Lu Xun

Writer, Essayist & Critic

(1881 – 1936) · East Asia

Chinese writer, essayist, and cultural critic of the early twentieth century, widely regarded as the father of modern Chinese literature. His short story collection Call to Arms, including the landmark story A Madman's Diary, broke from classical Chinese literary forms and confronted Chinese society's deeply embedded hierarchies with brutal clarity. He was a major influence on Chinese intellectual life from the 1920s until his death in 1936.