I have been studying Lu Xun in Chinese class since I was a child. The teacher said, "Lu Xun ate grass and squeezed out milk and blood." In the eyes of teenagers, he wears a simple Chinese gown, gloves and scarves, and a pair of black rubber-soled canvas shoes all the year round in the cold winter. My unkempt hair is very long, so I don't shave it. Listening to the teacher, he said, "International friend Smedley invited Lu Xun to the Grand Hotel for dinner. I'm glad to see Lu Xun dressed simply and refused to let him in!" Many memoirs record that although Lu Xun lived a simple life, he saved a lot of money to support the revolution.

In that unprecedented era, at the age of 25, I was escorted from the Chinese Academy of Sciences to a reform-through-labour farm. No salary, only 15 yuan minimum living expenses per month. Wearing proletarian overalls and self-improvement hats, people can't get rid of Laojiu's bad habit: staring at a rest and wanting to read a book. Only Marxism-Leninism was allowed at that time. Fortunately, there is also a set of complete works of Lu Xun on the farm, which has been handed down as revolutionary documents for the masses to take turns to teach themselves. As an object of dictatorship, I am of course the most sidelined among the revolutionary documents circulated. The wonderful parts of the first few volumes of the Complete Works of Lu Xun, such as Scream and Hesitation, were taken away by other people who dealt with internal contradictions. It's not even my turn to read The Book of Two Places and The Extracorpora. There is a long queue in the reading reserve-only two volumes of Lu Xun's Diary (1965438). Well, I'll teach myself Lu Xun's Diary in a deserted corner.

Two heavy books, thousands of pages thick. What a boring, trivial, complicated and boring log! I remember Lu Xun's own description: "My diary ... is about correspondence and money receipts and payments ... For example, on February 2nd, it was sunny, and I received an A letter; Come on. It rained on March 3 rd. What is the percentage of school C's salary of X yuan ... special ... salary? I always can't remember it clearly, so I have to have an account to check it ... "However, the flag bearer's account should not be regarded as' the account of the weather change'.

When I was bored, I thought, well, I happen to be studying mathematics, so I'll check Lu Xun's account. This is how the self-selected research topic of "the economic situation of China cultural people" began.

First of all, I noticed that Lu Xun bought many books every year. Reading the title of a book is like opening a recipe: all good books, expensive books! This is what I envy most! Lu Xun likes to visit Liulichang, find antique calligraphy and painting, eat out, hold banquets, honor his mother, support his relatives and friends, and often take his family to the movies by taxi in his later years ... but how much does such a large sum of money cost?

China cultural people have always been "ashamed to talk about money" out of lofty ideals, or "ashamed to talk about money" out of privacy. However, I didn't understand the importance of money until I entered the bullpen. 1923 Lu Xun gave our grandparents (all students at that time) a report on "What happened after Nora left". Hit the nail on the head-

Dreams are beautiful; Otherwise, money is very important. The word money is ugly, otherwise it will be laughed at by noble gentlemen, but I always think ... money, to put it mildly, is the most important thing. Freedom can't be bought with money, but it can be bought with money. ..... In order to get ready not to be a puppet, in today's society, economic rights are the most important. (Complete Works of Lu Xun, Volume I, Page 16 1)

So how much money did Lu Xun earn in his life? No one has counted it accurately. Too much trouble! Only a fool like me would do such a foolish thing. I am glad that the "Ten-year Catastrophe" was not in vain. One of the gains was to settle Lu Xun's account for more than 8,000 days in 24 years. His money comes from the following four aspects:

(1) Income of civil servants. After the founding of the Republic of China, Lu Xun was called by Cai Yuanpei to be a civil servant of the Ministry of Education for more than 14 years. This is Lu Xun's official career in Beijing. His nominal income is as follows:1965438+May-July 2002, with a monthly allowance of 60 yinyang; August-September, monthly salary 125 Yin and Yang; /kloc-After 0/0 months, the salary will be 220 Yin and Yang; After February 19 13, the salary is 240 yin and yang, and after February 12, only 90% is 2 16 yin and yang; 19 14 August, salary increased to 280 yin and yang; 1965438+increased to 300 yin and yang after March 2006. 1924 1 (Republic of China 1 month 13) The staff list of the social education department was revised again, which contained Zhou Shuren's "merit pay increase" of 360 silver dollars. However, after the1920s, the Ministry of Education often defaulted and actually paid two thirds, that is, the average monthly payment was about 200 taels.

(2) Teaching income. After the May 4th Movement, Lu Xun not only worked in the Ministry of Education, but also taught in eight schools in Beijing for six years (1920- 1926). 1in August, 920, he was hired by President Cai Yuanpei of Peking University as a lecturer in the Chinese Department of Peking University, and at the same time he worked as a lecturer in higher normal schools for one hour each week, and the lecture fee was about 60 yuan every month. In the meantime, he went to Xi 'an to give lectures for a summer at 400 yuan's expense. 1In August, 926, Lu Xun left Beijing for Xiamen University, and Lin Yutang recommended him as a full-time research professor of Xiamen University with a monthly salary of 400 yuan. 1February, 927, Lu Xun was employed by the Department of Literature and the Director of Academic Affairs of Guangzhou Sun Yat-sen University with a monthly salary of 500 yuan.

(3) The income of distinguished writers in colleges and universities. 1927 65438+ February to 193 1 65438 February, in January of four years, on the recommendation of Cai Yuanpei, Lu Xun was hired as a special writer of "Daxuetang" with a monthly salary of 300 yen (1929 65438+. Regular payment for 49 months, never in arrears, totaling 14700 won, equivalent to 490 taels of gold.

(4) Income from writing, translation and editing. 1907 published papers such as "the history of mankind" in Henan magazine in Tokyo, and the remuneration was about 2 yuan per thousand words. However, in 19 18, Lu Xun's publication in "New Youth" is compulsory and does not receive remuneration. When I lived in Shanghai in my later years, "selling articles for a living" meant that as a freelancer, I relied on the payment of manuscripts, remuneration and editing fees. At the beginning, the monthly royalties paid by Beixin Bookstore to Lu Xun were the national currency 100 won and the editing fee of Ben Ben magazine 100 won. His remuneration for publishing articles in newspapers and periodicals is 3-5 yuan per thousand words, and Lu Xun earns at least 500 yuan every month, so his life is much richer than when he was in Beijing. But the manager of Beixin Bookstore deducted a large amount of royalties. 1In August, 929, Lu Xun sought a lawyer to negotiate with him, defended his copyright, and claimed back more than 20,000 yuan in royalties. 1932 After the allowance of "University Hall" was revoked, royalties and remuneration for manuscripts became Lu Xun's main sources of income.

My statistical results are as follows: 19 1926 During Lu Xun's stay in Beijing in the summer, he earned a total of 4 1024 yen (1922' s diary is incomplete, which is an estimate), with an average monthly income of 245 yen;

From the summer of 1926 to the autumn of 1927, Lu Xun earned a total of 5,000 yuan in teaching fees in Xiamen and Guangzhou, averaging 4 17 yuan per month.

During the autumn of Shanghai 1927-1936, the total income was 70 142 yuan, with an average monthly income of 674 yuan.

So according to the actual purchasing power, how much is Lu Xun's income in 24 years equivalent to today's RMB? According to the historical data, 19 12 is about 40 yuan today, and 1927 1 won is about 35 yuan today. 1936 1 won today is probably 30 yuan.

In other words, Lu Xun's early period (Beijing period) was dominated by civil servants. 14 year's income is equivalent to today's1640 thousand yuan, and the average monthly income is equivalent to today's 9000 yuan. In the middle (during his stay in Xiamen and Guangzhou), he was a full-time university professor of 1 year, with an annual income equivalent to175,000 yuan today and an average monthly income equivalent to140,000 yuan today. In the later period (Shanghai period), I was completely a freelance writer. My nine-year income is equivalent to 265,438+10,000 yuan today, and my average monthly income is equivalent to more than 20,000 yuan today. From a civil servant to a freelance writer, he earned enough money by himself, transcending the power of "official" and getting rid of the shackles of "business". It is worth noting that his annual income as a freelance writer is more than twice that of a civil servant. Money is the economic basis for him to stick to the "tough battle". However, after he had so much money, he was not moved by it at all, and he always kept his true nature of hard work. I calculated the economic account of Lu Xun's life in the bullpen before I opened my eyes to see clearly that Lu Xun who left money was not a complete Lu Xun, let alone a real Lu Xun.

How many nights in the dim light of the cowshed, through the rough calculation of more than 1000 pages of dense money accounts, I explained the link between Lu Xun and money. Lu Xun's total income in his life is equivalent to more than 3.92 million today, and he has become a veritable "middle class" that is, the backbone of society. He deserved it. He was born for 24 years, with an average of one year 1.6 million, and 90,000-20,000 a month, which fully guaranteed his writing environment in Beijing Siheyuan and Shanghai Shikumen Building. In the merciless encirclement and suppression of fascist culture, Lu Xun was able to stand on his own feet, go his own way, enjoy himself, and adhere to his free thoughts and independent personality. This makes him a role model for cultural people forever.

[Note] "Today's RMB" in this article refers to the value of RMB in the mid-1990s.