Chapter 55 "Farmer" Translator's Notes [1]

"Farmer" Translator's Notes [1] This article is a retranslation of Okazawa Hidetora's translation in the twenty-fourth volume of the Japanese "Complete Works of Emerging Literature". It is not among the entire volumes. Many times, the second is that everyone can see what kind of works are made by the so-called "fellow travelers" in Russia. This is about the current events of the European War, but it was published about after the October Revolution in Russia.The original translator also wrote a concise explanation, which is now also translated here—— "Alexandr Iakovlev was one of the group known as 'fellow travelers' in the Soviet literary circle. The reason why he is a 'fellow traveler' is that he translated the "Peasant" here, which is clearer than anything else. .

"From the point of view of graduating from Petersburg University, he is an intellectual, but his essence is purely peasant and religious. He is a talented and honest writer. The keynote of his art is fraternity. and conscience. The difference between the peasants in his works and the peasants in Pilinec's works is in the spirit of religion, until the worship of the church. He regards the peasants as the keeper of human justice and conscience, and thinks that Only the farmer is the one who really connects the whole world in the spirit of fraternity. It is "The Farmer" who concretizes this point of view. Here it describes the victory of "human conscience". The article "October" shows a more advanced ideological form."

The fourth chapter of Japan's "World Socialist Literature Series" is this "October". From the point of view of the Japanese style, it is still wrong.As for this article "The Peasant", it is even worse. Not only does it not have a revolutionary air, but it also has a full religious air, Tolstoy air. Even with my "outdated" eyes, it seems that it is under the Soviet regime. It is surprising that such an author is still allowed.But from this short article, we can also understand the reason why the Soviet Union rejected humanitarianism. Because it is so kind, it will undoubtedly fail no matter in revolution or counter-revolution. Others are not so kind. , I will not give you a shot.Therefore, the singing of "inhumanism" [2] is an inevitable trend.But this "inhumanism" is like a cannon, and everyone can use it. In the first half of this year, the Creation Society of "Revolutionary Literature" and the Crescent Society of "Observance Literature" [3] both aimed at "shallow humanitarianism". To attack is to clearly prove the truth of this matter.On second thought, it's quite interesting.

A． Lunacharsky [4] said something roughly like this: If you want to do revolutionary literature, you must first flow in the blood of the revolution for two years; Remarkably idiotic smile.This "Brothers of Serabion" is the name of the group of literary scholars in Moscow after the October Revolution, and the author is one of the main ones.Just look at the Bi Lichkov he wrote, kind, simple, persistent, thick, stupid, but honest, like an elephant or a bear, irritating and helpless.It is no wonder that Lunacharsky is furious.But I think that to "overcome" this category, it is enough that the overcomer is as honest as an elephant or a bear.If you just talk about "strategy" and "strategy" and play tricks like foxes, that won't work, because literature and art are different from politics after all, and the tricks of petty politicians are useless.

Some bystanders once said that Yu Dafu liked to swear at the end of the translation. I seem to have fallen into this disease this time, and I have offended the "revolutionary writers" again.But don’t get me wrong, China doesn’t want any “sharpening” companies. There are various notices in the newspapers to prove it, and there are lawyers and bodyguards[5]. Everyone is a “loyal comrade” and studies “new literature and art”.Be good, be good, the second half of the year will all "obey the order of literature", and the reason why China can't do it is because of Lu Xun's "old but not dead" [6] cloud.

Written on October 27th. ※ ※ ※ [1] This article, together with the translation of "Farmer", was originally published in the third issue of the first volume of the monthly "Popular Literature and Art" in November 1928.When it was included in the second part of "The Collection of Short Stories in the Modern World", "On the Desert and Others", the first two paragraphs and the last paragraph were deleted. [2] The chanting of "inhumanism" refers to the Soviet Union's criticism of bourgeois humanitarianism at that time.As Lunacharsky said in his speech "Tolstoy and Max" in 1924, Tolstoy was "a very troublesome opponent".See this book "Literary Art and Criticism Translator's Notes".

[3] The New Moon Society is a cultural and political organization with some bourgeois intellectuals as its core. It was established in Beijing in 1923. Its main members include Hu Shi, Xu Zhimo, Chen Yuan, Liang Shiqiu, etc.They were originally attached to the Beiyang warlords, but after 1927, with the collapse of the Beiyang warlords, they turned to the Kuomintang authorities.Here it is said that they and the Creation Society "both attack 'shallow humanism'", as Feng Naichao (Creation Society) wrote in the article "Art and Social Life" (published in the first issue of the monthly "Cultural Criticism" in January 1928) ), calling Tolstoy a "great humanitarian" and "doing the most despicable thing in the world - a religious preacher".Liang Shiqiu (New Moon Society) said in his article "Literature and Revolution" (published in June 1928, "New Moon" Monthly, Volume 1, Issue 4): "Recent sentimental revolutionists and shallow humanity An unrestricted sympathy for the majority of the people. This unrestricted sympathy often overrides all due considerations of civilization."

[4] Lunacharsky, Lunacharsky. 〔5〕Lawyer Bao Lu refers to the fact that on June 15, 1928, Shanghai lawyer Liu Shifang published an announcement in Shanghai News on behalf of the Creation Society and the Publishing Department of the Creation Society.which says: "This news agency is purely a collection of new literature and art, and this publishing department is purely an organization that distributes literature and art books and newspapers; it has never had any relationship with any political organization... Under the banner of the blue sky, art groups should not be in danger of breaking the law, so we are engaged in literature and art Comrades in the enterprise believe in the extreme... If there is anyone who slanders our company and our publishing department, we will sue according to law to be legally protected... If there is any damage to the company's reputation, this lawyer will do our best to protect it in accordance with the law .”

〔6〕"Old but not dead" see "The Analects of Confucius Xianwen": "Old but not dead is a thief." Du Quan (Guo Moruo) said in the article "The Remnants of Feudalism on the Literary and Art Front" published in "Creation Monthly", Volume 2, Issue 1 (August 1928), that Lu Xun advocated "killing all terrible young people", "so So the 'Old Man' is not dead."