Lu Xun

Lu Xun
Lu in 1930
Lu in 1930
BornZhou Zhangshou
(1881-09-25)25 September 1881
Shaoxing, Zhejiang
Died19 October 1936(1936-10-19) (aged 55)
Shanghai, Republic of China
Resting placeTomb of Lu Xun, Shanghai
Occupation
  • Writer
  • literary critic
  • lecturer
  • civil servant
Alma mater
Genres
SubjectsCritique of traditional Confucian values and thought
Literary movement
Years active1902–1936
Employers
Notable works
SpouseZhu An
PartnerXu Guangping (1927–1936)
Children1
Signature
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese魯迅
Simplified Chinese鲁迅
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinLǔ Xùn
Wade–GilesLu3 Hsün4
IPA[lù ɕŷn]
Wu
RomanizationLu Sin
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationLóuh Seun
JyutpingLou5 Seon3
IPA[lɔw˩˧ sɵn˧]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJLó͘ Sìn
Tâi-lôLóo Sìn
Birth name
Traditional Chinese周樹人
Simplified Chinese周树人
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZhōu Shùrén
Gwoyeu RomatzyhJou Shuhren
Wade–GilesChou1 Shu4-jen2
Yue: Cantonese
Yale RomanizationJāu Syuh Yàhn
JyutpingZau1 Syu6 Jan4

Lu Xun (Chinese: 鲁迅; 25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), born Zhou Zhangshou, was a Chinese writer, literary critic, lecturer, and state servant. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. Writing in vernacular and Literary Chinese, he was a short story writer, editor, translator, literary critic, essayist, poet, and designer. In the 1930s, he became the titular head of the League of Left-Wing Writers in Shanghai during republican-era China (1912–1949).

Lu Xun was born into a family of landlords and government officials in Shaoxing, Zhejiang; the family's financial resources declined over the course of his youth. Lu aspired to take the imperial examinations, but due to his family's relative poverty he was forced to attend government-funded schools teaching "foreign education". Upon graduation, Lu studied medicine at Tohoku University in Japan, but later dropped out. He became interested in studying literature but was eventually forced to return to China because of his family's lack of funds. After returning to China, Lu worked for several years teaching at local secondary schools and colleges before finally finding an office at the Republic of China Ministry of Education.

Following the May Fourth Movement in 1919, Lu's writing began to exert a substantial influence on Chinese literature and popular culture. Like many of the movement's leaders, Lu was a leftist. After the proclamation of the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1949, his work received considerable acclaim from the Chinese government, with Mao Zedong being an admirer of Lu's writing throughout his life. Though he was sympathetic to socialist ideas, Lu never joined the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).