What are Lu Xun's words?
Lu Xun used the word "Yan" many times in the article "Hometown": "Holding the steel fork, stabbing the horse desperately"; "Listen, it's ringing, the swallow is biting the melon" ... what is this "Yan"?
Later, Zhang Yiping asked Lu Xun, who said it was about badgers.
1929, when Shu Xincheng, a famous educator and publisher, was compiling Ci Hai, he wrote to Mr. Lu Xun to ask for a word "Yan" in Lu Xun's novel "Hometown", probably hoping to find out the source and interpretation of this word. 1On May 5, 929, Lu Xun explained himself in a letter to Shuxin City: "The word' Yan' was invented by me according to the voice of a countryman and pronounced as' Cha'. But I don't know what kind of animal it is, because it is said by Runtu, and others don't know its details. Now that I think about it, maybe it's a badger. " What Lu Xun didn't expect was that "cha" is a polyphonic word, which can be read both chá and zhā. What should Yan, whose phonetic symbol is Cha, read? At one time, the middle school language circle caused controversy. Now I have finally formed a * * * knowledge, which is subject to reading chá.
Perhaps because of Lu Xun's creation, Shu Xincheng's Ci Hai 1936 edition did not include the word Yan.
After the founding of New China, the revised Ci Hai was included and defined as "Badger Beast".
Modern Chinese Dictionary accepts the word "Yan" according to Lu Xun's letter to Shu Xincheng.
The phonetic notation and explanation are "chá beast, who likes badgers and melons (see Lu Xun's novel Hometown)." Yan, the hair is generally gray, the abdomen and limbs are black, and there are three white longitudinal stripes on the head. He has long and sharp claws on his toes and is good at digging. He lives in Shan Ye, sleeps during the day and comes out at night. Badger oil extracted from fat is used to treat burns.
And what are the two essays written by Mr. Fu, Yan? "I think:" Mr. Lu Xun is cautious in writing and has always opposed the use of difficult words. Why did he create a special word and repeatedly stated that he didn't know its details? This is only for the special needs of shaping typical characters and typical environments. Only this seemingly incomprehensible word comes from the mouth of the leap soil; Only without animals can a' fantastic picture' be set off, which is a clever stroke. ""this is empty, this is not real, it has always been empty. " "The dictionary should point out that Yan is a special word in Lu Xun's novel" Hometown ",and the definition is not available for the time being, instead of sitting as' animals, such as badgers, like eating melons'." Therefore, Modern Chinese Dictionary belittles itself and misses the opportunity of model.
According to the notes of Complete Works of Lu Xun, the prototype in Lu Xun's novel Hometown is Zhang, a native of Du Pu Village, Daoxu Township, Shaoxing (now Shangyu County). In April, when Mr. Wang visited the village of Daowei Town in Zhanglaojia (1975), the local farmer Ruan (the son's in-laws) said, "Yan, there are some in the sand outside our pond embankment. It is like a badger pig, with short feet and oily fur, and the big one weighs 50 or 60 kilograms. Hiding in the dense green hills during the day and sneaking down the mountain to eat watermelons at night. It didn't want to eat the whole watermelon. It just bit the freshest and cleanest part of the sweet water in the center of the watermelon and threw it away after eating it. So we melon farmers especially hate it, because it spoils the watermelon, not one or two, but a whole piece. It trampled all the sweet and delicious melons. There are two ways to manage melons in the sand. One is to tie up some scarecrows, put on hats and hold bamboo guns, and let them guard the border to scare wild animals such as Yan and badger pigs. The second is to build a thatched cottage in Guatian, where people will live. One year, Shui Run, who was in his prime, took his son Qi Sheng to plant watermelons. In the evening, Yan came to steal watermelons. Shuirun walked gently with a discerning steel fork in his hand. When he saw Yan, he stabbed! That night, I poked a big scorpion for Feiyue Shui and his son, weighing more than 50 kilograms! Jumping in the water is very strong. The next day, he returned to the village with a fork and an Yan in his hand. I have seen it too. "