China and the West

[Artsybashev, Mikhail Petrovich]. Gong ren Suihuilüe fu. Lu Xun yi. [ID D12525].
Lu Xun was moved by Shevyrev's compassion. His view of this work influenced that of many of his followers and readers. He saw Shevyrev as torn apart by love and hate : a hate that originated in his broadminded love of mankind, and culminated in his final act of revenge on society. He disapproved Shevyrev's way of taking revenge : by firing at the masses whom he considered at least as culpable as the oppressive government. He was 'horrified' by this act of violence.
Speaking about Shevyrev in Beijing, Lu Xun said : "We have not seen such wholly destructive men in China so far ; probably they will not appear here and I too do not hope that they do."
1922 Hu Zhongchi draw reader's attention to Lu Xun's translation in Wen xue xun kan. He retold the book's contents, though errors in his summary are suggestive of a cursory reading. He concluded with praise both for Artsybashev's writing style and the avowed word-for-word policy notwithstanding, for the fluency of Lu Xun's Chinese. "This translated book is not only a great contribution to the world of letters, but also a powerful testimony to the need of promoting direct translation.
1925 Briefe von Lu Xun and Xu Guangping.
"I suspect that in the golden age of the future, renegades will still be condemned to death, and everyone will still consider it the proper business of a golden age ; the problem being that everyone is different.
Anyone who tries to destroy utterly this general trend easily turns into individualist anarchist like Shevyrev. The destiny of such a character at the present time – though perhaps it's in the future – is that he wants to save the masses but is persecuted by the masses and ends up a solitary figure ; in an excess of fury and frustration, he does an about-turn, regards everyone as his enemy, and opens fire indiscriminately, destroying himself in the process."
1929 Shao Xian : "The author of Worker Shevyrev, from what they say, passed out of fashion and is now dead and gone. His empty reputation will now probably vanish as well from the world. But no, certainly not ! –at least for me, he shall remain at the centre of my admiration. Because he has made me open my eyes, and with courage ride the mad currents of this age. That I am no more tortured to death by any morality, nor crushed flat by any faith, is all due to the strength I have taken from him. Surely, it is in perpetual nothingness that deepest pleasure lies."