Lu Xun, << loo shihn >> (1881-1936) was the most important Chinese author of the early 1900’s. His satiric short stories of social criticism helped establish the short story as a literary form in China.
Lu Xun, also spelled Lu-hsun or Lu-hsin, was born in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, on Sept. 25, 1881. His original name was Zhou Shuren. From 1898 to 1902, he studied in Nanjing. He then went to Japan, where he studied to become a doctor. In 1906, he gave up medicine to study literature. In 1909, he returned to China, where he taught in several universities.
In 1918, his story “A Madman’s Diary” was published. This work attacked traditional Chinese culture based on the teachings of Confucius. It was the first Western-style short story written in Chinese and helped establish the short story as a legitimate form in Chinese literature. His story collection Call to Arms (1923) also attacked the traditional social order in China.
Lu Xun was also an acclaimed essayist, historian of Chinese literature, and translator of works from other national literatures, especially Russian. Today, Lu Xun is considered a revolutionary hero in China, though he refused to join the Communist Party during his lifetime. He died on Oct. 19, 1936.
