonlyafungofthebody。Thissimplifipleasedmyboyishmindanditgladdeoreadthat“Althoughthewholedtrywereagainsthim,noonesurefutinghim。”
Inthesamepassage,FanwasquotedasbeiheBuddhistdoa,orthecausalthroughoutthevariousexistealkingtothePring-ling,whosaidtohim:“IfyoudonotbelieveinKarma,holainthedifferentstatesofoverty,ofhonorandlowliness?”Fanreplied:“Humanlifemaybelikeheflowersohentheflowers,ofwhishtbythesdscatteredoifullydeatsands,whileothersareblowhefenddroppedonthedung-heap。YourLordshipisohoseflowersonthes,andI,yourhumbleservaobeonthedung-hill。Thereisthediffereiohecausal?”
&rineofKarmaisoiialideafromIndiathathavebeeaofesethoughtaheaesemoralistshadtaughtthatgoodnessardedandevilpuinreallife,thisisnotalwaystrue。TheBuddhistdoahastheadvaheeseideaofretributioninthatitalwaysevadetheissuebyreferrieuityofthecausalthroughoutpastaences。
ButFan’sfigureofspeechappealedtomyyouthfulfaneoutoftheismofKarma。ItwasceversusDeterminism。And,asaboyof11,Itookthedrevoltedagaiherehisticatedreasoningonmypartinthosedaysofmyboyhood。Itwasmeretemperamentalattradrepulsion。Iwasmyfather’sson,andSsu-maKuangaedme。That>
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Butthismentalcrisiswasnotwithoutitsisequenmyearlylife。Duringtheivalof1903,Ipaidavisittomyeldestsister,wholived20liaeherhomeIreturhherson,whowasingtopayhistomymother。AservantofhiswasgtheNeresentsforhim。Onourwayhomewepassedashrihuglyandfierggods。Istoppedandsaidtomynephew:“Nobodyiswatg。Let’sthrowtheseimagesintothemudpool。”Mychildishigreatlyhorrifiedmypanions,whopersuadedmetomoveonwiththealreadytdeities。
ItwasthedayoftheLahefifteenthofthefirsmonth)。Whenwearrived,thereweremanyvisitorsatmyhouse。Iwashungryand,whensupperwasserved,mynephewmademedrinkacupriewhichplayedhavocwithmyemptystomach。Iwassaboutthecourtyardandshoutioedowerival。Mymotherleasedachme。Irahemaofwineworkedmorerapidlywithmyrunning。Iwasfinallcaught,butIstruggledtogetaway。Mymotherheldmetightonherlapandmaheredaroundus。
Inmyfright,Ibegantotalkhenmynepheedforeredtomymother:“Madame,Ibelievethatthelittleuncleisbesidehimself。Verylikelysomegodorspiritistroublinghim。ThisafternooheShries,heproposedtodsintothemuddypool。Thatmusthavecausedthetrouble。”Ioverheardthewhisperandabrightideae。Ishoutedallthemorewildly,asifIwereaeofthegodsoftheShries。Mymotherthenorderediobeburheopenand,pleadingmyyouthfulignorandirresponsibility,madeavowtooffersacrificesattheshrineshouldmyioffensebefivbythegods。
AtthatmomecamethattheLanternProroadthepeopleinourhouserushedouttoseeit。Mymotheraalone。Isoonfellasleep。Thevoarentlyworked。Ohlater,whenmymotherandIvisitedmygras,shemademeoffer,iy,ourpromisedsacrificesattheShries
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Earlyinmy13thyear(1904),Ilefthomeona7-dayjouroseeka“ion”inShanghai。Afterthatseparatioheroimesahheraltogetherabout7monthsireatloveformeshesehoutappareear,aoseekmyowioiworldallalonearmedonlywithamother’slove,ahabitofstudy,andalittleteodoubt。
&6yearsinShanghai(1904–1910)and7yearsinAmerica(1910–1917)。DuringmystayinShahroughthreesoneofwhichwasamissionaryschool)withfromany。Istudiedtherudimentsofwhatwasthenknownas“theion,”gchieflyraphy,English,mathematiegleaningsofnaturalsce。ThroughthefreetranslatioeMr。LinShuandothers,ImademyfirstacewithanumberofEnglishandEuropeannovels,ingthoseofScott,Dis,Dumaspèreandfil,Hugo,andTolstoy。Ireadtheworksofafewofthenon-andNeo-philosophersofaandmedievaldwasdelightediruismofMoTiauralisticphilosophyofLao-tzeandg-tze。
ThroughthepsofthelateMr。Liangostpowerfulwriteroftheage,IowalittleofsuthinkersasHobbes,Descartes,Rousseau,Bentham,Kant,andDarwin。Mr。LiangwasagreatadmirerofmodererncivilizationandpublishedaseriesofessaysinwhiklyadmittedthattheeseasaracehadsufferedfromthedeplorablelaaspossessedbytheEuropeaablyemphasisonpublicmorality,nationalism,loveofadveihtsandtheeagerhemagainste,loveoffreedom,abilityforself-trol,beliefiepossibilityress,capacityforcorporateanda,aobodilydhealth。Itwastheseessayswhichfirstviolentlyshockedmeoutofthefortabledreamthatouracivilizationwasself-suffidhadnothingtolearaicWestextheonsofwarandvehierce。Theyopeohuhers,airelynewvisionoftheworld。
IalsoreadMr。YenFu’stranslationofJohnStuartMill’sOyaiohics。Mr。Yen’stranslationofHuxley’sessayhadbeenpublishedin1898andhadbeeelyacceptedbythetelligentsiawithaeohaveionsmadeforwiderdistributinhtlawthewasthoughtthattheDarothesis,espeitssodpoliticalappli,wasawelulustoanatifromage-loiaandstagnation。
Inthecourseofafewyearsmaionarytermsandphrasesbecameproverbialexpressionsinthejournalistigsofthetime。Numerouspersoheminnamingthemselvesandtheir,therebyremindiheperilsofeliminatioruggleforexisteionalaswellasindividual。TheoncefamousGeneralg-mingcalledhimself“”forExistewoofmysatesboretheuralSeleg”and“StruggleforExisten。”
Evenmyowhegreatvogueofevolutionismina。IrememberdistinctlythemwhenIaskedmysedbrestaliterarynameforme。Aftero’srefle,hesaid,“Howaboutthewordshih[fithephrase‘SurvivaloftheFittest’”?Iagreedand,firsusingitasanomdeplume,finallyadopteditin1910asmyname。
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MyslightkheevolutionaryhypothesisofDarencerwaseasilylihthenaturalismofsomeoftheaesethinkers。Forexample,itdelightedmyboyishhearttofindanequallyyouthfulcobelieverofover2,ointhefollowingstorytoldize,aspuriousworkoftheTaoistschool:
“TheHouseofTienheldagreatpost-sacrificialfeastatwhichoveathousaswerepresent。Whenfishandwildduckwereofferedthehostsaidwithasigh:‘GreatisNature’skioman!Shehasproduandfishandbirdsfortheuseofman。’ThespeechlaudedbyalltheguestspresehesonoftheHouseofPao,whowasonlytwelveyearsold,steppedforwardandsaid:‘Itisnotso,mylord。Allthebeingsintheuwithmenonabasisofequality。Thereisnonaturalorderofsuperiorityaheydpreyoheronlybyvirtueoftheirsuperithandintelligenospeciesispurposelyproducedforthesakeofaoo,preyohingswhichtheyareabletoquer。HowwesaythatNaturehasproducedthemforourbe?Donotmosquitoessuckourbloodandtigersaourflesh?ShallwesaythatNaturehasproduforthebeofmosquitoesandtigersandwolves?’”
In1906afewofmysatesintheationalInstitutefoundedaperiodicalcalledTheStruggl—aahepopularityoftheDarwiniantheory—whigprimarilyiilliheuedmasses,ublishedinthepeihuaorspokenlanguage。Iwasiributetoitsfirstissue,aerIbecameitssoleeditor。Myeditorialworkonthismagazionlytodevelopanabilityihelivierarymedium,butalsotothinkout,inguageandlogicalorder,theideasandthoughtswhichhadbeentakingshapesincemychildhooddays。Inmanyofmyarticleswrittenfazironglyattackedthesuperstitionsofthepeopleandwasfranklyiodatheistic。
In1908myfamilywasifinancialdifficultybecauseofbusinessfailures。Attheageof17Ifoundmyselffaecessitymyselfatsymotherathome。IgaveupmystudiesandtaughtelementaryEnglishforoverayear,teag5hadayandregamonthlypayof80silverdollars。In1910Itaughtonths。
Thoseyears(1909–1910)weredarkyearsioryofaasersonalhistory。Revolutioinseveralprovindfailedeachtime。QuiteanumberofmyformersatesattheationalInstitute,whichwasaterofrevolutionaryactivities,wereiheseplotsandheirlives。SeveralofthesepoliticalfugitivescametoShanghaiahme。oaik,wrotepessimisticpoetry,talkeddayandnight,andoftengambledfornostakes。Weevenengagedanoldactortoteaging。OneIoemwhiedthisline:“Howproudlydoesthewintryfroststhepowerlessraysofthesun!”
DespondenddrudgerydroveustoallkindsofdissipatihtIgotdeadlydrunk,foughtolithestreet,andlandedmyselfinprisht。WhehemandsawihebruisesohislineinLiPSoomymind:“Someusemightyetbemadeofthismaterialborninme。”Idecidedtoquitteadmyfriehofhardwork,IweaketheexaminationforthescholarshipfouhereturnedAmeriportionoftheBoxerIy。IpassedtheexaminationandinJulysailedforAmerica。