Lu Xun

Abstract

Lu Xun (Zhou Shuren, b. 1881–d. 1936), the “father of modern Chinese literature” and “soul of the nation,” left his mark on 20th-century literature, culture, and politics. Well-known for his collections of short stories, Outcry (1923) and Hesitation (1926), he was also an accomplished scholar, cultural critic, poet, and a pioneer of literary forms. A book collector, translator, and editor, he avidly promoted the works of other artists and writers. Hailed as a leader of the New Culture Movement, he is often regarded as a radical iconoclast. Lu Xun’s relationship to both tradition and modernity, however, was ambivalent. A supporter of the New Culture reforms, he was also skeptical of new literary trends. Critical of tradition, he nonetheless harbored a lifelong affinity for classical Chinese literature, published scholarly works on the subject, and wrote classical-style poetry until the end of his life. Ever the skeptic, Lu Xun described himself as an “in-between”—zhongjian wu中間物—an intermediary who refused to identify with either the traditional or modern camp. He was relentlessly critical of others as he was of himself. His writings exposed a “crisis of representation” by questioning intellectuals’ ability to truly represent their subjects. Despite his skepticism, Lu Xun was driven by a radical hope: he wrote to expose the illnesses of society in the hope of finding remedies for them. His radically innovative style, and often complex and sometimes abstruse creative writings, were a product of his critical engagement with a large corpus of texts and ideas—classical and modern, domestic and foreign. Besides his short story collections, his creative works include prose poems in Wild Grass (1926), an experimental memoir Morning Blossoms Gathered at Dusk (1928), and a collection of rewrites of old fables, Old Tales Retold (1928). Beginning in 1926, Lu Xun immersed himself in Marxist theories. He became the titular leader of the League of Left-Wing Writers in 1930 and began promoting—though never writing—proletarian literature. Instead, he turned primarily to the form of polemical essay (zawen) in the last decade of his life, writing wry and penetrating critical social commentaries which he referred to as his “daggers and spears.” In his later years, he often lent his name to promoting the works of young writers and artists. Especially drawn to woodcut art—a form he felt was conducive to promoting the proletarian cause—Lu Xun became an active force behind the woodcut movement in the 1930s. The bibliography focuses primarily on English-language studies with some Chinese sources.