Lu Xun Wu Mi Wu Mei Chen Shizeng volume

Author: Liu Mengxi, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1996-08-01
Features: This volume includes literary and artistic treatises 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 the Art of Music 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 career, leaving behind a precious cultural heritage for us.
Wu Mi (1894－1978), styled Yuzeng and also Yusheng, was a native of Jingyang, Shaanxi. He was a litterateur and an early "Red Studies" scholar. He graduated from Tsinghua School in 1916 and went to the United States for further studies, earning a master's degree in literature from Harvard University in 1921. The 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 magazine 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 successively held professorships 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 traditional Chinese drama, educator, and writer of poetry, ci, and qu. 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 traditional Chinese drama and other rhythmic arts, pioneering the field of "qu studies" and applying it in teaching practice. He was a trailblazer in the field of music and drama education, training numerous accomplished scholars and educators in traditional Chinese drama. His major works include Discussions on the Art of Music, Comprehensive Theory of Qu, An Introduction to Chinese Drama, Studies on Yuan Drama, and North-South Ci and Qu Rhyme Books. He also wrote 12 kinds of zaju and xaju. He had an in-depth understanding of classical ci and qu, with works such as Shuangyao Poetry Records and Shuangyao Qu Records published.
Chen Shizeng (1876—1923), originally from Xiushui County, Jiangxi, was born in Fenghuang County, Hunan. He was a master of modern Chinese painting. 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 also called it "Rancang Room" out of admiration for Wu Changshuo. His grandfather Chen Baozhen was the Governor of Hunan, 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, then successively as a teacher of biology at Nantong Normal School, a teacher of biology at Changsha Normal School, a teacher of Chinese painting at National Beijing Normal School, a teacher of biology at Beijing Women's Normal School and Women's Higher Normal School, and a mentor in the Chinese Painting Research Society of Peking University under the Ministry of Education. He advocated emotional immersion and the art of subtlety beyond the brush, emphasizing creativity, vitality, artistic interest, and learning from nature in painting. His early death was mourned by Liang Qichao as a "earthquake in China's cultural world." His major works include Studies on Literati Painting, 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.