沉沦

短篇小说《沉沦》，为中国近代小说家郁达夫最有名的作品之一，讲述了一个日本留学生的性苦闷以及对国家懦弱的悲哀。此短篇小说以郁达夫自身为蓝本，带有日本私小说风格。

1921年5月9日，《沉沦》定稿。同年10月，出版同名短篇小说集《沉沦》。清朝末年，一名青年人东渡日本求学，周遭的人虽然待他没有异常，但因怀抱身为中国人的自卑感，自为是身为“弱国子民”，暗自怀疑别人心中对他有歧视。思想压抑，逐渐沉沦下去。因为对前途迷惘，产生忧郁症，跳海自杀。故事主角自称支那人。

内容

一名性格相当矛盾的日本留学生因为其早熟的性情而与别人疏离，经常独来独往。虽然他偶尔会渴望能与别人恢复关系，不久后却又暗暗恨怨他们冷漠，故不时想“复他们的仇”。在情欲方面，留学生碍于其怯懦而不能与女性沟通。在欲念下，他经常“犯罪”，又偷窥主人女儿洗澡。被揭发后留学生搬进了山上梅园，再不敢回去。一次，忍无可忍之下，留学生到了一家大庄子，内有妓女。受好胜心的驱动，留学生进入了去，却意识自己的身份已招妓女讨厌，醉后醒来，感慨祖国的软弱，令他处处碰壁。

Sinking (simplified Chinese: 沉沦; traditional Chinese: 沉淪; pinyin: Chénlún) is a novella written by Yu Dafu. The story was completed in Tokyo in 1921 and later published in a collection named Sinking in Shanghai the same year. It is among the first generation of modern Chinese fictions telling psychological stories. The frank expression of sexuality and innovative emphasis on subjectivity of the protagonist is one of the reasons for Sinking's status as romantic, representative of May Fourth literature.

According to Janet Ng, "Sinking" focuses on the sexual anguish of a Chinese student in Japan and his grief over the country's weakness. Due to several overlapping experiences of the author and the protagonist in Japan, it can be reasonably inferred that Yu Dafu's personal experiences provide materials for the autobiographical story.

Plot summary

The protagonist is a melancholic Chinese male student who is in exile in Japan. The hypocrisy and sensitivity in his personality led to his gradual isolation from both the Japanese students and Chinese fellows. Despite his constant longing for interpersonal connection, he decides to live a solitary life in the company of nature to read literature. Chasing a solitary life, he moves to N. City and finds a more remote cottage to settle in.

The protagonist's sexual desire is related to the national shame of Chinese students coming from a backward and weak country. On one hand, he looks forward to taking revenge on the Japanese and holds nostalgia for his homeland. On the other hand, he feels uncomfortable when facing Japanese women, such as the two Japanese students, the hotel owner's daughter, and the Japanese prostitute in the brothel by the sea. His sexual desire and inner conflict between individualism and collectivism lead to his demise. Eventually, driven by sexual impulse and expectation to return to the collective, he visits a brothel and ultimately sinks himself in the sea.

Writing Background

Historical background

The novella was first published in 1921, when Chinese history was still semi-colonial and semi-feudal. Japan's national modernization formed a contrast with Chinese's national shame of being invaded. At that time, China was a country that had been invaded by foreign powers. In the eyes of the Japanese, the status of the Chinese students were naturally low. During this chaotic period, Chinese intellectuals felt that the Western model of modernization and ethnic unity of Chinese people were in conflict. In other words, the ideas of iconoclasm and nationalism are irreconcilable. On the other hand, the 1920s Chinese literature also received the influence of Western literature's naturalism. The 1920s Chinese literary works were characterized by a similar concurrence between the writer or protagonist's individual struggles, and the nation's dilemma. Chinese intellectuals further transformed the self-revelation function of naturalism into a national awakening one. In the context of this era, the relationship between sexuality and nationalism depicted by Yu Dafu is rather paradoxical. Therefore, throughout the article, the author expects China to become "rich and strong".