Letters from Two Places
Tags
Summary
Editor's review
Who it's for
A good fit for
- General readers interested in Lu Xun's life and private writing
- Literature lovers who enjoy epistolary writing and want a genuine record of feeling
- Students of modern literature who need primary material on Lu Xun's life and relationships
- Readers who want to sense the situation of Republican-era intellectuals through a private document
Not a good fit for
- Readers who only want Lu Xun's fiction and essays and have no interest in his private life
- Readers expecting a full biographical narrative and impatient with the scattered fragments of letters
- Casual readers looking for fast-moving plot and conflict
Reading tips
- Read in groups by city: begin with the Beijing period, then continue to Xiamen, Guangzhou, and Shanghai
- After every few letters, note changes in the two voices and how public and private topics intertwine
- Read alongside selected works by Lu Xun from the same period to see how the letters and his creative writing illuminate each other
About the publisher
Tianjin People's Publishing House publishes across such fields as classic works, foreign literature, architecture, social culture and social sciences, with 749 relevant titles in the collection. In the areas of classics and scholarship, works such as Wang Guowei's Renjian Cihua and Fei Xiaotong's From the Soil and Fertility and Reproduction reflect a sustained attention to social culture and classic texts of thought. Architectural books are represented by Liang Sicheng's Annotated Yingzao Fashi and A History of Chinese Architecture, showing an emphasis on architectural heritage and building traditions. In foreign literature, translations of Sholokhov's And Quiet Flows the Don and Tolstoy's War and Peace and The Death of Ivan Ilyich, through the work of translators such as Li Gang and Yu Dawei, form a substantial series of translated works. Overall, the press combines classic texts, scholarly works and fine translations, with a publishing character oriented toward humanistic depth and the dissemination of knowledge.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 序言
- 第一集 北京
- 一
- 二
- 三
- 四
- 五
- 六
- 七
- 八
- 九
- 一〇
- 一一
- 一二
- 一三
- 一四
- 一五
- 一六
- 一七
- 一八
- 一九
- 二〇
- 二一
- 二二
- 二三
- 二四
- 二五
- 二六
- 二七
- 二八
- 二九
- 三〇
- 三一
- 三二
- 三三
- 三四
- 三五
- 第二集 厦门—广州
- 三六
- 三七
- 三八
- 三九
- 四〇
- 四一
- 四二
- 四三
- 四四
- 四五
- 四六
- 四七
- 四八
- 四九
- 五〇
- 五一
- 五二
- 五三
- 五四
- 五五
- 五六
- 五七
- 五八
- 五九
- 六〇
- 六一
- 六二
- 六三
- 六四
- 六五
- 六六
- 六七
- 六八
- 六九
- 七〇
- 七一
- 七二
- 七三
- 七四
- 七五
- 七六
- 七七
- 七八
- 七九
- 八〇
- 八一
- 八二
- 八三
- 八四
- 八五
- 八六
- 八七
- 八八
- 八九
- 九〇
- 九一
- 九二
- 九三
- 九四
- 九五
- 九六
- 九七
- 九八
- 九九
- 一〇〇
- 一〇一
- 一〇二
- 一〇三
- 一〇四
- 一〇五
- 一〇六
- 一〇七
- 一〇八
- 一〇九
- 一一〇
- 一一一
- 一一二
- 一一三
- 第三集 北平—上海
- 一一四
- 一一五
- 一一六
- 一一七
- 一一八
- 一一九
- 一二〇
- 一二一
- 一二二
- 一二三
- 一二四
- 一二五
- 一二六
- 一二七
- 一二八
- 一二九
- 一三〇
- 一三一
- 一三二
- 一三三
- 一三四
- 一三五
FAQ
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About the author
Lu Xun, originally named Zhou Shuren and styled Yucai, was a native of Shaoxing, Zhejiang, and a leading modern Chinese writer and thinker as well as a representative figure of the New Culture Movement. With works such as "A Madman's Diary" and "The True Story of Ah Q," he laid the foundation of modern Chinese fiction. His writing often focuses on the spiritual condition of ordinary people and on social reality, in a cold, concise style rich in critique and self-reflection. His story collections "Call to Arms" and "Wandering" and his prose collection "Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk" are widely read, and his works are often classified as classics, social fiction, and documentary literature. The library holds as many as 499 editions of his works, showing that they continue to be read, anthologized, and circulated. Public information is limited, so this is only a brief account of his life's key points and creative character.
Xu Guangping's publicly available biographical information is limited, and the sources at hand contain no systematic record of the details of her life; nevertheless, her surviving works give a general sense of the focus and character of her writing. She is best known to readers for her accounts and editorial work centering on Lu Xun, including Lu Xun Huiyilu (Recollections of Lu Xun), Lu Xun Wangshi 1881–1936 (Lu Xun's Past), and Wo de Zhangfu Lu Xun Xiansheng (My Husband Mr. Lu Xun), which present Lu Xun's life and inner world from the perspective of a firsthand witness. Liangdi Shu preserves her correspondence with Lu Xun and has both documentary and literary value. She also took part in compiling the collected works of Lu Xun, contributing to the preservation and dissemination of his writings. Her prose is plain and warm, grounded in fact and detail and sparing in ornament, combining the unassuming tone of the essay with the historical significance of documentary writing; it has had a certain influence on Lu Xun studies and on the compilation of source materials in modern Chinese literary history.
