Lecture 'Between Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism: Lu Xun’s Influence on Chinese society’s Perspective on the World'

Lu Xun (1881-1936) was a foundational figure in modern Chinese literature. Widely read by the intelligentsia and general public alike since the 1920s, and aided by the CCP’s canonization, Lu Xun remains an influential figure in contemporary China. Largely overshadowed by his commitment to a leftist political cause in the last decade of his life, Lu Xun’s intellectual legacy is often viewed through the lens of the political struggles of 20th century China.

Was he really a Bolshevik outside the CCP, as Mao has claimed? Did Lu Xun really lack a constructivist politics? How is his cosmopolitan eclecticism still relevant to our day and age? In this lecture, I want to assess how, as an individual caught in the rapidly transformative forces of fin-de-siècle East Asia, Lu Xun captured the spirit of his time and responded powerfully to the various intellectual currents of his age, which transcended his locale and time.