Selected Works of Lu Xun · Prefaces, Postfaces, and Letters Volume: Illustrated Annotated Edition

Author: Lin Xianzhi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-06-01
Features: Selected Works of Lu Xun. Classic works that never grow tiresome, poetically rich modern interpretations. If one were to ask who has been the greatest and most representative of China since the New Literature Movement began, I would answer without hesitation: Lu Xun. When we see the part, he sees the whole. When we are eager to grasp the present, he has already grasped the past, the present, and the future. To understand the comprehensive national spirit of China, there is no shortcut other than reading The Complete Works of Lu Xun—Yu Dafu.
Who is Lu Xun? Politicians call him a "flag bearer" for his "cold defiance of a thousand critics"; scholars revere him as a "spiritual leader" for his "never forgiving" attitude; thinkers regard him as a "great night watchman" for "awakening the sleeping people in the house," but his wife, Xu Guangping, called him a "little white elephant." Lin Xianzhi believes that over the years, Lu Xun has become a symbol with different colors. Determined to bring Lu Xun back to the human world from the empire of symbols through reviewing Selected Works of Lu Xun, Lin Xianzhi writes, "To understand the Chinese people and the comprehensive national spirit of China, there is no shortcut other than reading Lu Xun's works."
The first thing that catches the eye is this line on the bookmark, stirring the heart. In fact, there have been quite a few selected works of Lu Xun published in recent years. This time, Hunan Literature and Art Press has released five books, including Lu Xun's novels, critiques, essays, prose, and prefaces and letters. The features of this series are first, illustrations, and second, reviews by Lin Xianzhi. Most of the illustrations are woodcuts, simple yet profound, along with photographs and manuscripts of early versions of Lu Xun's works. Lin Xianzhi's reviews are, of course, a modern interpretation of the classics, sometimes sharp and witty, making the reading experience quite exhilarating. This is perhaps one of the reasons why we still want to read Lu Xun and find him fresh every time.