In this blog post, we will examine Mao Dun’s life and literary background, and explore the significance of the revolution and the disillusionment, wavering, and quests of intellectual youth as portrayed in each work of the “Food Trilogy.”

In what environment did Mao Dun develop as a writer

Mao Dun was born on July 4, 1896—the 22nd year of the Guangxu era of the Qing dynasty—in Wuzhen, Tongxiang County, Zhejiang Province. Mao Dun’s birth name was Shen Dehong (沈德鴻), and his courtesy name was Yanbing (雁氷). Born as the eldest grandson in a family where four generations lived together, Mao Dun’s great-grandfather, Shen Huan (沈煥), named him “Dehong” (德鴻) by combining the character “De” (德) from the family lineage with the character “Hong” (鴻), which embodies the aspiration for “soaring high like a wild goose.” “Mao Dun” was the pen name he first used when he published his debut novel, the “Three Meals Trilogy.”
His great-grandfather, Shen Huan, was a member of the so-called emerging bourgeoisie who had accumulated a certain degree of wealth while traveling through places such as Shanghai, Hankou, and Wuhan. His father, Shen Yongxi, became a top student at the young age of 16, but instead of following the path of a traditional scholar, he studied medicine under his father-in-law, a renowned physician in his hometown of Wuzhen, and kept new books—such as works on mathematics, Neo-Confucianism, chemistry, and new works such as Tan Sitong’s ‘The Doctrine of Benevolence’—and was a progressive, scholarly, and enlightenment-minded intellectual who never parted with these books. My mother, Chen Aizhu, had already mastered reading and writing before her marriage, and had read a wide range of classical texts, including the ‘Four Books and Five Classics’, the ‘Three Hundred Tang Poems’, ‘Guwen Guanzhi’ (Selections of Ancient Prose), and had acquired considerable knowledge of classical texts. After marriage, at her husband’s urging, she also read books related to new disciplines, such as history and geography, and even served as a “mentor [Qimeng Laoshi]” who personally taught Da Hong astronomy, geography, and history starting when he was five years old. Considering that Mao Dun’s wife, Kong Dezhi, was completely illiterate and did not even have a name at the time of their marriage, it is clear that Mao Dun’s mother possessed a level of cultural sophistication that was extremely rare for a woman of that era. While Mao Dun’s father took a greater interest in the natural sciences, his mother was more interested in literature; she particularly loved novels and allowed Mao Dun to freely read works such as ‘Journey to the West’, ‘Romance of the Three Kingdoms’, ‘Water Margin’, ‘Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio’, and ‘Miscellaneous Tales from the Confucian Academy’—novels that were generally considered merely obscene pastimes [閑書] at the time and were forbidden for children to read.
Thanks to his enlightened parents, who provided a relatively stable financial environment and took a special interest in their children’s education, Mao Dun grew up receiving a quality education from an early age. At the age of seven, he briefly attended a private school run by a relative; at eight, he enrolled as a first-year student at Lizhi Elementary School—the first elementary school established in Wujin—where he studied Chinese language, moral education, history, and mathematics. Mao Dun’s father passed away when he was 10, and Mao Dun graduated from Lizhi Elementary School with excellent grades. At the age of 11, he enrolled in Xicai Higher Elementary School, where he studied English, physics, chemistry, and music; his grades in Chinese were particularly outstanding. In 1909, at the age of 13, he graduated from Shicai Higher Elementary School. The following year, he transferred to the third grade at Huzhou No. 3 Middle School in Zhejiang, and in 1911, he transferred again to the third grade at Jiaxing Middle School. At that time, most of the principal and teachers at Jiaxing Middle School were members of the revolutionary party; however, when the Xinhai Revolution broke out, they all left the school to participate in the revolution. The newly appointed headmaster, dissatisfied with the school’s liberal academic atmosphere, attempted to reorganize the school’s ethos, which led to resistance from the students. Mao Dun actively participated in pranks aimed at humiliating the new vice-principal, but was subsequently expelled and transferred to Anding Middle School in Hangzhou. Anding Middle School was staffed by outstanding teachers; the Chinese language teacher was Zhang Xianzhi, known as a literary prodigy of Zhejiang, and the physics and chemistry teachers were both students who had studied in Japan. During his middle school years, Mao Dun excelled in English and Chinese literature and was particularly recognized for his outstanding writing skills; however, due to his slight build and weak constitution, he consistently performed poorly in physical education class, which often made his friends laugh. It appears that Mao Dun inherited his frail constitution, passion for learning, and meticulous and sensitive disposition from his father, while his keen interest in novels, refined sensibility, and writing skills came from his mother.
In 1913, at the age of 17, Mao Dun enrolled in the preparatory program (Yuke) at Peking University. Although his father had passed away early, his mother was able to serve as his primary guardian, and since the family faced no significant financial hardship, Mao Dun was able to devote himself entirely to his studies until he completed the preparatory program at Peking University. Within the academic system of Peking University’s Preparatory School—which was divided into the humanities, law, and business on one hand, and science, engineering, and agriculture on the other—Mao Dun chose the humanities, law, and business track. Although this went against his father’s wish—who had hoped his son would study the natural sciences to contribute to the nation’s material strength—Mao Dun’s mother understood her son’s intentions and supported him.

What did Mao Dun experience on his path through revolution and literature?

In 1916, at the age of 20, after completing the preparatory program at Peking University, Mao Dun was forced to interrupt his studies due to financial difficulties. With the help of his maternal uncle, Lu Xuepu (盧學溥), he secured a position in the editorial department of the Commercial Press (商務印書館) in Shanghai. Initially, he worked in the English Department as a staff member for the newly established English Correspondence School, where he was responsible for proofreading assignments submitted by students. Shortly thereafter, he was transferred to the Chinese Department, where he was tasked with compiling ‘Chinese Fables’ and editing the ‘Student Magazine’.
In 1917, Mao Dun published his first publicly released translation—the science fiction story “The Egg That Hatched Three Hundred Years Later”—in ‘Student Magazine’ and began compiling ‘The First Collection of Chinese Fables’, which he completed in just half a year.
In 1918, at the age of 22, Mao Dun married Kong Dezhi in accordance with an agreement made by their respective grandfathers when Mao Dun was five years old. At the time of their marriage, Kong Dezhi was completely illiterate and came from a strictly traditional family—she did not even have her own name. After the marriage, Kong Dezhi received an education in both traditional and modern disciplines under the guidance of Mao Dun’s mother; later, she even participated directly in the May 30th demonstrations alongside Mao Dun.
In early 1920, Mao Dun took charge of editing the “New Tone in Fiction” column in the literary magazine ‘Novel Monthly’ (小說月報), published by the Shangwu Printing House, and published works such as the “Declaration on the New Tone in Fiction,” “A Critique of Criticism on Old and New Literature,” and “What Are the Responsibilities of Modern Writers?” When he became editor-in-chief of ‘Novel Monthly’ in November, he attempted a comprehensive overhaul of the journal. Originally, ‘Novel Monthly’ had served as the main platform for the “Mandarin Duck and Butterfly School,” which advocated “literature for amusement and pastime.” However, after Mao Dun took over as editor, he championed realist literature and criticized the school, provoking strong opposition from its members. Meanwhile, there was significant opposition to the comprehensive reform of ‘Novel Monthly’ even within the Commercial Press itself, leading Mao Dun to resign as editor-in-chief of ‘Novel Monthly’ in January 1923.
In December 1920, while the reform of ‘Novel Monthly’ was in full swing, Mao Dun, together with Zhou Zuoren (周作人), then a professor at Peking University, and Zheng Zhenduo (鄭振鐸), Wang Tongzhao (王統照), Ye Shaojun—all of whom were students at the time—in Shanghai to hold a founding assembly for the “Literary Research Society,” which advocated for “literature for life.” Because Mao Dun was in Shanghai, he was unable to attend the Literary Research Society’s founding conference held in Beijing in January 1921; however, he published the Society’s founding declaration and list of founding members in Issue 1, Volume 12 of ‘Novel Monthly’, the first issue published following comprehensive reforms. The first issue had a print run of 5,000 copies and met with an enthusiastic response, selling out immediately upon release. In July of the same year, Mao Dun attended the First National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party, which was convened in Shanghai, and became an early member of the party; he subsequently served as a secret liaison with the Party Central Committee. In 1923, he taught fiction studies in the Chinese Language Department and Greek mythology in the English Language Department at Shanghai University, which was operated by the Chinese Communist Party.
The period from 1923 to 1925 is generally recognized as the time when Mao Dun devoted most of his time and energy to political activities. After his attempt to reform the ‘Novel Monthly’ failed, his editorial work at the Shangwu Publishing House gradually took a back seat; and when he was elected as an executive committee member for the Shanghai Jianqu District at the Shanghai Communist Party General Assembly, the focus of Mao Dun’s activities gradually shifted from literature to social and mass movements. Mao Dun was deeply moved by the May 30 Incident in 1925, in which he participated alongside Shanghai university students, his wife Kong Dezhi, and Yang Zhihua, the wife of Qu Qiubai; he also successfully led the strike by the Commercial Press labor union that took place in August of the same year. Prompted by these two events, Mao Dun severed his official ties with literature for a time and devoted himself entirely to the revolutionary movement.
In 1925, following orders from the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, Mao Dun, together with Yun Daiying (惲代英), established the Kuomintang Shanghai Municipal Party Committee in Shanghai and was elected head of the Propaganda Department. In January 1926, he attended the Kuomintang’s Second National Congress in Guangzhou. After the congress concluded, Mao Dun remained in Guangzhou to serve as secretary to Mao Zedong, who was then acting head of the Kuomintang Central Propaganda Department. However, In March 1926, following the Zhongshan Warship Incident, Mao Zedong resigned from his position as Acting Director of the Propaganda Department; consequently, Mao Dun also resigned from his position as secretary and returned to Shanghai. Upon his return, Mao Dun learned from Zheng Zhendou, who was then editor-in-chief of ‘Novel Monthly’, that he was on the Kuomintang government’s wanted list. After completely wrapping up his affairs at the Standing Office of the Publishing House, he went into hiding. During this period, Mao Dun spent his days secretly engaging in political activities and his nights reading Greek and Norse mythology, as well as classical Chinese poetry and history. In 1927, Mao Dun was again ordered by the Party Central Committee to go to Wuhan. By this time, the Nationalist government, which had been based in Guangzhou, had already relocated to Wuhan, making it the new base for the National Revolution. Mao Dun served as an instructor at the newly established Central Political and Military Academy in Wuhan, but shortly thereafter, upon hearing news of Chiang Kai-shek’s April 12 coup, he secretly fled Shanghai alongside Communist Party members who had survived Chiang’s “White Terror.”

How did the “Three-Part Series” come to be?

This incident, in which Mao Dun lost contact with the Party due to a chance turn of events, also served as a turning point that led him to resume his literary activities and go on to produce a prolific body of work as a writer. In 1927, while in hiding in Shanghai, Mao Dun published his first novel, ‘Disillusionment’; he then published ‘Wavering’ and ‘Pursuit’ in 1928, completing the “Three Food Novels.” In July of the same year, he traveled to Japan, where he wrote the novel ‘Rainbow’ (unfinished) and a series of short stories, as well as works such as ‘Miscellaneous Essays on Mythology’, ‘An Overview of Western Literature’, ‘ABC of Norse Mythology’, and ‘ABC of Chinese Mythology’, as well as critical essays such as “From Guling to Tokyo” and “Reading Ni Huanzhi.”
The period from 1927 to 1937 is generally regarded as the mature and productive phase of Mao Dun’s literary career. In addition to the works mentioned above, the novellas ‘The Road’ and ‘Three People Walking’ and the full-length novel ‘Midnight’ were completed during this period. ‘Midnight’ is a realist novel that brilliantly depicts the situation in China during the 1930s and is regarded as a work that set a new milestone in the history of modern Chinese literature since the May Fourth Movement. Qiu Qubai described this work as “China’s first successful realist novel.” In addition, he published excellent short stories such as “The Lin Family Shop,” “Spring Silkworms,” “Harvest,” and “Late Winter” during this period. In addition to his creative writing, he was actively engaged in literary activities such as translating works by foreign authors, including Russian playwrights, as well as writing literary reviews and conducting research on authors.
In April 1930, Mao Dun returned to Shanghai from Japan and joined the “Chinese Left-Wing Writers’ League,” which had been formed in February. In 1931, together with Lu Xun, he issued the “Declaration on the Kuomintang’s Massacre of Revolutionary Writers (Declaration by the Chinese Left-Wing Writers’ League on the Kuomintang’s Massacre of Revolutionary Writers). In 1932, he completed the novel ‘Deep Night’, which was published as a book by Kaiming Bookstore in 1933. During this period, Mao Dun also collaborated with Zheng Zhendou to publish the major literary journal ‘Literature’, and in 1934, he co-founded the magazine ‘Translations’ with Lu Xun to feature translations of progressive literary works. In 1936, he played a leading role in the formation of the “Chinese Writers and Artists Association,” which was signed by 111 literary figures including Guo Moruo, and published the “Declaration of Chinese Literary and Art Workers,” signed by 77 individuals including Lu Xun and Ba Jin.
In 1937, Mao Dun founded the ‘Jiuwang Daily’ and served as editor of ‘Naohan’ (later renamed ‘Fenghuo’); after the fall of Shanghai, he moved from place to place, living in Changsha, Wuhan, Xiangjiang, and Guangzhou. In March 1938, when the All-China Literary and Art Association for Resistance Against the Enemy was established in Hankou, Mao Dun was elected as a director; in April, he took charge of editing ‘Literary and Art Stronghold’ in Guangzhou, and later, in Xianggang, he edited “Yanlin,” the literary supplement of the small-circulation newspaper “Liba.” During this period, he also wrote the novel ‘The Story of the First Stage’.
In December 1938, he went to Xinjiang, where he worked as a teacher and served as chairman of the Xinjiang Cultural Association. In 1940, he traveled via Lanzhou and Xi’an to Yan’an, where he taught students at the Lu Xun Academy of Arts. Half a year later, he returned to Chongqing and served as a standing committee member of the Cultural Work Committee headed by Guo Moruo. During this period, Mao Dun also wrote the essays “Reflections on Scenery” and “Ode to the White Poplar.” In 1941, when the , Mao Dun left Chongqing with a group of progressive cultural figures and went to Xiangjiang. In May, upon becoming an editorial board member of the weekly ‘Mass Life’, published in Xiangjiang, he serialized his novel ‘Corrosion’ in the publication. In September, he took on the role of chief editor of the bimonthly ‘Pen Talks’; however, when Shanghai was occupied following the outbreak of the Pacific War in December, he immediately relocated to Guilin with the assistance of the Dongjiang Guerrilla Forces led by the Chinese Communist Party. During his nine months in Guilin, Mao Dun completed another novel, ‘Frosted Leaves Are as Red as February Flowers’. In 1942, Mao Dun returned to Chongqing, where he completed his first play, ‘Before and After Qingming’, in 1945.
In June of that same year, a large gathering of progressive writers held a celebratory event to mark Mao Dun’s 50th birthday and the 25th anniversary of his literary career.
After the War of Resistance ended in victory, Mao Dun left Chongqing in March 1946 and returned to Shanghai via Guangzhou and Xiangjiang, where he took charge of editing the magazine ‘Wenlian’ (Literary Federation). In December, at the invitation of the Soviet Union’s Association for Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries, he visited the Soviet Union; beginning in January 1947, he serialized his “Diary of a Journey Through the Soviet Union (遊蘇日記),” written during his stay there, in the ‘Shidai Ribao’ (‘時代日報’). He returned to Shanghai in April 1947 and completed the manuscript for “Records of Observations in the Soviet Union (蘇聯見聞錄)” in September; At the end of 1947, he went to Shanghai and took charge of editing the ‘Wenhui Bao’ (文匯報). In 1948, he published ‘Records of Observations in the Soviet Union’ at the Gaiming Bookstore and serialized his novel ‘Toughening’ in the ‘Wenhui Bao’. In 1949, Mao Dun participated in the preparatory work for the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference held in Beiping and attended the First National Congress of Chinese Literary and Art Workers, where he was elected Vice Chairman of the Chinese Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Chairman of the Chinese Literary Workers’ Association (later renamed the Chinese Writers’ Association).
After the founding of the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949, Mao Dun served as Minister of Culture of the Central People’s Government until 1964. He also served as editor-in-chief of the magazine ‘People’s Literature’, a delegate to the National People’s Congress, a standing committee member of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the CPPCC. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, in 1979, he was re-elected Honorary Chairman of the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and Chairman of the Chinese Writers’ Association at the Fourth National Congress of Chinese Literary and Art Workers. In 1981, Mao Dun passed away at Beijing Hospital at the age of 85. Shortly before his death, he earnestly petitioned the Party, stating, “If you would honor me by recognizing me as a member of the glorious Communist Party of China, it would be the greatest honor of my life.” The Communist Party of China accepted Mao Dun’s petition, reinstated his Party membership, and decided to count his Party membership tenure starting from 1921. In August, the first volume of Mao Dun’s memoir, ‘The Path I Have Walked’ (‘我走过的道路’), which he had devoted all his energy to writing until the very end despite suffering from illness in his later years, was published by Hong Kong’s Sanlian Bookstore (Life·Reading· 新知三联书店), and the Mao Dun Literary Award was established—an initiative launched when Mao Dun donated his 250,000 yuan in royalties to the Chinese Writers’ Association to promote the development of the long-form novel. The Mao Dun Literary Award is presented to outstanding long-form novels and is currently one of the most prestigious literary awards in China.

How does the “Three-Part Series” depict the inner world of intellectual youths who threw themselves into the revolution?

The “Three-Part Series” is a trilogy by Mao Dun consisting of the novellas ‘Disillusionment’, ‘Wavering’, and ‘Pursuit’.
The three works chronologically chronicle the experiences of disillusionment, wavering, and pursuit endured by intellectual youths who joined the revolutionary movement in the mid-1920s. While each can be read as a self-contained, independent work, they can also be read as a single interconnected narrative.
The “Three-Part Series” was written during a hiatus in Mao Dun’s political activities, which occurred after he—then a member of the Chinese Communist Party—was unable to follow the Party’s 1927 directive to go to Nanchang due to a series of coincidental events, causing him to temporarily lose contact with the Party. What is interesting is that Mao Dun primarily describes his past political experiences during this time as “a whirlwind,” “a massive contradiction,” or “chaos,” and expresses the feelings left behind by these experiences as “the sorrow of disillusionment” or “the contradictions of life.” In his memoir ‘The Path I Have Walked’ (我走过的道路), which he wrote in his twilight years by mustering his last remaining strength, Mao Dun confessed his state of mind at the time regarding the creation of the “Three-Part Series”: “At that time, I felt at a loss regarding the situation following the failure of the Great Revolution. I needed time to think, observe, and analyze…… After going through such a turbulent period, I needed to pause and reflect on my own.” During this period, Mao Dun faced complex real-life experiences that were not easily interpreted, resulting in a “melancholy of disillusionment,” a sense of despair over “a life full of contradictions,” and the “depressed state of mind and solitary life” he experienced as a fugitive—all of which made him desperately need to step back from the frantic pace of his life up to that point and “stop to reflect on my own.” The “Three-Part Series” can be interpreted as the product of this process. Because the “Sik Trilogy” was born out of this unique psychological state, it is the most deeply autobiographical of Mao Dun’s works.
The first work, “Disillusionment,” takes as its narrative framework the experiences of Jing (靜), a student at S University, as she navigates the worlds of romance and revolution against the backdrop of Shanghai, Wuhan, and Guling. Jing is an innocent college student in her early twenties, but through her middle school classmate Hui, she catches a glimpse of the world’s ugliness and corruption. Her romance with Baosu—a womanizer of uncertain political standing—ultimately leads her to become disillusioned with the world. Disillusioned, Jing flees to a hospital, but there she meets her old classmates again and ends up traveling to Wuhan, a revolutionary stronghold, where she directly participates in the revolutionary movement. However, in Wuhan, Jing once again experiences disillusionment with the reality of the revolution and suffers conflict and anguish amid the contradiction between the revolution’s majestic image and its disappointing reality. Later, through her friends’ introduction, Jing transfers to a rear-area hospital, where she unexpectedly meets Chang Meng, a young company commander who has been wounded, and falls in love with him. The “honeymoon-like time” she spends with Chang Meng in Guling brings Jing the joy of “exuberance” she has never experienced before, but this time of happiness soon comes to an end when Chang Meng is called back to active duty. In ‘Disillusionment’, the author focuses on depicting the disillusionment that the protagonist, Jing, experiences time and again through her various life experiences. Jing experiences extreme disillusionment upon learning that Bao Su—with whom she had shared a momentary romance born of pure compassion—is actually a Kuomintang spy. Later, while hiding in a hospital to escape the pain of that disillusionment, she accidentally runs into her college classmates again. Encouraged by them, she plucks up the courage to throw herself into the revolutionary struggle, only to discover the revoltingly sordid reality of the revolution and sink once more into deep disillusionment. Interestingly, however, the final episode of the work—contrary to its title—does not end in complete disillusionment. Although Jing and Chang’s romance includes a crisis of “disillusionment,” it ultimately concludes with a relatively optimistic ending: Jing confirms Chang’s unwavering love for her, and they pledge to meet again in the future, willingly encouraging each other to pursue their own paths as they part ways. The story of ‘Disillusionment’ is not entirely filled with “disillusionment.” Ultimately, while ‘Disillusionment’ reveals the countless disillusionments experienced by young people amid the chaotic circumstances of the mid-1920s, its conclusion—contrary to the title—makes it the most optimistic work of the “Three-Part Series.”
Immediately after completing ‘Disillusionment’, Mao Dun went on to write ‘Unrest’. ‘Unrest’ realistically depicts the actual state of the Chinese Revolution in the mid-1920s through a series of major and minor events that took place in a small county near Wuhan during the Great Revolution. One of the central characters in ‘Turmoil’, Hu Guoguang, was originally a local strongman who took advantage of the political turmoil to become a “gentleman.” When the political situation was once again turned upside down, he resorted to all manner of schemes to become a “committee member,” only to suddenly, by chance, a “newly discovered revolutionary hero,” and through a series of deceptive acts, plunges the entire village into extreme chaos. Fang Luolan, another central character in ‘Unrest’, is a well-educated and capable county-level commerce committee member who received a modern education; and one of the officials responsible for actively assessing the situation and devising countermeasures. Yet, even as the village is swept into a whirlwind of uncontrollable chaos, destruction, terror, and slaughter through Hu Guoguang’s schemes, she remains captivated by an unidentified illusion, loses her bearings, and ultimately, gripped by fear, is constantly thrown into turmoil amid the ever-escalating vicious cycle of violence and death.
Compared to ‘Disillusionment’, ‘Agitation’ is a work that, overall, stands out for its objective depiction of characters and situations, as well as its realism. However, upon closer examination, ‘Agitation’ features two narratives with distinct characteristics coexisting within it. One is the story unfolding in an objective and realistic space centered on Hu Guoguang, while the other is the depiction taking place in a subjective and symbolic space centered on Fang Luolan. On the one hand, Fang Luolan is depicted as part of the chaotic space actively created by Hu Guoguang, the “embodiment of evil”; on the other hand, she is portrayed as the gaze and spirit observing that chaotic world amidst “constant turmoil.” As “Turmoil” progresses toward its second half, where Fang Luolan becomes the narrative’s focal point, its subjective and symbolic nature intensifies, and the distance between the character and the narrator disappears. The political chaos, which had been described objectively and concretely, gradually shifts into a dreamlike atmosphere, and the impression of opaque chaos that Fang Luolan experiences in her hallucinations becomes more prominent. The gradually intensifying symbolism reaches its climax in the final chapter of ‘Dongyo’, where, through the eyes of a spider dangling from the ceiling, everything collapses in a hallucination of massive destruction—a mental experience of indecipherable chaos and wandering. “Disturbance” ultimately concludes by depicting the mental collapse of Fang Luolan’s wife, Fang Meili, who transforms into the very spider she had been fearfully watching and becomes completely engulfed in a dark hallucination.
“Pursuit” is the most confessional work among the “Three-Part Series.” The first chapter of “Pursuit” begins with the disillusionment felt by four characters—Zhong Zhao, Man Qing, Shi Xun, and Zhang Qiuliu—who each represent a different kind of “pursuit,” as they reflect on their past experiences, and their final, one last attempt at “the variation of pursuit.” Although they are all “weary of searching for the meaning of life,” they are beings who feel that “hot blood still flows vigorously through their veins” and “cannot bring themselves to accept walking silently toward the grave.” For this reason, they each resolve to embark on their own “final pursuit [aspiration].”
However, the implication that the characters’ “final pursuit,” which begins in this way, will ultimately fail to become a victorious “pursuit” is strongly evident from the very beginning of the work. At the end of Chapter 1, with the appearance of Shushin, the “gloomy atmosphere of death” emanating from him, the “black shadow of doubt,” along with the staging of the “Mad Dance”—in which the characters frantically dance around Shun to “sweep away” these dark omens and conceal their deep inner fears—strongly suggests that their pursuit, as it unfolds, will ultimately meet a dark end.
In ‘The Pursuit’, the characters ultimately—just as hinted at in Chapter 1—plummet back into the abyss of disappointment and frustration at the very moment their hopes seem on the verge of being realized, despite their relentless efforts. The realist Zhong Zhaozhao devotes himself wholeheartedly to reforming the newspaper’s fourth page in order to achieve his goal of marrying “Lu Yang,” despite the editor-in-chief’s relentless obstruction. Faced with the stubborn obstacles of reality, Zhong Zhaozhao is tempted to give up time and again, yet he refuses to bow down; he presses forward toward his goal, not shying away from repeated concessions and compromises under his “half-step policy.” However, just as the “realization of hope”—the fruit of those painstaking efforts—is within reach, his dream shatters upon hearing the news of a traffic accident involving Lu Yang, the very person he had set his sights on. Manqing, who—after experiencing severe disillusionment in the political arena—had resolved to stake all his future hopes on educating the next generation and had devoted himself wholeheartedly to education, eventually experienced even deeper frustration upon discovering that the young people who once lived with ideals had, now in middle age, become trapped in their own ignorance and vested interests, mocking all his educational efforts and passion and becoming obstacles to reform. Furthermore, he plunges into utter despair when the woman he had considered his ideal partner turns out to be a thoroughly materialistic “fake” immediately after their marriage. Zhang Chuliu, who had sought to live life to the fullest—arrogantly mocking life’s contradictions while pursuing sensual pleasures to the hilt—also finds that Suxun, for whom he had gone to great lengths to help her be reborn as a new person, ultimately collapses and dies, coughing up blood beneath his skirt; as a result, he contracts syphilis, leaving him in a state akin to a bird with broken wings.
Ultimately, the story of ‘Pursuit’ concludes with all the characters’ “pursuits” ending in failure within the inescapable grip of fate, and the characters standing at the end of their “pursuits” all sinking into deeper despair and despondency than they had at the beginning. Ideals that initially seemed so clear and bright are, without exception, cruelly mocked, distorted, or destroyed in reality. Yet the characters are unable to interpret or resist these circumstances. “Pursuit” ultimately reveals only the deeper despair that follows every “pursuit.”
Judging from the three works examined above, the “Food Trilogy” can be seen, on the one hand, as a collection that most candidly reveals the author’s firsthand experiences with the revolutionary movement of the mid-1920s—along with the anxieties and direction he felt within it—and, on the other hand, as a work that most vividly depicts the mental state of the intellectual youth of the 1920s and the concrete reality of the revolutionary movement.