The Long Shirt and Fennel Bean: The Artistic Charm of the Detail Portrayal in “Kong Yiji”

A favourite literary work of Lu Xun, Kong Yiji has received much attention over the years. The novel profoundly depicts and presents the miserable, embarrassed life and mental state of an old-fashioned Chinese intellectual, further criticizes the traditional Chinese feudal rituals in a scathing manner. As two crucial symbols in Kong Yiji, the “long shirts” and the “fennel beans” contain a thought-provoking artistic appeal. The former represents Kong Yiji’s shell, his identity, the basis on which he asserted his status and established his life, his last link to the declining imperial examinations and the eight-legged essay. The latter represents his soul and symbolises his spiritual identity. His goodwill towards those around him was not recognised, and the old culture he upheld, like his own, had no outlet in the real world. The details of the “long shirts” and the “fennel beans” represent the double crisis and dilemma Kong Yiji faced in both reality and spirituality. This article will reveal the complexity of characterisation in Kong Yiji through the detail portrayal of the novel.