Lu Xun

Lu Xun (Traditional Chinese: 魯迅, Simplified Chinese: 鲁迅, pinyin: Lǔ Xùn) or Lu Hsün (Wade-Giles) (September 25, 1881 – October 19, 1936), the pen name of Zhou Shuren (Traditional Chinese: 周樹人, Simplified Chinese: 周树人, pinyin: Zhōu Shùrén), has been considered one of the most influential Chinese writers of the 20th century and the founder of modern baihua (白话 báihuà), or vernacular, literature. Highly influential in 20th century Chinese history, his literary works exerted a substantial influence after the May Fourth Movement. He was also a noted translator.

In May 1918, he used his pen name for the first time and published the first major baihua short story, Kuangren Riji (狂人日记, A Madman's Diary), which was to become one of his two most famed works. With its criticism of many old Chinese traditions and family rules, it became a cornerstone of the May Fourth Movement. Another of his well-known longer stories, The True Story of Ah Q (A Q Zhengzhuan, 阿Q正传), was published in the 1920s. The latter became his most famous work. Both works were included in his short story collection Na Han (呐喊) or Call to Arms, published in 1923.

Between 1924 to 1926, Lu wrote his masterpiece of ironic reminiscences, Zhaohua Xishi (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 A Concise History of Chinese Fiction, a comprehensive overview of Chinese fiction and one of the landmark pieces of twentieth-century Chinese literary criticism.

His other important works include volumes of translations — notably from Russian (he particularly admired Nikolai Gogol and made a translation of Dead Souls, and his own first story is inspired by Gogol) — discursive writings like Re Feng (热风, Hot Wind), and many other works such as prose essays, which number around 20 volumes or more. As a left-wing writer, Lu played an important role in the history of Chinese literature. His books were and remain highly influential and popular even today, particularly amongst youths. Lu Xun's works also appear in high school textbooks in Japan.

Lu Xun was also the editor of several left-wing magazines such as New Youth and Sprouts. He was the brother of another important Chinese political figure and essayist Zhou Zuoren. Though highly sympathetic of the Chinese Communist movement, Lu Xun never joined the Communist Party of China. Because of his leanings, and of the role his works played in the subsequent history of the People's Republic of China, Lu Xun's works were banned in Taiwan until late 1980s. He was among the early supporters of the Esperanto movement in China.