The Story of Ah Q. Forging Swords

Author: Lu Xun
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: Reading Lu Xun can almost serve as a mandatory course for generations of Chinese people to understand our nation, its culture, literature, and history, as well as the modern civilization process we have undergone and are currently part of. Even young singers with only basic education, who may feel flustered and embarrassed in front of comprehensive exam questions on television competitions, have at least read novels like A Portrait of My Mother, Kong Yiji, and The Blessing. I remember those years leading up to the turn of the century when media outlets conducted various "centennial" polls. Among the literary categories, such as "Top 100 Authors of the Century" or "Top 100 Works of the Century" (even including both Chinese and foreign writers), even if debates erupted and opinions differed from the second place onwards, the renowned author and his work were always Lu Xun and The True Story of Ah Q! We cannot find another person who could replace Lu Xun as a truly renowned century author. He is the classic of classics. Has the era of "Ah Q" become outdated? Does the famous "spirit of victory" embodied by the character of Ah Q still hold meaning today? Can the character of Ah Q fully represent the story? Such questions have never ceased since Lu Xun, as a "creative and radical" young man in his lifetime, faced criticism or covert attacks from others. Today, some young writers and scholars, for various reasons, occasionally emerge to question Lu Xun, calling him "vindictive," "harsh in criticism," or "lacking great long-form works," among other things. These debates are naturally not within the scope of this preface. Moreover, I believe that these criticisms can only be resolved by young readers themselves—generation after generation—reading Lu Xun and thinking for themselves, rather than anyone stepping in to meddle. With Lu Xun's works existing, they have endured for generations, isn't that enough to prove the point?