In this blog post, we will examine the anguish of intellectuals and the reality of the common people living through turbulent times through the lens of Lu Xun, a master of modern Chinese literature, and his short story collection ‘Wandering’. We will also reflect on the significance for us today of Lu Xun’s critical perspective—as someone who abandoned medicine to pursue...
Why Do the Chinese Still Refer to Lu Xun as the “Soul of the Nation”?
In this blog post, we’ll explore why Lu Xun, a master of modern Chinese literature, is still referred to as the “Soul of the Nation” today. Focusing on ‘The Diary of a Madman’ and ‘The True Story of Ah Q’, we’ll examine his literary world, his critique of the nation, and his timeless influence. In the history of modern Chinese literature, just as Hu Shi is regarded...
In Search of the Chinese Classic ‘Records of the Warring States’: How to Read the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, and the Qin Unification
In this blog post, we’ll focus on ‘In Search of the Chinese Classic ‘Records of the Warring States’: How to Read the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, and the Qin Unification’ to naturally summarize and examine—in a single sentence—the background, main content, and the core meanings and impressions revealed throughout the text. The Contemporaneity...
Did Li Baojia’s ‘Civilization Stories’ expose the hypocrisy of the Reformists and criticize the revolution?
In this blog post, we will examine, through specific examples and focusing on the narrative structure and main characters of this work, how Li Baojia satirized the conflicts between the Reformists and the revolutionaries, as well as between bureaucrats and Westerners. Overview Li Baojia (李寶嘉, 1867–1906), a native of Wuzhen, Jiangsu Province, was a writer in the late Qing Chinese literary...
Why is Yuan Zaju considered the starting point of traditional Chinese theater?
In this blog post, I will summarize and explain how the name, development process, script structure, musical system, and casting system of Yuan Zaju—which took shape during the Yuan Dynasty—combined to lay the foundation for subsequent traditional Chinese theater. Name and Formation The works discussed in this article are translations of Zaju (雜劇) plays written during the Yuan Dynasty...
Why is ‘The Scholars’ considered an autobiographical masterpiece that exposes a corrupt intellectual community?
In this blog post, we will examine how Oh Gyeong-jae’s ‘The Scholars’ bitingly satirized the corruption and contradictions of the Qing Dynasty’s intellectual community, and how this work has been reevaluated by academic circles in China and Korea. Introduction ‘Rulin Waishi’ is considered one of the six masterpieces representing Chinese classical fiction, alongside...
What message did Lu Xun convey through ‘The True Story of Ah Q’?
In this blog post, we will examine the servile mentality of the common people, social contradictions, and the limitations of revolution through the lens of Lu Xun, a master of modern Chinese literature, and his masterpiece ‘The True Story of Ah Q’, and explore the sharp message he conveyed about his era through his work. Lu Xun (魯迅) was born on September 25, 1881, in Shaoxing...
What is Lu Xun’s identity, and how does ‘The True Story of Ah Q’ reflect the reform of the national character?
In this blog post, we will analyze Lu Xun’s complex identity and the issue of national character reform as depicted in ‘The True Story of Ah Q’, while examining the core questions raised by his literature. Introduction Research on Lu Xun (魯迅) and his literature has been consistently conducted by numerous scholars from various perspectives. In particular, efforts to define his...
Was Lu Xun a revolutionary, or a writer who loved humanity?
In this blog post, we’ll explore the life and literary world of Lu Xun, a master of modern Chinese literature, and reflect on why he is remembered as a revolutionary while also being a writer who harbored deep compassion for humanity. If Hu Shi (胡適) is compared to Korea’s Choi Nam-seon in the history of modern Chinese literature, Lu Xun (魯迅) played a pioneering role in modern poetry and...
How Did Lu Xun Seek to Awaken the Chinese People?
In this blog post, we will examine Lu Xun’s literary transformation—through which he sought to awaken the ailing spirit of the Chinese people—and the satire found in his masterpiece, ‘The True Story of Ah Q’. Lu Xun’s Transformation and the Birth of ‘A Cry’ Lu Xun (1881–1936) grew up in affluence as a child in a family of minor landowners belonging to the literati...