Lu Xun

Lu Xun
Lu in 1930
Born	Zhou Zhangshou (1881-09-25)25 September 1881 Shaoxing, Zhejiang
Died	19 October 1936(1936-10-19) (aged 55) Shanghai, Republic of China
Resting place	Tomb of Lu Xun, Shanghai
Occupation	Writer literary critic lecturer civil servant
Alma mater	Jiangnan Naval Academy School of Mines and Railways Sendai Medical Academy at Tohoku University
Genres	Short story sketch novella poetry prose poetry essay literary criticism history autobiography
Subjects	Critique of traditional Confucian values and thought
Literary movement	New Culture Movement May Fourth Movement Social realism
Years active	1902–1936
Employers	Ministry of Education Peking University Beijing Normal University Beijing Women's College Xiamen University Sun Yat-sen University
Notable works	"Diary of a Madman" (1918) "Kong Yiji" (1919) The True Story of Ah Q (1921)
Spouse	Zhu An
Partner	Xu Guangping (1927–1936)
Children	1
Signature
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	魯迅
Simplified Chinese	鲁迅
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǔ Xùn Wade–Giles Lu3 Hsün4 IPA [lù ɕŷn] Wu Romanization Lu Sin Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Lóuh Seun Jyutping Lou5 Seon3 IPA [lɔw˩˧ sɵn˧] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Ló͘ Sìn Tâi-lô Lóo Sìn
Birth name
Traditional Chinese	周樹人
Simplified Chinese	周树人
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōu Shùrén Gwoyeu Romatzyh Jou Shuhren Wade–Giles Chou1 Shu4-jen2 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jāu Syuh Yàhn Jyutping Zau1 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).