In Kong Yiji and The True Story of Ah Q, Lu Xun portrayed not marginal outcasts or rulers, but ordinary villagers as embodiments of cowardice and cruelty. Sekihei analyzes this as the core of Chinese national character.

What we are once again forced to witness is the “pathetic cowardice” deeply rooted in the hearts of the villagers and Ah Q,
2016-11-19.
In other words, from Lu Xun’s perspective, cowardice and cruelty are not traits found only among a select group of special Chinese individuals.
2015-10-20.
The following is from the final installment of a major essay by Mr. Sekihei in this month’s issue of the excellent monthly magazine VOICE, which I have mentioned several times and introduced in the previous chapter.
As mentioned in the previous chapter, I present this to the members of the San Francisco City Council.
Introductory passage omitted.
In a swift turn of the blade, he thoroughly humiliates a single young nun who has no power to resist. By doing so, he forgets the humiliation he himself has suffered and feels pleased.
The “liquor shop crowd” also enjoys the sight of Ah Q bullying the weak and encourages it with laughter. In such an atmosphere, Ah Q, whose “achievement has been praised,” becomes even more elated and devotes himself all the more eagerly to bullying the weak.
As a result, in exchange for the “half-tears” of the nun, who occupies the weakest position in this village society, the villagers and Ah Q respectively savor “nine-tenths” and “full” satisfaction and become cheerful.
Scenes of “people eating people,” such as those seen in Kong Yiji, are once again played out here.
What we are once again shown is the “pathetic cowardice” and the “terrifying cruelty” deeply rooted in the hearts of the villagers and Ah Q.
Who is the “significant other” through whom the Chinese deepened their self-recognition.
It is particularly noteworthy that in Kong Yiji and The True Story of Ah Q, Lu Xun depicted not hooligans as “social deviants” or a handful of those in power, but ordinary laborers and villagers as possessors of a “cowardly and cruel human spirit.”
In other words, from Lu Xun’s perspective, cowardice and cruelty are not characteristics of only a special subset of Chinese people.
They are embedded deep within the mental structure of the general populace of China—that is, the national character of the Chinese people themselves.
This manuscript continues.