On July 8, 1925, Lu Xun wrote Lilun (立论), On Expressing an Opinion, collected in Wild Grass. A pupil dreams that he asks his teacher how to state a view.
The teacher tells of a family that shows its baby son to guests at his one-month celebration. One guest says the boy will be rich and is thanked. A second says he will be an official and is complimented in return. A third says the boy will die and is beaten by all of them together.
“To say he will die is to say what must happen. To say he will be rich may be a lie.” The pupil wants neither to lie nor to be beaten. Then, says the teacher, he must say: “Aiya! This child! Look! How very… Ayo! Haha! Hehe! he, hehehehe.”