"Mantou in Human Blood" by Lu Xun

Mantou made of human blood couldn't cure lung consumption. In the past, there was a folk superstition that human blood could cure lung consumption, so some people would buy steamed buns dipped in human blood from the executioner. However, the Chinese medical community had stopped using human blood as medicine in the Ming Dynasty, and Li Shizhen clearly opposed the use of human blood or human organs as medicine in the Compendium of Materia Medica. Although there were still people or quack doctors in some areas who did not understand medical science who superstitiously used human blood to treat diseases such as malaria, this practice was a product of superstition. Therefore, human blood buns could not cure lung consumption.

The saying that human blood steamed buns could cure all diseases originated from the story in Lu Xun's novel Medicine. The story was about the owner of the teahouse, Hua Laoshuan, who bought a human blood bun to treat his son's phthisis. However, this statement was a folk superstition and had no scientific basis. In reality, human blood buns could not cure all kinds of diseases. Therefore, it was not accurate to say that the human blood bun could cure all diseases.

In Lu Xun's article, eating human blood steamed buns referred to a plot in " The Madman's Diary." In this novel, the protagonist "Madman" was persecuted by the feudal forces and trapped in a secret room. In order to survive, he began to eat human blood buns to maintain his life. This kind of behavior was described as extremely cruel and disgusting. It was one of the cruel means of the feudal forces. This plot reflected Lu Xun's criticism of the feudal forces and the exposure of the darkness of society. It also provided an important theoretical basis for the later anti-feudal movement.

Lu Xun (September 25, 1881-October 19, 1936), formerly known as Zhou Shuren, was an outstanding, ideologist and revolutionary in the history of modern Chinese literature. He was called "Lu Xun" because his literary works and thoughts had influenced the development of modern Chinese literature and culture. His position in the history of modern Chinese literature was irreplaceable. Lu Xun's name came from a small village in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, where he was born. His father Zhou Shengan was a doctor and his mother Ye Zi was a teacher. Because of his family background and educational background, Lu Xun was well educated and influenced during his growth. He was deeply influenced by Chinese traditional culture, and had in-depth research and thinking on literature, history, and philosophy, forming his own unique literary style and ideology. Lu Xun's works criticized the social reality and exposed the dark side of human nature as the theme, with a strong sense of social responsibility and revolutionary nature, which had a profound impact on the development of modern Chinese literature and thought. He was known as the "Master of Literature" and one of the important figures in the history of modern Chinese literature.

Lu Xun (September 25, 1881-October 19, 1936), formerly known as Zhou Shuren, was an outstanding, ideologist and revolutionary in the history of modern Chinese literature. His works deeply reflected the various problems of Chinese society at that time and was hailed as the "founder of modern literature." Lu Xun's works mainly consisted of novels, such as A Madman's Diary, The True Story of Ah Q, and New Stories. His other masterpiece, The Scream, was hailed as a classic in the history of Chinese literature. In addition to his novels, Lu Xun also wrote a large number of essays, essays, and poems. His works were sharp and profound, with a strong social criticism and patriotic spirit. Lu Xun's works had a profound influence on the development of modern Chinese literature and thought. He was hailed as the founder of modern Chinese literature and the greatest in the history of Chinese literature. His thoughts influenced the politics, culture, education and other fields of modern China, and made important contributions to the process of China's modernisation.

Lu Xun (September 25, 1881-October 19, 1936), formerly known as Zhou Shuren, was an outstanding, ideologist and revolutionary in the history of modern Chinese literature. His works were regarded as one of the founders of modern Chinese literature, which had a profound impact on the development of modern Chinese literature and thought. His representative works included "The Madman's Diary,""The True Story of Ah Q,""New Stories," and so on. These works were regarded as classics of modern Chinese literature.

Lu Xun (September 25, 1881-October 19, 1936), formerly known as Zhou Shuren, was an outstanding, ideologist, revolutionary, and democratic fighter in the history of modern Chinese literature. He was hailed as "the greatest China in a hundred years" and had a profound influence on the development of modern Chinese literature and thought. Lu Xun's works were based on the theme of exposing and criticizing social reality. His style was fresh and bright, and his language was concise and clear, with a strong sense of ideology and artistry. His representative works included "Madman's Diary","The True Story of Ah Q","New Stories" and so on. These works profoundly revealed the dark side of Chinese society at that time, which aroused widespread social response and became the classics of modern Chinese literature. Lu Xun also actively participated in the modern Chinese cultural cause, supported the New Culture Movement, and promoted the development of modern Chinese literature and thought. He was known as the leader of the New Culture Movement and made great contributions to the development of modern Chinese culture. Lu Xun was a great man whose influence transcended the limits of time and space and was still widely respected and paid attention to.

Lu Xun (September 25, 1881-October 19, 1936), formerly known as Zhou Shuren, was an important, ideologist and revolutionary in the history of modern Chinese literature. He was known as the founder of modern Chinese literature and the most outstanding in the history of modern Chinese literature. Lu Xun's works mainly criticized and exposed social reality. His representative works included A Madman's Diary, The True Story of Ah Q, New Stories, and so on. His ideas were deeply supported by the Chinese people and had a profound impact on the development of modern Chinese culture and politics. He put forward the idea of "freedom and equality as the theme of the democratic thought" to promote the development of China's modern process. Lu Xun was also a revolutionary. He actively participated in the struggle of modern Chinese literature, culture and politics, and made great contributions to the liberation and progress of China. His contributions in the field of literature and thought were widely recognized as "the pioneer of national liberation","the founder of modern Chinese literature","the founder of Chinese democratic thought" and so on.

Lu Xun (September 25, 1881-October 19, 1936), formerly known as Zhou Shuren, was an outstanding, ideologist and revolutionary in the history of modern Chinese literature. His works covered novels, essays, poems, essays, translation, and many other literary fields. He was hailed as "one of the founders of modern Chinese literature." Lu Xun's works were known for their exposure and criticism of social reality, with a strong realism and personal style. His representative works included A Madman's Diary, The True Story of Ah Q, Medicine, Kong Yiji, New Stories, etc. These works revealed the dark side of Chinese society at that time, revealing the distortion and darkness of human nature, which had a profound impact on the development of modern Chinese literature and thought. Lu Xun was also a ideologist and revolutionary. His ideas were deeply supported by the Chinese people. He proposed the "people-centered" literary concept and advocated "literature serves the people". He advocated that literature should be used to expose and criticize the dark side of society and promote social progress in China. He also actively participated in the revolutionary activities in politics, supported the development of China's democratic revolution, and made important contributions to the cause of China's modern times. Lu Xun was a great, great ideologist and revolutionary. His works and ideas had a profound impact on the development of modern Chinese culture and society. His spiritual and intellectual value is always worth learning and inheriting.

The origin of the human blood steamed bun could be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, when Chen Zangqi wrote a book called Materia Medica. It was clearly mentioned in the book that when executing prisoners, some people would buy steamed buns dipped in human blood from the executioner to treat their illnesses. Later, during the Qing Dynasty, Yuan Mei also mentioned the method of treating consumption with human blood buns in his work, Zi Buyu. In modern times, Lu Xun's work Medicine also described the story of human blood buns treating malaria, but it was only used to satirize the feudal superstition of the old society. In general, the origin of the human blood bun could be traced back to the ancient folk superstition that human blood could cure malaria.