“What Secrets Lie within the Advancing Years”——The Mental Starting Point of Lu Ling's Later Creations and His Epistemic Poetry

Abstract: In comparison with the potential writing of the Qiyue School (“七月派”), Lu Ling who was in mental sickness ceased reading and writing during his prison life. This phenomenon deserves in-depth research to clarify the crucial spiritual composition of Lu Ling's later creations, especially his poetry. In the poems, there is not only the undestroyed “heart”, but also a timid and trembling speaking subject that needs to be confronted. When Lu Ling restarted his writing, his mental state was similar to the “weak grass” in the sequence of his fictional characters, especially the character Xu Xiaodong in Under the Coal Unloading Platform. Starting from this point, Lu Ling was motivated to write poems by the pursuit of “what secrets lie within the advancing years”. With a strong epistemic impetus, he went through phases of bright eulogy, restrained contemplation, in-depth inner exploration, and the recognition of the “failure” of the self. Lu Ling experienced the miracle of life and the fact of death through timidity and insignificance rather than spiritual expansion. Through his epistemic poetry, Lu Ling wrote about his contemplation on whether and in what way he could be integrated into the great historical process of China. After finding the final answer, Lu Ling stopped writing poetry.