Diary of a Madman

“Diary of a Madman” was published at a time of great upheaval in Chinese society, and at a time when intellectuals were considering the weight of history, modernism, and revolution on their society. The New Culture Movement emphasized new ways of thinking about both the past and the present, incorporating new ideas of liberalism, socialism, communism, science, and technology into their worldview. The theme of Evolution and Modernism runs throughout “Diary of a Madman,” which offers a critique not only of Chinese society but of Chinese history as well.    

Lu Xun employs epistolary technique and uses diary entries to blur the boundaries between reality and fantasy. The introduction, wherein the “madman’s” elder brother gives the narrator the diary, is written in classical Chinese—a dialect employed by court officials, historians, and members of the traditional educated elite. However, the diary itself is written in vernacular Chinese, creating a more intimate and accessible depiction of life in a small Chinese town—although translated versions of the story do not and cannot include this linguistic detail.

Through the diary, the reader can directly access the thoughts of the “madman” without any intermediating narrator. As the story progresses, the line between the “madman’s” delusions and objective reality becomes increasingly confused, leaving unanswered questions about the reliability of his perceptions. To what degree a mental illness may be affecting the “madman’s” sense of reality, and to what degree society is deteriorating, becomes a matter of interpretation. Lu Xun raises questions about whether the “madman” has a mental illness at all, or whether the social system in which he lives is irrational. By presenting the story as a diary, Lu Xun creates a sense of uncertainty and ambiguity that adds to the story's overall sense of disorientation and horror.

Cannibalism is the story’s central symbol. Within the narrative’s context, Lu Xun uses cannibalism to both establish and subvert ideas of Domination and Control in Systems of Power. Throughout the story, the “madman” becomes increasingly obsessed with the idea of cannibalism, seeing it as a pervasive force in his community and even within his own family. This obsession represents the narrator's fear of being controlled and consumed by the masses, as well as his sense of isolation and alienation from society.

The metaphor of cannibalism also serves as a critique of traditional Chinese culture and its emphasis on hierarchy, with the layer above dominating the layer below. In the story, the “madman” sees these values as a kind of cannibalism, where villagers and families consume and destroy one another in the name of duty and loyalty. This critique underscores Lu Xun's belief that traditional Chinese culture is a system that consumes and oppresses individuals, creating injustice and instability.

Lu Xun extends the symbolism of cannibalism to the villagers’ desire to consume the “madman,” who is a government official. While in a Confucian context, the villagers should ostensibly be obligated to subservience, Lu Xun now uses the metaphor of cannibalism to subvert established ideas of domination in an inversion of the traditional order. Read against the context of early-20th-century China, such a breakdown of hierarchical structures often preceded chaos and social unrest.

The text is littered with references to people or animals that act against established authority, from the “madman’s” own misdeeds toward Mr. Gu, to the Zhao family’s dog, whom “the madman” fears is about to turn on him. The issue of contested domination is a reoccurring idea throughout the story. Whereas in traditional Confucian society, the young are “cannibalized” by the old, women by men, and the people by governments, Lu Xun posits that in times of chaos and instability, these relationships are switched. The “madman” fears that the masses and dogs alike will turn on him. Cannibalism further blurs the lines between reality and fantasy, as the “madman’s” delusions become increasingly vivid and disturbing. This creates a sense of disorientation and horror, emphasizing the power of societal pressures to warp the individual's perception of reality and push them to the brink of a psychological crisis.

Lu Xun also employs deliberately ambiguous temporal structures. Despite being a diary, the entries only include a single date at the conclusion. Whether the diary takes place over days, months, or years is unclear. The “madman” similarly struggles with temporal displacement. History, Cycles, and Generations is a central theme, with the text considering the connection between history and the present, the changing (or static) nature of society, and the relationship between the old and young. The idea that cannibalism has been a persistent part of history generates a fear that the practice will be difficult to end.

Ultimately, Lu Xun offers solutions to the potential cannibalism that the “madman” sees all around him. A recurring theme within the story is that of evolution—manifested by the individual’s ability to change his or her nature. The “madman” observes that people throughout history participated in cannibalism, but through expanding their moral virtue, they became fully realized as “civilized” people. Darwin’s theory of evolution was a new and exciting notion that made its way into China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Rather than a traditional Chinese cyclical view of history, wherein patterns of order and chaos, virtue and immorality repeat, Western ideas of Social Darwinism argued that societies developed linearly, moving from states of barbarism to civilization.

“Diary of a Madman” invokes images of hyenas, wolves, and dogs to illustrate the civilizing effects of modernism. Whereas the wolves and hyenas eat dead flesh, dogs may be trained to be loyal members of society. The “madman’s” fear of dogs reverting to their primal lupine state represents his terror at the prospect of the de-evolution of society to a more barbaric state. Thus, the “madman” urges the villagers to change their ways and break the traditional cycle of “cannibalism.” Ultimately, he wonders if perhaps society is beyond saving, and that perhaps the future lies with the children who have not yet consumed the flesh of their fellow man.