Translation of Making an argument (Luxun, 1925)

Making an argument (Luxun, 1925):

I dreamed that I was preparing a composition in the lecture hall of the elementary school, asking the teacher for advice on how to make an argument.

　　 "Very hard!" The teacher shot me a look, askance from the edge of his glasses. "Here's a story for you—"

　　 "A family gave birth to a boy, and the family was extremely happy. When the full moon came, they took him out and showed him to the guests. Presumably to get some auspicious tidings.

　　"One said: ‘This child will grow up to be rich.’ So he got a lot of thanks.

　　"One said: ‘This child will grow up to be a government official.’ So he obtained a few compliments.

　　"One said: ‘This child will grow up to die.’ So he was beaten up by everyone else.

　　 "Death is certain, while saying he is certainly going to be rich and noble are hopeful lies. But those who lie are paid well, and those who talk of certainties are beaten. You see..."

　　 "I am willing to neither lie nor to be beaten. So, teacher, what should I say?"

　　 "Then, you have to say: ‘Ahhhhh! This kid! You see! So... Ah! Haha! Hehe! he, hehehehe!’"

　　 July 8, 1925.

Some brutal children's stories I read in China

Some children's stories I read back then in 2000s China were surprisingly brutal.

Fox court

In a forest where humans lived with animals, a farmer lost a chicken, so a fox organized a court and interrogated in suspects and testifiers. The true criminal was of course a wolf, but the fox was allied with the wolf, so he wanted to declare a herbivore guilty instead.

An unlucky sheep was ordered forward as a suspect.

• "Where were you at the night of the disappearance?
• "I was at my home sleeping, sir. My eyes can't see in the dark anyway."
• "Do you believe Mr Cow did this?"
• "I am 100% sure he didn't."
• "But you just said you can't see in the dark, and yet the crime happened in the dark. Have you just contradicted yourself?"

Then the fox immediately declared the sheep guilty and had her executed. The farmer was given the skin and wool of the sheep, while the fox got all the meat and bones and had a nice feast.

Four mice and one cat

A sad story by Zheng Yuanjie. Originally published as 四只老鼠和一只猫的故事.

There were four little mice, living in constant fear and loathing of a cat named Lina. Lina was very fierce towards them and often bullied them to a corner.

One day, the little mice came upon a puppet dog from the puppet theater company, and they decided to disguise themselves as a dog to frighten Lina. They had seen Lina being scared of dogs.

They got into the body of the puppet dog like lion dancers. Two rode on the necks of the other two, and the pair at the back grabbed the tails of the pair at the front. Just like that, the puppet dog stood up.

Suicide notes of Yutaka Taniyama and his fiancée

Yutaka Taniyama (1927--1958) is a Japanese mathematician who proposed the Taniyama–Shimura conjecture, which was an important step in the solution of Fermat's Last Theorem. He committed suicide at the age of 31. His suicide note is as follows, taken from the Japanese Wikipedia:

昨日まで、自殺しようという明確な意思があったわけではない。 ただ、最近僕がかなり疲れて居、 また神経もかなり参っていることに気付いていた人は少なくないと思う。 自殺の原因について、明確なことは自分でもよくわからないが、 何かある特定の事件乃至事柄の結果ではない。 ただ気分的に云えることは、将来に対する自信を失ったということ。 僕の自殺が、或る程度の迷惑あるいは打撃となるような人も居るかもしれない。 このことが、その将来に暗いかげを落とすことにならないようにと、心から願うほかない。 いずれにせよ、これが一種の背信行為であることは否定できないが、 今までわがままを通してきたついでに、最後のわがままとして許してほしい。

Until yesterday I had no definite intention of killing myself. But more than a few must have noticed that lately I have been tired both physically and mentally. As to the cause of my suicide, I don't quite understand it myself, but it is not the result of a particular incident, nor of a specific matter. Merely may I say, I am in the frame of mind that I lost confidence in my future. There may be someone to whom my suicide will be troubling or a blow to a certain degree. I sincerely hope that this incident will cast no dark shadow over the future of that person. At any rate, I cannot deny that this is a kind of betrayal, but please excuse it as my last act in my own way, as I have been doing my own way all my life.

Suicide notes of Akutagawa Ryūnosuke

The suicide note of Akutagawa Ryūnosuke, "A Note to a Certain Old Friend", is just one of several notes he wrote before suicide. I translated them by referring to a Chinese translation, a Japanese transcription, and an extremely detailed study of the manuscripts, which contains way too much information.

Overview of the documents

From 芥川龍之介から妻・芥川文子宛ての遺書 Suicide note from Ryunosuke Akutagawa to Fumiko Akutagawa (2010)

芥川龍之介は1927（昭和2）年7月24日日曜日早朝に自殺した。つぎのとおり複数の「遺書」を残している。 

Ryunosuke Akutagawa committed suicide early in the morning on Sunday, July 24, 1927. I have left several "wills" as follows.

　　　a. 妻・芥川文子 宛て（原稿用紙2枚）
　　　b. 妻・芥川文子宛て断片1（同1枚）
　　　c. 妻・芥川文子宛て断片2（同1枚）
　　　d. 「わが子等に」 比呂志・多加志・也寸志 の息子3人がいた（同3枚）
　　　e. 友人・菊池寛 宛て（同2枚）
　　　f. 友人・小穴隆一 宛て（同5枚） そして
　　　g. 「或旧友へ送る手記」（友人・久米正雄 宛てだとされる）

a. To wife, Akutagawa Fumiko (2 Japanese manuscript sheets)
b. Fragment 1, addressed to wife Akutagawa Fumiko (1 sheet)
c. Fragment 2, addressed to wife and Fumiko Akutagawa (1 sheet)
d. "For my children", addressed to his three sons, Hiroshi, Takashi, and Yasushi (3 sheets)
e. To friend, Hiroshi Kikuchi (2 sheets)
f. To friend, Oana Ryuichi (5 sheets)
g. "A Note to a Certain Old Friend" (Likely addressed to a friend, Masao Kume)