Encountering Lu Xun: The Second Collection of Speeches at Peking University

Author: Qian Liqun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-08-01
Features: Our generation experienced (Lu Xun) through the "Cultural Revolution." Before that, we couldn't understand. After going through that disaster and reaching a state of despair, we finally found and encountered him. My most recent encounter with, however, was during this serious illness, when I too had a life experience of despair. In a sense, this course is a record of that encounter. This may just be the experience of our generation. I don't know how your generation will meet, at what moment, or in what instant. In the nearly two decades since, Qian Liqun's " studies" has been a popular elective course at Peking University, a cherished scene for students who have come in and out of the university campus, year after year. Unlike academic research, which seeks emotional detachment, he chooses to pour his whole heart into it. When he feels the struggles of life and the troubles of reality, he always turns to for answers. As a result, his interpretation of transcends the boundaries of knowledge and academia: his classroom is a place where lives console each other, minds speak to minds, and ideas collide. This book is a transcript of Qian Liqun's "Last Lecture" before leaving the Peking University lecture platform. Qian Liqun attempts to place back into the historical scene and the atmosphere of his time, conducting a close reading of his life's journey, intellectual development, and literary works. The faint echoes of Qian Liqun's aging, hoarse voice that linger on these pages and in these words connect the no longer mythical to the young students in the classroom, bathed in the long spring sunlight. It was in 2001, the year of Qian Liqun's "Swan's Last Song."