魯迅與周作人雖然屢發「反老人」的公共話語，卻都無法全面地與「老」的文化決裂。事實上，他們異於「新青年們」之處，正在於深怵於「老之惡」而又頗迷於「老之魅」。中國文化具有深厚的尊老傳統，甚至將它美學化與思想化。但在近代中國，面對國族危殆的處境，知識分子充滿「返老還童」的欲望。周氏兄弟固然參與這股潮流，卻也能夠轉化傳統資源，各自建構一套「老」的思維，與青年對蹠。考索其歷史因緣與內在矛盾，當可照見五四新文人的精神世界。

Although Lu Xun 魯迅 and Zhou Zuoren 周作人 have repeatedly given public discourses on “opposing the elders,” in reality, they are unable to completely break with “oldness” culture. What is more, they are afraid of the “evils of oldness” and fascinated by the “charms of oldness”; that is the difference between them and the “new youths.” Chinese culture has a profound tradition of respecting the aged and even aestheticizes and ideologizes “oldness.” However, in modern China, facing national crisis, intellectuals are filled with the desire for “rejuvenation.” While the Zhou brothers are participating in this trend, they can also transform traditional resources and separately construct ways of thinking about “oldness” to confront the youths. Finally, this paper explores the Zhou brothers’ development processes and internal contradictions and, in doing so, illuminates the spiritual world of the May Fourth era literati.