alchemy (n): magic or witchcraft
assail (v): to attack violently; to strike
assent (v): approve; say yes
bade (adj): offered
bandit (n) gang; robber
barrel (n): drum; cask
barren (adj): unproductive; infertile
battered (adj): torn; damaged
beancurd (n): tofu; paneer made from soybeans
busy-mother (n): a period of a certain number of months
canopy (n, v): cover; covering; shade
clan (n): dynasty; decedent; family
clumsy (adj): lacking skill or grace
concrete (): firm; solid
concubine (n): mistress; harlot
dam with (v): obstruct with; jam; block
desolate (adj): sad; uncared; desert
devoid (adj): empty; without; free from
disdain (n): disrespect; contempt scorn
dog-crazer ():
drab (adj): insignificant; monotony; charmless
emerald (n): a bright green precious stone; panna
enthusiasm (n): eagerness; keenness; passion
exquisite (adj): extremely beautiful (typically delicate); elegant
famine (n): extreme scarcity of food; shortage of food
faraway (adj): far away; distant
fascination (n): charm; attraction
flabbergasted (ad): feeling or showing intense shock, surprise, or wonder
gentryfolk (n): people of noble birth; good social position
gotta (slang): going to
Guanyin (n): Goddess of mercy in Buddhist
gush out (v): come out
haul (n): drag; to pull or draw with force
headed (n): going; having a tip
hedgehog (n): a small nocturnal Old World mammal with a spiny coat and short legs, able to roll itself into a ball for defense Concubine (n): mistress; woman who lives with a man but has lower status than his wife or wives
hedonistic (adj): pleasure-loving; easygoing life
hues (adj): colour tone; colour shade
illumine (v): to give light to
impending (adj): present; about to happen
incumbent (adj; n): necessary for; dependent
inexhaustible (adj): unlimited; limitless
initiative (n): will power; verge; one’s own side
instantaneously (adv): instantly; at once
intercalary (n): a day or month inserted in the calendar to harmonize the solar calendar like 29 February
interim (n; adj): meanwhile; intervening period
irrevocably (adv): in way that cannot be changed; reversed
juncture (n): a place where two things are joined; a junction or joint
kowtow (v, n): to kneel and touch the forehead to the ground in expression of deep respect, worship, or submission
lavish (adj): luxuries; expensive
li (n): traditional Chinese unit of distance measuring 1,640 feet
marvelous (adj): fabulous; unusual
melancholy (adj): unhappy; sadness; depression
melancholy (n, adj): sadness; depression
midst (n, prep): in the middle of
muddle (v; n): confuse; disorganize
nostalgia (n): sentimental affection; process of recollecting past experiences or events
occupied (adj); filled up; official
oughta (slang): ought to
peer (n, v): noble; aristocrat; equal
pervading (v): spreading
plagued (v): continual trouble or distress to
plight (n): unfortunate situation; dangerous
rationalize (v): attempt to explain or justify with logical reasons, even if these are not appropriate
recede (v): go back; diminish; decrease
recesses (n): leisure time; vacation
retrieve (v): get or bring something back from somewhere
rickety (adj): aged, worn, tottering, likely to collapse
sacrificial vessels (n): originally a cauldron for cooking and storing meat. The Shang prototype has a round bowl, set on three legs with two short handles on each side
scattered (adj): loosely distributed; spread
scramble (v, n): straggle, clash, panic or chaotic situation
Sedan (n): car, vehicle
sembalance (): outward appearance; presentation
shimmering (v): sparking; glittering
shivering (n, v): shaking or trembling with cold
shove (v): place or store something roughly
shred (n): tatter; scrap
shudder (n): to tremble from horror, fear, cold or shiver
solemnity (adj) seriousness; solemnity
squeeze (v): press; crush; squash
stern (adj); tough; hard; firm
stirred (adj; v): mix thoroughly; blend
stupefied (adj): astonished
summon (v): recall; remember
swirl (v, n): to move with a twisting; whirling
talisman (n): an object, typically an inscribed ring or stone, which is thought to have magic powers and to bring good luck
talk a blue streak (phrase): to speak with great rapidity, volume and intensity
treadmill (adj): monotonous or wearisome, giving no satisfaction
well-to-do (adj): wealthy and rich people
whistle (n, v): sign of sound;
withered (adj); dead; dry
wretched (adj): state of distress or misfortune; miserable
zha (n): full form is zhabitin; an animal similar to honey badger
Characters of My Old Home
Lu Xun
He is the narrator of the story and young Master or owner.
He is considered a miser in the sense he does not want to give away the furniture to the poor rather wants to sell them.
Hong’er
Lu Xun’s eight-year-old timid and shy Nephew
Friends with Shu Sheng, the son of Runtu
Runtu
He is the former temporary servant of Lu Xun.
He is a shy in nature but ‘high in spirit’
Shu Sheng
He is the 5th son of Runtu; he is also very shy.
He converses only during social ceremonies.
Lu Xun’s mother
She greets Lu Xun at his arrival in the Old House.
Lu Xun’s father
Elder brother Shun
The person who wants to keep some kitchen furniture.
Mrs Yang
She is a neighbour who accuses the narrator of being miserly.
People call her the ‘Beancurd Beauty’ because she sits in a bean curd (tofu) shop opposite of Lu Xun’s home.
Poor folks
They work in the field but there is no change in their lifestyles.
Lu Xun (1881-1936) is the pen name of the writer born as Zhou Shuren.
He was born to a family with a strong Confucian background.
His grandfather served as a high official in Beijing in China and his father was also a scholar.
Lu Xun has been considered China’s greatest writer in the 20th century.
He was a short story writer, essayist and translator.
He is commonly considered the ‘father of modern Chinese literature.’
He is known for his satirical observations of early 20th century of Chinese society.
He is a pioneer of modern vernacular Chinese literature and was one of the most important thinkers of his time.
His popular novels and short story collections include:
A Madman’s Diary (1918)
Kong Yiji (1918), Medicine (1919)
Tomorrow (1920)
An Incident (1920)
The Story of Hair (1920)
A Storm in a Teacup (1920)
Hometown (1921)
The story ‘My Old Home’ is taken from the short story collection Hometown.
‘My Old Home’ is a story about Xun’s memories from youth to middle age.
That depicts the conflict between memories and realities.
The story describes how Xun feels while being away from home for many years.
Upon arriving at his long-past home, his memories are forced to come to confront with the realities.
His prior conceptions and understandings of the world come into conflict with his realities.
This short story ‘My Old Home’ by Lu Xun takes place of a village in China.
It is a story of the conflict between childhood memories and present realities.
The main narrator of this story is the writer himself.
He returns to his childhood home from the city by travelling more than six hundred miles.
He returned to his hometown after thirty years.
Lu Xun was heartily connected with his hometown.
He had a deep love for his old home.
But when he saw his hometown under the clouds at his arrival, he started feeling depressed to find its unprogressive, desolate and scattered state.
For him, his old home was quite beautiful in the past and many people of his clan used to live there.
He even added that his attitude towards his hometown changed as he came to his hometown in an unhappy mood.
He returned to his hometown with the sole purpose to say “Goodbye” that time.
When Lu Xun arrived at his old home, his mother welcomed him. He saw his nephew Hong’er for the first time.
He informed his mother about a rented house in his working place where they were going to migrate sooner.
He wanted to sell old furniture items of the house to buy some items for his rented house.
His mother informed him about Runtu and his curiosity to meet him.
The narrator had a deep longing to meet his childhood friend Runtu too.
The narrator started seeing his childhood memories along with Runtu.
He saw an image of Runtu with a silver necklet and pitchfork in his hand.
He saw Runtu trying to thrust zha with his full might.
But the cunning and fast creature zha dodged and escaped between his legs.
He remembered working-class people and their divisions as full times, dailies and part-timers.
In his memories, the narrator saw himself and Runtu playing on a sandy bank and guarding watermelons against zha.
He remembered all the strange things which Runtu taught him.
After his childhood memories, many relatives as well as people came to his old home.
The narrator described her quite humorously.
He described her as a compass of a geometry box.
The narrator remembered about her later on.
Mrs. Yang was neighbour of the narrator; she welcome by holding with her arms.
She was so talkative and funny lady.
In his childhood, Mrs. Yang used to sit in her beancurd shop.
She used to powdering herself; so she was famous by her name as ‘A Beancurd Beauty’.
Mrs. Yang threw her words greedily when she knew the narrator’s intention of selling his old home’s furniture.
The narrator met Runtu after many years.
The narrator did not feel good to hear the word ‘Master’ from Rintu’s mouth because they are friends at their childhood.
He knew the reasons about Runtu’s poverty and hardships in his life.
Rintu had many children; it was the main reason.
Other reasons were scarcity, high taxes, soldier’s domination, bandits, government policies, ruling class and social differences.
These various factors led him to poverty throughout his life.
The narrator and his mother decided to help Runtu by providing him with some old items of the house.
Runtu selected few items from the old house. Runtu gets two long tables, four chairs, an incense burner, candlesticks and one balance according to his choice.
He even asks for the ashes from the kitchen stove; because ashes are good fertilizer for sandy soil.
Lu Xun laughed behind Runtu’s back in for his selection.
Understanding the text
Answer the following questions:
The narrator describes his feelings in both negative and positive on following ways:
He has many exciting feeling regarding his old home.
But his excitements convert into depression.
He expresses his depressed feelings to see an unprogressive, desolate and scattered village.
He describes his positive feelings regarding the past beauty of his old home.
There were three kinds of servants in China; they were full-timers, dailies and part-timers.
Yearlongs
These types of servants worked whole year services for one family.
They were full-timers servants and called yearlongs.
Short-timers
These types of servants worked day time services for one family.
They were hired for the day and called dailies.
Busy-monthers
These types of servants worked during the holidays, festivals or rents time.
They were hired only at busy time and called busy-monthers.
It indicates the poverty as well as the feudalistic system of contemporary Chinese society.
Rich people used to keep servants for their different kinds of tasks.
Poor labour was divided according to their tasks.
They had a lot of hardships in their lives.
When the narrator’s mother asks to him to meet Rintu, he becomes nostalgic (sentimental affection).
In his teenage, he passed his time and enjoyed a lot with Runtu by playing and learning various strange things from him.
He played on sandy ground among watermelons by stabbing at the Zha in the teenage.
Runtu hunted a zha by stabbing with his pitchfork in his young age.
He tried his best to thrust zha by using his tricks.
The narrator makes a humorous picture of Mrs. Yang through his humorous descriptions.
The narrator describes her as a pair of compasses of a geometry box with
Because she is in her pair of trousers, hands on her hips and stands there with her legs wide apart in a balanced way.
He calls her ‘Beancurd Beauty’
According to the narrator, the different factors that made Runtu a poor are:
Rintu had many children; it was the main reason.
Other reasons were scarcity, high taxes, soldier’s domination, bandits, government policies, ruling class and social differences.
These various factors led him to poverty throughout his life.
The narrator helps Runtu by providing old furniture items and other things of his old house.
He asks Runtu to take the things of his needs before leaving the old home.
Runtu takes two long tables, an incense burner, some candlesticks and a set of scales.
The author differentiates two kinds of idols.
He says ‘superstitious idols’ are worshipped for a short time for something but ‘hope’ is not an idol.
He gives examples of Runtu and his own ways of worshipping idols in two different ways.
Runtu worships the idols but he requires hope for a dreamy land.
Reference to the context
In the Hindu Mythological story of the Bhagawata Purana, there is a story of friendship between Lord Krishna and Sudama.
They were classmate at the school time.
Krishna was a king but Sudama was a poor Brahmin.
Sudama once came to Dwarka to meet his friend Krishna after many years.
As a God, Lord Krishna had known all about the hardships faced by Sudama.
Krishna asked what gift Sudama had brought; Sudama had brought raw rice as a gift for Krishna.
As Krishna took the mouthful of rice, Sudama’s wealth increased.
His poverty turned into extreme richness.
This amazing help between friends is always remembered by the Hindus.
Here, in this story My Old House, we find the same example of friendship between Lu Xun and his poor friend Runtu.
Lu Xun is not a God to miracle change in the life of Runtu.
But Lu Xun helps unselfishly to his friend Runtu.
When the narrator knows about all the hardships and problems of Runtu’s life, he asks him to take away the things of his need from his old home.
Runtu gets two long tables, four chairs, an incense burner, candlesticks and one balance according to his choice.
He even asks for the ashes from the kitchen stove; because ashes are good fertilizer for sandy soil.
Both of the stories teach us that we should never expect anything from our friends.
He/she should understand about “a friend in need is a friend indeed.”
Yes, this story ‘My Old Home’ supports that the relationships of childhood are innocent, impartial and disinterested (unbiased).
In the story, we find their friendship beyond various social barriers.
Lu Xun belongs to rich and noble family while Runtu is a son of the poor servant.
In their childhood, they play and share their ideas being free from bias and without having any concept of master and servant.
Their friendship is so sacred where there are no feelings of class differences.
They enjoy each moment freely being innocent.
We only find the true friendship and deep relationship between them.
In most cases, childhood friendship always has similar aspects as seen in the text.
Childhood friendship always remains far away from societal so-called negative aspects.
It is so pure relationship where there are no negative aspects like class differences, biasness, discrimination etc.
Childhood friendship depends on enjoyment, care, love and affection.
This story presents various examples of this relationship between the childhood friends Lu Xun and Runtu.
The narrator hopes to see same relation between his nephew and Runtu’s son.
After reading the story ‘My Old Home’, we can make the following inferences (conclusions) about the contemporary Chinese economic and social system:
Due to feudal system, there was a slavery system.
Feudalists and the government employees were rich and they used to oppress poor people.
The working-class poor people were seen working in rich people’s houses.
They had to face various hardships in their lives due to their poor economic status.
The story describes a complex relationship in the community in the Chinese society at the contemporary (existing time).
The farmers were in a quite miserable condition in contemporary Chinese society.
They were divided into three classes according to their tasks like yearlongs, short-timers and busy-monthers.
They were exploited by various factors as famines, high taxes, soldiers, bandits, government officials, social indifference etc.
In the story, Runtu is a person who suffered much from hard work and sub-marginal living.
Thus, the economic and social system of contemporary Chinese society was not good for the working-class people at that time.
The story ‘My Old Home’ by Lu Xun is based on realities as well as memories.
The story moves along with the narrator’s description of his hometown.
The story indicates quite a lovely village near the sea in China.
It has been set in 1911 during the overthrow of Qung Dynasty in China.
The story opens with the description of nature.
The narrator peeped through the window in a distant horizon, towns and villages under a vast and greying sky.
He visited to his farm with hid friend Runtu which was under a blue-black sky, beneath it a stretch of sandy ground planted with emerald green watermelons stretching.
He also talked about collecting shells near the beach, catching birds and stabbing in animals etc.
The narrator and his friend Runtu enjoyed the beautiful environment of the hometown a lot.
In this way, the story indicates much about the geographical features of the narrator’s hometown.
Reference beyond the text
The Trend of Migration in Nepal
Migration means movement of people from one place to another place for residence purpose.
This residence or settlement may be for temporarily or permanently.
Internal migration is within one country while external or foreign migration is for other country.
People may migrate as individuals, in family units or in large groups.
Age is also important for both work and non-work migration.
Opportunities for employment, entertainment facilities, better future, secure life, social respect etc are the pull factors.
Needs, poverty, unemployment, lack of facilities etc are the other pull factors.
Besides this, survival, resources, demand and supply, religion and economy are the other factors for migration.
People always try to improve their living standard.
They migrate from one place to another for the sake of their betterment.
The trend of migration is seen all over the world.
People keep on changing their living places for different views or opinions.
In the context of Nepal, the trend of migration is at its peak.
We can see both the local as well as foreign migration in Nepal.
Most Nepalese people are seen migrating from rural areas to urban areas.
In recent times, most villages are facing a lack of youths.
Youths of villages are leaving villages for the sake of their better opportunities as well as the education of their kids.
We find only old citizens are in the most of the houses of villages.
This trend has brought a kind of negative impact on the relationship among people.
People prefer to live in the cities by leaving peaceful and healthy life in villages.
Apart from this local migration, the foreign migration of people is also in trend.
Most Nepalese people and families are seen migrating from Nepal to foreign lands.
Due to the lack of opportunities, people prefer to live their lives in foreign lands by leaving their homeland Nepal.
This trend of migration itself is a big problem for all.
Due to this trend, humans are seen quite away from the concept of their relationships, patriotism and humanity.
This problem has brought a serious problem in Nepal.
Do yourself
***** #EPOnlineStudy *****
Thank you for investing your time.
Please comment on the article.
You can help us by sharing this post on your social media platform.
Jay Google, Jay YouTube, Jay Social Media
जय गूगल. जय युट्युब, जय सोशल मीडिया
Comment box closed