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大眾文化中的圖像詮釋──從一幅表現魯迅論戰精神的漫畫說起 The Interpretation of Images in Mass Culture—Study of a Cartoon Expressing Lu Xun's Disputatious Spirit

作者
陳德馨
Author
Te-hsin Chen
摘要

「魯迅打叭兒狗」,是魯迅著名的英雄形象。這個形象是1925年12月28日,魯迅為攻擊論敵時,發表〈論「費厄潑賴」應緩施行〉一文,主張打擊敵人不要手軟,要打倒在地為止所創造。這種睚眦必報、絕不妥協的作風,成了日後魯迅論戰精神的最佳寫照。
當時參與論戰的林語堂,曾繪製出第一幅〈魯迅先生打叭兒狗圖〉,藉此激化論戰的火花。但是這幅關鍵性的漫畫,日後卻不再被世人知曉。相較於魯迅〈論「費厄潑賴」應緩施行〉,成為家喻戶曉的名篇,兩者命運大不相同。為什麼會造成這個結果?以及這個結果反映什麼文化意義?便是本文主要探索的重點。

本文藉由對林語堂漫畫的圖像分析,重新恢復他的思路歷程及諷刺重點,說明這個新的漫畫構思,對論戰雙方帶來的刺激與影響,並進而導致魯迅落敗的原因。由於這個結果,以及漫畫所引發「魯迅當官」的事實,與日後左翼青年形塑魯迅為一名反叛權威的文化英雄形象不合,所以被刻意遺忘。

林語堂所畫「魯迅打狗」的英雄形象,以報紙快速印刷的方式,深入世人眼目。但卻也提供讀者自由解讀這幅漫畫的機會,傳統中國畫家繪圖贈人時,雙方所保持的互信與私密,在此轉成公開及多義解釋,成為中國現代化的一大特徵。

Abstract

Lin Yutang's cartoon, “Lu Xun Beats a Pekinese Dog,” presents one of the most well-known positive images of Lu Xun. This image originated with the publication on Dec. 28, 1925 of Lu Xun's essay, “On Deferring Fair Play,” which argued that in attacking one's enemies one should not pull one's punches but continue until they are knocked to the ground. Later on, during Lu Xun's disputes with other writers, he became best known for his absolutely uncompromising style when fighting back even over the most trivial of matters.

Lin Yutang, a participant in the debates of the time, drew his first “Lu Xun Beats a Pekinese Dog” to add fuel to the flames. However, this crucial cartoon was almost completely forgotten, while Lu Xun's essay became something known to all. Why did the two works encounter such different destinies? What does this outcome say about culture? These are the main questions this paper will be exploring.

This paper will analyze Lin Yutang's caricature of Lu Xun, recover the pathways of his thought and his satirical focuses, and explain his new cartooning concept, how it triggered and influenced the dispute between the two men, and why Lu Xun eventually lost in the dispute. The caricature's suggestion of Lu Xun behaving like an official was at odds with the heroic, anti-authoritarian image of Lu Xun that left-wing youth at the time had shaped for him, so it was deliberately forgotten.

The heroic image that Lin Yutang drew in “Lu Xun Beats a Pekinese Dog” left a lasting impression in the public mind through the fast medium of newsprint. But it also provided readers an opportunity for free interpretation. In the traditional Chinese painting tradition, mutual trust and secrecy were maintained between the artist and viewer, but this cartoon transformed the relationship into one of openness and multiple meanings, which was a mark of China's modernization.