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Work #1076 · Mid-mature

A Madman's Diary

Lu Xun
1918 · Vernacular Chinese (baihua)
Short story (diary form) · Modern Chinese literature / May Fourth

Lu Xun's 1918 founding text — first major work in vernacular Chinese, indicting Confucian society as "cannibalistic"

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute A Madman's Diary (Mid-mature)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Substantival
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Uni-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Substantival
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Substantival
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency None
Observer · Moral Authority Experience
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Irreversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Discrete

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

A Madman's Diary

1918 China; longer Confucian-historical time.

Space

A Madman's Diary

Chinese village/family.

Matter

A Madman's Diary

Embodied villagers; metaphorical "eating people."

Observer

A Madman's Diary

Madman as paranoid-yet-accurate observer.

Energy

A Madman's Diary

Destructive energies of Confucian structures.

Information

A Madman's Diary

Diary entries revealing the hidden meaning of history.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

A Madman's Diary

Radical critique of traditional Chinese culture from within. Contemporary reception complex given Lu Xun's canonical status.