China and the West

Liu, Xiaobo. Yi ge fan chuan tong zhu yi zhe de fan xing [ID D18348].
Liu schreibt : After Lu Xun had transcended Chinese reality and culture by means of critique, he was utterly cut off. Unable to endure the confrontation with the unknown, with the loneliness and terror of the grave by himself, and unwilling to carry on a transcendental dialogue with himself under the gaze of God, the traditional utilitarian personality was reborn within him. Lacking transcendental values, Lu Xun could only fall into decadence. He desired only to 'rebel against the darkness' which surrounded him, but was unable to transcend darkness. Although deeply influenced by Nietzsche, Lu Xun's greates difference from Nietzsche was this : after his disillusionment with humanity, with Western culture and with himself, Nietzsche, fortified by his reference to the 'Übermensch' who transcends all, moved toward the elevation of individual life. But after his disillusionment with the Chinese, with Chinese culture and with himself, Lu Xun never found a frame of reference for transcendental values, turning back insead to the reality he had completely abandoned.