Masterpieces of Modern Chinese Fiction, 1919-1949

by Lu Xun

In the thirty years from the literary revolution of 1919 to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, China experienced a great flowering in literary creativity. The present selection comprises twenty-four outstanding short stories by twenty-four of the most talented writers of this period. The stories reveal the sufferings of the Chinese people in the years before liberation and show also the revolutionary course taken by them in their search for a new life. They also demonstrate the high level of writing achieved in this each is a valuable contribution to the treasury of modern Chinese literature. In compiling this collection, the editors have taken into account both the position of the author in modern Chinese literary history and the representativeness of the story in the author’s creative work. For the convenience of the readers, each story is followed by a brief biography of the author.

563 pages, Paperback

First published August 31, 1983

About the author

Lu Xun (鲁迅) or Lu Hsün (Wade-Giles), was the pen name of Zhou Shuren (September 25, 1881 – October 19, 1936), a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. Writing in Vernacular Chinese as well as Classical Chinese, Lu Xun was a novelist, editor, translator, literary critic, essayist, and poet. In the 1930s he became the titular head of the League of Left-Wing Writers in Shanghai.


For the Traditional Chinese profile: here.
For the Simplified Chinese profile: 鲁迅

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some great stories, but tons of translation errors.