 Cover of a 1946 edition of The True Story of Ah Q | |
| Author | Lu Xun |
|---|---|
| Original title | '阿Q正傳' |
| Language | Vernacular Chinese |
Publication date | 1921 |
| Publication place | China |
Original text | '阿Q正傳' at Chinese Wikisource |
| Translation | The True Story of Ah Q at Wikisource |
| The True Story of Ah Q | |||||||||||||||||
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| Traditional Chinese | 阿Q正傳 | ||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 阿Q正传 | ||||||||||||||||
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The True Story of Ah Q is an episodic novella written by Lu Xun using third-person narration perspective, first published as a serial between December 4, 1921 and February 12, 1922. It was later included in his first short story collection Call to Arms (吶喊; Nàhǎn) in 1923 and is the longest work in the collection. The novella is generally held to be a masterpiece of modern Chinese literature, since it is considered one of the first major piece of works to fully utilize vernacular Chinese after the 1919 May 4th Movement in China.[1]
It was first published in the Beijing Morning News supplement as a serial. Originally Lu Xun wrote the story under the name "Ba Ren" (巴人, "crude fellow"), and so few people knew who wrote the novella.[2] The first installment was published on December 4, 1921, and additional installments appeared weekly or fortnightly. The final installment was published on February 12, 1922. The novella had nine chapters.[3]
Furthermore, The True Story of Ah Q also achieved considerable international influence. The translation of the novella began in 1925, indicating its early recognition abroad. During Lu Xun's lifetime, the work was translated into eight languages: Russian, English, French, Japanese, German, Czech, Korean, and Esperanto. Remarkably, Lu Xun personally encountered several of these translations, actively participating in the proofreading process for some.[4] Expanding upon Lu Xun's international reach, Peng Xiaoling and Han Aili's article, "Ah Q: 70 years", found in Paul B. Foster's journal article, documents the novella's translation into over thirty languages, its adaptation into more than sixty reprints, dramatic renditions, a film, a ballet, and even its artistic expressions through cartoons and woodcuts.[5]
- ^ Luo, Jing. [2004] (2004). "Over a Cup of Tea: An Introduction to Chinese Life and Culture". University Press of America. ISBN 0-7618-2937-7[page needed]
- ^ Davies, p. 58. "When Lu Xun's prose fiction, The True Story of Ah Q was first published as a serial in the Beijing Morning News supplement in 1921, it was a tremendous success and readers throughout China were intrigued by the question of whether the portrayal of Ah Q was based on a real person. The disturbing realism of Lu Xun's story, according to Gao Yihan, led many people to suspect that the incidents related in the tale referred to them:"
- ^ Tambling, Jeremy. "Lu Xun: The True Story." Madmen and Other Survivors. Hong Kong University Press, HKU, 2007., p. 57.
- ^ 侯桂新 (22 September 2022). "何谓阿Q的"行状"？——兼谈如何读懂鲁迅--文史--中国作家网" [What is Ah Q's 'career'? ——Also talk about how to understand Lu Xun]. 鲁迅研究月刊 [Lu Xun Research Monthly]. chinawriter.com.cn.
- ^ Foster, Paul B. (2001). "The Ironic Inflation of Chinese National Character: Lu Xun's International Reputation, Romain Rolland's Critique of 'The True Story of Ah Q,' and the Nobel Prize". Modern Chinese Literature and Culture. 13 (1): 140–168. JSTOR 41490846.