Lu Xun Chen Shizeng Wu Mi Wu Mei

Author: Liu Mengxi, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1996-10-01
Features: This volume includes literary and artistic essays such as Lu Xun's A History of Chinese Fiction and The Relationship Between Wei-Jin Style, Literature, Medicine, and Wine; Wu Mi's Literature and Life and General Theory of Poetry; Wu Mei's Discussions on Music Appreciation and An Introduction to Chinese Drama; and Chen Shizeng's History of Chinese Painting and The Value of Literati Painting. These works are generally grand in scope and profound in thought, representing academic barriers that contemporary scholars must strive to overcome yet find difficult to surpass.
Lu Xun (1881–1936), originally named Zhou Shuren, styled Yucai, was a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang. He was a great modern Chinese writer and translator, the founder of the New Literature Movement, and a beacon of light in a dark world. Since first using the pen name "Lu Xun" in 1918, he wrote "29 works totaling over 2.5 million words" in his 20 years of literary pursuits, leaving behind a precious cultural heritage for posterity.
Wu Mi (1894–1978), styled Yuzeng and Yusheng, was a native of Jingyang, Shaanxi. He was a litterateur and an early expert in "Red Studies." He graduated from Tsinghua School in 1916 and went abroad to study in the United States, earning a master's degree in literature from Harvard University in 1921. That same year, he returned to China and served as a professor of English and British literature at Nanjing High Normal School and Southeastern University. He also co-founded the Xueheng journal with Liu Boming, Mei Guangdi, and Liu Yizheng, serving as its editor-in-chief and becoming one of the representatives of the "Xueheng School." In August 1924, he left Nanjing and taught at Northeastern University, Tsinghua University, Southwest Associated University, Wuhan University, Sichuan Normal College, and Southwest Normal College. He was a pioneer in the study of comparative literature in China.
Wu Mei (1884–1939), styled Qu'an and styled Shuangchen, was a native of Changzhou (now Suzhou), Jiangsu. He was a modern theorist of Chinese opera, educator, and poet and lyricist. He served as a professor at institutions such as Peking University, Sun Yat-sen University, Central University, Jinling University, and others. Wu Mei dedicated his life to the study and teaching of Chinese opera and other rhythmic arts, pioneering the field of "qu studies" and implementing teaching practices. He was a trailblazer in the teaching of opera and musical theory, training numerous accomplished scholars in opera studies and education. His major works include Discussions on Music Appreciation, Comprehensive Theory of Qu, An Introduction to Chinese Opera, Studies on Yuan Drama, and North-South Ci and Qu Spectra. He also wrote 12 kinds of traditional dramas and zaju. His expertise in classical ci and qu was profound, as evidenced by works such as Shuangyao Poetry Records and Shuangyao Qu Records.
Chen Shizeng (1876–1923), originally from Xiushui County, Jiangxi, was born in Fenghuang County, Hunan. He was a master of Chinese painting in the late Qing and modern periods. Also known as Hengke, styled Xiudao Ren and Huatang, he was later inspired by Tang inscriptions unearthed in Anyang to name his study "Anyang Stone Room" or "Tangbu Zhan," and he also styled it "Rancang Room" out of admiration for Wu Changshuo. His grandfather Chen Baozhen was the Hunan Provincial Governor, his father Chen Sanli was a famous poet of the late Qing Dynasty, and his younger brother Chen Yinke was a renowned historian. He studied in Japan and was a classmate of Lu Xun. After returning to China, he served as the Director of the Jiangxi Education Department, and later as a teacher of biology at Nantong Normal School, a teacher of biology at Changsha Normal School, a teacher of Chinese painting at the National Beijing Normal School, and a teacher of biology at Beijing Women's Normal School and Beijing Women's Normal School. He advocated the "transference of emotion" and "art beyond the brush," emphasizing creativity, vitality, artistic interest, and the study of nature in painting. His early death was mourned by Liang Qichao as "an earthquake in Chinese cultural circles." His major works include Studies on Literati Painting by Chen Shizeng, Collected Works of Chen Shizeng (10 volumes), Poetry of Chen Shizeng (upper and lower volumes), Rancang Room Seal Collection, Rancang Room Seal Records, and History of Chinese Painting.