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Lu Xun


Lu Xun (Chinese: 鲁迅, pinyin: Lǔ Xùn) or Lu Hsün (September 25, 1881October 19, 1936), is the pseudonym of Zhou Shuren (周树人), who is often considered the founder of modern baihua (白话, "vernacular") Chinese literature. He was also a noted translator.

Life

Born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang, Lu Xun was named Zhou Zhangshu (周樟树) and later renamed Zhou Shuren, which literally means "to nurture a man". As a left-wing writer, Lu played an important role in the history of Chinese literature. His books greatly influenced many Chinese youths. Having returned to China from medical studies in Sendai, Japan in 1909, he became a lecturer in the Peking University and began writing.

In a widely known account, Lu Xun explained why he gave up medicine for literature. After class, one of his Japanese instructors showed a lantern slide that depicted an imminent public execution of an alleged Chinese spy by Japanese soldiers. Lu Xun was shocked by the apathy of the Chinese audience at the execution site and decided that it was more important to cure his compatriots' "souls" than their bodies.

In May 1918, he used his pen name for the first time and published the first major baihua short story ever, Kuang Ren Ri Ji (狂人日记, A Madman's Diary). With its criticism of many old Chinese traditions and family rules, it became a cornerstone of the New Culture Movement. Another of his well-known longer stories, Ah Q Zheng Zhuan (阿Q正传, A True Story of Ah Q), was published in the 1920s. Both these works were included in his short story collection Na Han (呐喊, Call to Arms) published in 1923.

Between 1924 to 1926, Lu wrote his masterpiece of ironic reminiscences, Zhao Hua Xi Shi (朝花夕拾, Dawn Dew-light Collected at Dusk, published 1928), as well as the prose poem collection Ye Cao (野草, Wild Grass, published 1927). Lu Xun also wrote some of the stories to be published in his second short story collection Pang Huang (彷徨, Wandering) in 1926. In 1930 Lu Xun published Zhong Guo Xiao Shuo Lue Shi (中国小说略史, A Concise History of Chinese Fiction), a comprehensive overview of Chinese fictions and one of the landmark pieces of twentieth-century Chinese literary criticism.

His other important works include volumes of translations -- notably from Russian -- discursive writings like Re Feng (热风, Hot Wind), and many other works such as prose essays, which number around 20 or more.


Lu Xun was also the editor of several left-wing magazines such as New Youth (新青年 ,Xin Qing Nian) and Sprouts (萌芽 ,Meng Ya). He was the brother of another important Chinese writer, the essayist Zhou Zuoren (周作人). Though highly sympathetic of the Chinese Communist movement, Lu Xun never joined the Chinese Communist Party. Because of his leanings, Lu Xun's works were banned in Taiwan until late 1980s. He was among the early supporters of the Esperanto movement in China.

Lu Xun's style is wry, often sardonic but with a biting edge on societal issues. His mastery of the vernacular language, coupled with his expertise with tone -- often refusing to occupy any easy position, using linguistic virtuosity as his shield -- make some of his works (like A Q Zheng Zhuan, 阿Q正传, A True Story of Ah Q) virtually untranslatable. Lu Xun's importance to modern Chinese literature lies in the fact that he contributed significantly to every modern literary genre except the novel during his lifetime.

External links

  • http://www-hsc.usc.edu/~gallaher/luxun/luxun.html



Lu Xun is also another name of Lu Yi, a general of the Kingdom of Wu, during the Three Kingdoms period of China.

Last updated: 05-16-2005 14:03:20