Historical Reflections on Lu Xun’s Studies

The legend of Lu Xun has become classical, but the critical assessment of Lu Xun has always been dissociated from his works in that Lu Xun has been misinterpreted in varying degrees in the critical evaluation of the 1920s centered on the assessment of literary discourse and the existential meaning and value of Lu Xun through the 1930s focusing on the evaluation of political discourse to the critique stressing the philosophy of life in the new era. By adopting the standpoint of occidental humanism, this paper attempts to reflect historically on the misinterpretation of Lun Xun over the past scores of years, to subvert the legend about Lu Xun and restore a genuine Lu Xun with a firm belief in Confucianism rather than the western humanitarian spirit.