Presentation Title
Be Not Afraid of Greatness: Shakespeare Under Lu Xun's Eyes
Location
Council Chambers
Start Date
12-10-2013 11:00 AM
End Date
12-10-2013 12:30 PM
Abstract
Widely held as modern Chinese literature’s most important writer, Lu Xun (1881-1936) remains a figure of much controversy, both in his lifetime and, with Mao Zedong’s (1893-1976) advocacy, particularly long after his death. While the study of Lu Xun as a short story writer, essayist, critic, literary historian, and cultural icon thrives on, in our age of transnationalism and interculturality our understanding of Lu is far from complete without taking into account his opinion on Western literature. This paper focuses on Lu’s views on Shakespeare and finds that his reception of the Bard is generally lukewarm and sometimes displeasing. China’s literary circle in the late 1920s and 1930s was taken by surprise by Lu’s views, as Lu is one of modern China’s earliest translators of European literature. Besides, he is one of the first Chinese writers in whose work the name Shakespeare in Chinese transliteration is found. While Lu’s transliterated name for Shakespeare has failed to become definitive, he continued to express his controversial views on Shakespeare. A number of major contemporary writers were caught in the ensuring dispute. By tracing the origin of Lu’s poor opinion on Shakespeare and by investigating the entire saga, this paper fills a gap in Lu Xun study while offers a close scrutiny of the twists and turns in a story of cross-cultural exchange.
Be Not Afraid of Greatness: Shakespeare Under Lu Xun's Eyes
Council Chambers
Widely held as modern Chinese literature’s most important writer, Lu Xun (1881-1936) remains a figure of much controversy, both in his lifetime and, with Mao Zedong’s (1893-1976) advocacy, particularly long after his death. While the study of Lu Xun as a short story writer, essayist, critic, literary historian, and cultural icon thrives on, in our age of transnationalism and interculturality our understanding of Lu is far from complete without taking into account his opinion on Western literature. This paper focuses on Lu’s views on Shakespeare and finds that his reception of the Bard is generally lukewarm and sometimes displeasing. China’s literary circle in the late 1920s and 1930s was taken by surprise by Lu’s views, as Lu is one of modern China’s earliest translators of European literature. Besides, he is one of the first Chinese writers in whose work the name Shakespeare in Chinese transliteration is found. While Lu’s transliterated name for Shakespeare has failed to become definitive, he continued to express his controversial views on Shakespeare. A number of major contemporary writers were caught in the ensuring dispute. By tracing the origin of Lu’s poor opinion on Shakespeare and by investigating the entire saga, this paper fills a gap in Lu Xun study while offers a close scrutiny of the twists and turns in a story of cross-cultural exchange.
Comments
Presentation is included in Panel 14: Border-Crossing and Comparative Literature in Late Imperial China