Lu Xun’s Ah Quism: a study of its intrinsic nature and transcultural value

Abstract

Although Lu Xun’s literary achievements are many-sided, his greatest achievement is perhaps the creation of The True Story of Ah Q and the cultural concept Ah Quism. Since the publication of the fictional work, however, Ah Quism has remained a topic of controversy. This article attempts to explore what may have caused the widely different opinions, what significance the concept may have beyond the immediate context of Chinese society, and whether it has transcultural values over time. By re-examining Ah Q and Ah Quism from an interdisciplinary and transcultural perspective, this article argues that Ah Q is not merely a typical character under typical circumstances, but an artistic representation of an existential problem. In the final analysis, Ah Quism is a private religion, or an individual’s source of solace, capable of providing emotional consolation to and restoring mental equilibrium for anyone in distress and disappointment, irrespective of age, gender, race, nationality, and social status. This is where Lu Xun’s novella transcends the immediate context of Chinese culture and the local achievement of Chinese literature. The transcultural significance of Ah Quism endows Lu Xun’s novella with a lasting literary value in Chinese and world literature and guarantees its enduring appeal to readers of different times and traditions.