लू सुन की कहानी ‘एक पागल की डायरी’ के कुछ पन्ने।

लू सुन की इस कहानी को पढ़ते हुये हम वर्ग समाज में प्रतिस्पर्धा और पूँजी की अन्धी होड़ के बीच आत्म-केन्द्रित समाज में मानवीय संवेदनाओं और इंसान में मनुष्यता की निर्मम हत्या की एक झलक देखते हैं और उसकी बीभत्सतता को महशूस करते हैं, लेकिन अन्त में आशा की एक झलक भी देखते हैं, जिसका अन्त लू सुन इन शब्दों से करते हैं, “सम्भव है नई पीढ़ी के छोटे बच्चों ने अभी नर-मांस न खाया हो। इन बच्चों को तो बचा लें!”

कहानी के कुछ अंश,

“मैं उन लोगों को खूब जानता हूँ। किसी को एकदम मार डालने को ये तैयार नहीं हैं। ऐसा करने का साहस इन लोगों में नहीं है। परिणाम के भय से इनकी जान निकलती है, इसलिये यो लोग षड्यंत्र रचकर जाल बिछा रहे हैं.....।

“दूसरों को खा लेने का लालच, परन्तु स्वयं आहार बन जाने का भय। सबको दूसरों पर संदेह है, सब दूसरों से आशंकित हैं।...

यदि इस परस्पर भय से लोगों को मुक्ति मिल सके तो वे निश्शंक होकर काम कर सकते हैं, घूम-फिर सकते हैं, खा-पी सकते हैं। बस, मन से वह एक विचार निकाल देने की जरूरत है। परन्तु लोग यह कर नहीं पाते और बाप-बेटे, पति-पत्नी, भाई-भाई, मित्र, गुरु-शिष्य, एक दूसरे के कट्टर दुश्मन और यहाँ तक कि अपरिचित भी एक दूसरे को खा जाने के षड्यंत्र में शामिल हैं, दूसरों को भी इसमे घसीट रहे हैं और इस चक्कर से निकल जाने को कोई तैयार नहीं।

लोग अपना जीवन सुधारना चाहते थे। इसलिये वे सभ्य बन गए। उनमें मानवता आ गई। परन्तु कुछ लोग अब भी खाये जा रहे हैं – मगरमच्छों की तरह । कहते हैं जीवों का विकास होता है, एक जीव से दूसरा जीव बन जाता है। कुछ जीव विकास करके मछली बन गये हैं, पक्षी बन गये हैं, बंदर बन गये हैं। ऐसे ही इंसान भी बन गया है। परन्तु कुछ जीवों में विकास की इच्छा नहीं होती। उनका विकास वहीं होता, वे सुधरते ही नहीं, रेंगने वालें जानवर ही बने रहते हैं।

भविष्य में दुनिया में आदमखोरी नहीं चल सकेगी। अगर आदमखोरी नहीं छोड़ोगो तो तुम सब खत्म हो जाओगे, एक-दूसरे को खा जाओगे। तुम्हें तुरन्त बदलना होगा ! अपना मन बदलना होगा ! याद रखो, भविष्य में दुनिया में आदमखोरी नहीं चल सकेगी।....

मैं भले ही बेखबर रहा हूँ, मेरे पुरखे चार हजार वर्ष से आदमखोर रहे हैं। मेरे जैसा आदमी किसी सभ्य, वास्तविक मानव को अपना मुंह कैसे दिखा सकता है?

सम्भव है नई पीढ़ी के छोटे बच्चों ने अभी नर-मांस न खाया हो। इन बच्चों को तो बचा लें!

"All races not yet moribund are trying to revolt every day" - Lu Xun

Lu Xun (1881-1936)

Some quotes from an article Literature of a Revolutionary Period by Chinese writer Lu Xun in April 1927,

"When a hawk catches a sparrow, the hawk is silent; the sparrow is the one to cry out. When a cat catches a mouse, the cat is silent; the mouse is the one to cry out. And the one that can only cry ends by being eaten by the one that is silent. "

"...nearly all literature expresses dissatisfaction and distress over social conditions, voicing suffering and indignation"… "Those who oppress you will ignore them. The mouse may squeak and even produce fine literature, yet the cat will gobble it up without any consideration. So a nation with only a literature of complaint is hopeless, because it stops short at that"…"the literature of complaints, like proclaiming one's grievances, gives the oppressors a sense of security"..."nations with inner strength which dare rebel when complaints prove useless wake up to the facts and their lamentations change into roars of anger."

"Mankind could only progress, evolve from protozoa to men, from barbarism to civilization, because of ceaseless revolutions. Biologists tell us: "Men are not very different from monkeys. Apes and men are cousins." How is it then that men have become men while monkeys remain monkeys? It is because monkeys will not change their ways — they like to walk on all fours. Quite likely some monkey once stood up and tried to walk on two legs, but many others protested, "Our ancestors have always crawled. You're not to stand up!" Then they bit him to death. They refused not only to stand but also to talk, being conservative. Men, however, are different. They eventually stood up and talked, and so they won out. But the process is still going on. So revolution is nothing strange, and all races not yet moribund are trying to revolt every day, though most of their revolutions are merely small ones." (Literature of a Revolutionary Period - Lu Xun)

लू सुन की कहानी "एक पागल की डायरी" ("A Mad Man's Dairy" by Lu Xun)

धन-लोलुपता की नीव पर खड़े सामाजिक मूल्यों का अमानवीय, पाशविक, नंगा प्रतीकात्मक चेहरा दिखाती लू सुन की कहानी "एक पागल की डायरी" (A Mad Man's Dairy)

It shows the values of a class society where every individual from inside the family to outside in the society, all look for eating other, in the form of the fruits of his labor, his work, his whole life, on the name of profit and competition, on the name of success and failure. Some are intentionally doing so and others are indirectly forced to do so. The writer finally imagine that everyone around him are doing it; so at the end he shout “Perhaps there are still children who have not eaten men? Save the children. . . .”

Read the full Story at : Here

Take a look  on some Words  from this story:

"Wanting to eat men, at the same time afraid of being eaten themselves, they all look at each other with the deepest suspicion. . . ." “How comfortable life would be for them if they could rid themselves of such obsessions and go to work, walk, eat and sleep at ease. They have only this one step to take. Yet fathers and sons, husbands and wives, brothers, friends, teachers and students, sworn enemies and even strangers, have all joined in this conspiracy, discouraging and preventing each other from taking this step."

"It is very little, but I find it difficult to say. Brother, probably all primitive people ate a little human flesh to begin with. Later, because their outlook changed, some of them stopped, and because they tried to be good they changed into men, changed into real men. But some are still eating—just like reptiles. Some have changed into fish, birds, monkeys and finally men; but some do not try to be good and remain reptiles still. When those who eat men compare themselves with those who do not, how ashamed they must be. Probably much more ashamed than the reptiles are before monkeys."

"[O]f course you can do nothing about it single-handed; but why should you join them? As man-eaters they are capable of anything. If they eat me, they can eat you as well; members of the same group can still eat each other. But if you will just change your ways immediately, then everyone will have peace."

"I knew they were one band, all eaters of human flesh. But I also knew that they did not all think alike by any means. Some of them thought that since it had always been so, men should be eaten. Some of them knew that they should not eat men, but still wanted to; and they were afraid people might discover their secret;"

"You should change, change from the bottom of your hearts!" I said. "You most know that in future there will be no place for man-eaters in the world." "If you don't change, you may all be eaten by each other. Although so many are born, they will be wiped out by the real men, just like wolves killed by hunters. Just like reptiles!" "You should change at once, change from the bottom of your hearts! You must know that in future there will be no place for man-eaters in the world . . . ."

"The sun does not shine, the door is not opened, every day two meals."

"I have only just realized that I have been living all these years in a place where for four thousand years they have been eating human flesh."

"How can a man like myself, after four thousand years of man-caring history—even though I knew nothing about it at first—ever hope to face real men?"

"Perhaps there are still children who have not eaten men? Save the children. . . ."