Lu Hsun

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses how, on his death, Lu Hsun was celebrated by Mao Tse-tung and others of the Communist Party as a spiritual father of the revolution, as its literary voice. The writer questions if this was simply the party taking advantage of the now silent writer's reputation, or whether he was truly the revolutionary that Mao claimed him to be.

From the Paper:

"Even though Lu Hsun was a devoted Marxist, and is credited with bringing many devotees into the fold of communism, he himself balked at joining the party, and never did, which was perceived as no small matter in determining enemies of the state during the cultural revolution that was to shortly follow. On studying Lu Hsun's life and his thoughtful approach to it, one realizes that it is doubtful that this was merely an oversight, but rather represented a hesitancy on his part to fully embrace the revolution that was unfolding. It may have been that he was not convinced that the revolution that had yet to mature in China was the real revolution. Throughout his work, he shows a tendency to rate the quality of revolutions, as he believed not all were equal. "But only great revolutions can change literature, not small ones, for these do not count as revolutions." (Hsun/Yang p327)"

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