"Here at last is an accurate and enjoyable rendering of Lu Xun's fiction in an American English idiom that masterfully captures the sardonic wit, melancholy pathos, and ironic vision of China's first truly modern writer." -Michael S. Duke, University of British Columbia The inventor of the modern Chinese short story, Lu Xun is universally regarded as twentieth century China’s greatest writer. This long awaited volume presents new translations of all Lu Xun’s stories, including his first, “Remembrances of the Past,” written in classical Chinese. These new renderings faithfully convey both the brilliant style and the pungent expression for which Lu Xun is famous. Also included are a substantial introduction by the translator and sufficient annotation to make the stories fully accessible, enabling readers approaching Lu Xun for the first time to appreciate why these stories occupy a permanent place not only in Chinese literature but in world literature as well.

This English and Chinese bilingual edition of a "A Madman's Diary" was first published in 1918 by Lu Xun, one of the greatest writers in 20th-century Chinese literature. This short story is one of the first and most influential modern works written in vernacular Chinese and would become a cornerstone of the New Culture Movement. The story was often referred to as "China's first modern short story". This book is selected as one of The 100 Best Books of All Time. The diary form was inspired by Nikolai Gogol's short story "Diary of a Madman, " as was the idea of the madman who sees reality more clearly than those around him. The "madman" sees "cannibalism" both in his family and the village around him, and he then finds cannibalism in the Confucian classics which had long been credited with a humanistic concern for the mutual obligations of society, and thus for the superiority of Confucian civilization. The story was read as an ironic attack on traditional Chinese culture and a call for a New Culture.

Explore the unsettling and deeply psychological world of ""The Diary of A Madman"" by Guy De Maupassant. This compelling short story provides a window into the mind of a man grappling with insanity, offering a raw and introspective look at his inner turmoil. Maupassant’s narrative captures the deterioration of the protagonist’s mental state with chilling precision. De Maupassant masterfully conveys the complexities of madness through the protagonist’s diary entries, exploring themes of mental illness, isolation, and the fragility of sanity. The story offers a haunting and powerful portrayal of the effects of mental instability. ""The Diary of A Madman"" is ideal for readers who appreciate psychological depth and character studies. Perfect for those who value the intense and evocative storytelling of Guy De Maupassant.

This edition of Lu Xun's Chinese classic A Madman's Diary features both English and Chinese side by side for easy reference and bilingual support. The Lu Xun Bilingual Study Series includes a study guide and additional materials for each book in the series. Published in 1918 by Lu Xun, one of the greatest writers in 20th-century Chinese literature. This short story is one of the first and most influential modern works written in vernacular Chinese and would become a cornerstone of the New Culture Movement. It is the first story in Call to Arms, a collection of short stories by Lu Xun. The story was often referred to as "China's first modern short story". The diary form was inspired by Nikolai Gogol's short story "Diary of a Madman, " as was the idea of the madman who sees reality more clearly than those around him. The "madman" sees "cannibalism" both in his family and the village around him, and he then finds cannibalism in the Confucian classics which had long been credited with a humanistic concern for the mutual obligations of society, and thus for the superiority of Confucian civilization. The story was read as an ironic attack on traditional Chinese culture and a call for a New Culture. The English translation is provided courtesy of the Marxists Internet Archive.

A man slowly falling into madness intends to not go fully mad because he doesn’t want to go to an asylum. So he writes. A couple of pages every day. These are the pages he has written before failing. In them, he talks about anything and everything. Sometimes lucid, sometimes incomprehensible, but always thought-provoking.

Madmen and Other Survivors: Reading Lu Xun's Fiction puts the short stories written by this outstanding Chinese writer between 1918 and 1926 into a broad context of Modernism. The fiction of Lu Xun (1881–1936) deals with the China moving beyond the 1911 Revolution. He asks about the possibilities of survival, and what that means, even considering the possibility that madness might be a strategy by which that is possible. Such an idea calls identity into question, and Lu Xun is read here as a writer for whom that is a wholly problematic concept. The book makes use of critical and cultural theory to consider these short stories in the context of not only Chinese fiction, but in terms of the art of the short story, and in relation to literary modernism. It attempts to put Lu Xun into as wide a perspective as possible for contemporary reading. To make his work widely accessible, he is treated here in English translation.

DIVAn analysis of the Chinese experience of modernity through the literary works, films and other cultural artifacts that represent it. /div

Lu Xun (Lu Hsun) is arguably the greatest writer of modern China, and is considered by many to be the founder of modern Chinese literature. Lu Xun's stories both indict outdated Chinese traditions and embrace China's cultural richness and individuality. This volume presents brand-new translations by Julia Lovell of all of Lu Xun's stories, including 'The Real Story of Ah-Q', 'Diary of a Madman', 'A Comedy of Ducks', 'The Divorce' and 'A Public Example', among others. With an afterword by Yiyun Li.

Seminar paper from the year 2015 in the subject Literature - Asia, grade: 1.0, University of Heidelberg (Institut für Sinologie), course: PS Einführung in die Chinesische Literatur, language: English, abstract: In this essay the focus will be on the motif of cannibalism in “A Madman’s Diary” (Kuangren riji), which is the central image of this short-story. I will examine it in the socio-political context the story was written in and analyse possible readings. Furthermore since the meaning of the image of cannibalism in this text has been thoroughly discussed over the last century, I want to go on briefly exploring the choice of this motif itself. Why has Lu Xun chosen this very image of cannibalism and what could we learn from this about the author’s view of (traditional) Chinese society? Lu Xun’s story has already been interpreted many times and in different ways. However it is and remains a significant and complex literary piece that should be read and interpreted again and again. First of all because of its importance for the history of modern Chinese literature, generally being considered to be the first modern Chinese short-story (Hsia 33) and even more to mark the beginning of modern Chinese literature itself (Chou 1042). Despite this evident contribution to the genre of modern Chinese fiction, Lu Xun’s story can also be viewed as a “prototypical text of social protest and criticism in modern Chinese literature” (Tang).