He is China’s “Prometheus,” the writer who declined the Nobel Prize in Literature. Mao Zedong once praised him, saying, “The direction in which Lu Xun leads is the direction of the new culture of the Chinese nation.”
Lu Xun (1881–1936) was born in a traditional gentry family in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China. He lived during a time of great upheaval in Chinese society. Initially studying medicine in Japan, he realized after seeing a slideshow of the Russo-Japanese War that healing individuals was less important than saving the nation. He then decided to abandon medicine for writing, choosing to use literature as a weapon to awaken the people and explore paths to national salvation.
Chinese, one of the world’s oldest and most complex languages, carries thousands of years of civilization and wisdom. Lu Xun, as a modern writer well-versed in classical Chinese, not only inherited the essence of the language but also innovated and developed it. His writings, like a sharp scalpel, precisely dissected society’s ailments, awakening people through pain and prompting growth through reflection.
Lu Xun’s Representative Works
Lu Xun’s literary creations span novels, essays, commentaries, and critiques. His most famous works include the short story collections “A Call to Arms”and “Wandering”, the essay collection “Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk”, and numerous essay compilations. His works are renowned for their unique artistic style, profound thought, and strong critique of social realities.
One of his representative works is “Diary of a Madman”. This novel, through the perspective of a mentally ill patient, exposes the madness and absurdity of Chinese society at the time. With sharp insight, Lu Xun combines social reality with personal psychology, showing how the feudal system devastated humanity. Another influential work is “The True Story of Ah Q”, which portrays the trials and oppression of a common farmer, Ah Q. Through this character, Lu Xun exposes the weakness and self-abasement in feudal society, as well as the yearning for freedom and dignity.
Language and Artistry
Lu Xun masterfully uses concise, direct language to depict characters and scenes, allowing readers to feel the emotional depth and intellectual intensity of his works. He also employs satire and humor to mercilessly critique social phenomena like feudal ethics and bureaucratic corruption, imbuing his works with a fighting spirit and strong impact.
Lu Xun made significant contributions across multiple fields, including literary creation, literary criticism, intellectual research, literary history, translation, art theory, science introduction, and ancient text research. His influence on Chinese social thought and culture is profound, and he is internationally acclaimed as one of the most important writers of the 20th century in East Asia.
Chinese “Prometheus”
Lu Xun once likened himself to Prometheus, stealing fire from other countries through translation. However, he said, “I am using this fire to cook my own flesh.” He hoped that through the spread of literature and culture, he could awaken the nation and transform China, as his works embodied a spirit of struggle, resistance, and anger. His career as a translator spanned his entire life.
In 1903, Lu Xun began translating Victor Hugo’s *The Mourning*, and in October 1936, the month of his death, he was still working on translating Gogol’s *Dead Souls*. Over his lifetime, Lu Xun translated 251 works by 110 writers from 15 countries, including Russia, Japan, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Finland, Spain, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Germany, the United States, and the United Kingdom, totaling over 3 million words.
The Lu Xun Literary Prize
In 1927, a Swedish scholar named Sven Hedin, in consultation with linguist Liu Bannong, proposed Lu Xun as a candidate for the Nobel Prize in Literature. Liu sought Lu Xun’s opinion, but Lu Xun politely declined. He had a clear understanding of his work, believing that he was not on par with world-class masters and would rather decline the nomination than pursue the award.
Although Lu Xun did not win the Nobel Prize, the Lu Xun Literary Prize, named in his honor, has become one of the most prestigious literary awards in China. Established by the China Writers Association, the award is presented every four years, recognizing outstanding works in fiction, poetry, essays, and literary theory, as well as contributions to translation, fostering the prosperity of Chinese literature.
Global Audience
Lu Xun’s works have been translated into over 50 languages, including English, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, and French, with readers around the world. Since the 1970s, especially with deepening international research, Lu Xun has come to be seen as a literary giant on par with Goethe, Shakespeare, Mark Twain, and Tolstoy, beloved by readers worldwide. As a cultural giant emerging from an era of cross-cultural exchange, Lu Xun has gradually become a global cultural phenomenon.
Lu Xun belongs not only to China but also to the world.
Image credits to the Chinese Writers’ Network:
– Image 1: Taken in Shanghai on September 25, 1930, one of the most famous photographs of Lu Xun.
– Image 2: Taken in Shanghai on February 17, 1933, featuring Nobel laureate George Bernard Shaw, Lu Xun, and Cai Yuanpei, president of Peking University.
– Image 3: The ten seals from Lu Xun’s personal collection, preserved in the Lu Xun Museum in Beijing and the Lu Xun Memorial Hall in Shanghai.