White Space

Lu Xun (1881-1936),the pen name of Zhou Shuren,a Chinese writer,essayist,poet,and literary critic.He was one of the leading figures of modern Chinese literature.

In Lu Xun’s eyes,a society without “white space” is unbearable.“White space,”according to him,is the room reserved for free spirit,which allows our lives to be spiced with fun and beauty.

When running publishing houses and magazines,Lu Xun gave priority to the layout of press and often left “white space” in his publications.There was space between words,and margins on the tops and the bottoms of the pages.These blanks produced a better reading experience and made it easier for readers to take notes.Moreover,Lu thought it necessary to add illustrations and pictures in the books.Some editors would manage to squeeze as many words as possible onto a page to save paper,but Lu did not follow this line of reasoning,because he thought narrow space would make narrow minds.

In his own literary writing,Lu advocated the principle of leaving white space.He maintained that a few off-topic words which seemed to have nothing to do with the theme could spice up a story.He added,“Foreign books on literary criticism often contain idle talks or funny jokes which arouse the great interests of the readers,and make them less likely to be boring.”

Lu himself often put jokes and anecdotes in his essays.When he mocked Wu Zhihui,a senior officer of the KMT,he quoted a hilarious story of“decoction dregs” as an analogy to Wu’s position,which was quite amusing: In an imperial palace,many maidservants were sick for no reason,and the emperor followed his doctor’s advice to send strong,healthy men to be with these maidservants.After some time,the maidservants were all healthy and looked energetic,while those strong men became skinny and feeble,thus becoming“decoction dregs.”

The flower looks beautiful because of its leaves and branches.If we cut the leaves and branches,the flower looks ugly,and so do literary creations.Beauty rests largely on the remaining space,which means that a good essay lies not only in its profound thinking but also its limitless imagination and unrestrained narration.Sometimes,digressions can result in a far wider horizon and some unexpected landscapes.

(FromShuwu,November 2020.Translation: Wang Xiaoke)