The Secret of the Crystal Ball

I opened the history book to check, but it had no dates. On each page, written crookedly, were the words "benevolence, righteousness, and morality." I couldn't sleep, so I carefully read it for half the night, and finally, between the lines, I saw the two words written throughout the entire book: "cannibalism!" (Lu Xun)

The meaning of *Dream of the Red Chamber* alone varies greatly depending on the reader's perspective: Confucian scholars see the *I Ching*, moralists see lewdness, romantics see love, revolutionaries see anti-Manchu sentiment, and gossips see palace secrets. (Lu Xun)

Both were dissatisfied with the status quo, but their methods of breaking it differed: one was innovation, the other was restoration. (Lu Xun)

The greatest pain in life is waking up to find there's nowhere to go; those who dream are fortunate. If you can't see a way forward, the most important thing is not to wake them up. (Lu Xun)

If you wear a mask for too long, it will grow onto your face, and you'll have to break bones and peel off your skin to remove it. (Lu Xun)

What I mean by survival is not mere existence; what I mean by having enough to eat and wear is not luxury; and what I mean by development is not indulgence. (Lu Xun)

Tragedy destroys what is valuable in life for people to see; comedy tears apart what is worthless for people to see. (Lu Xun)

The line between satire and sarcasm is thin, as is the line between humor and nausea. (Lu Xun)

We must dare to face reality squarely before we can hope to dare to think, dare to speak, dare to act, and dare to take responsibility. (Lu Xun)

The boundless distance, the countless people, are all connected to me. (Lu Xun)