The New Year's Sacrifice
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Summary
By portraying the tragic life of Xianglin's Wife, the story expresses the author's sympathy for oppressed women and his unsparing exposure of feudal ideology and feudal ethical codes. It also depicts how enlightened intellectuals like the narrator remain indifferent and at a loss in the face of the selfishness and human coldness of the society around them.
Editor's review
In literary terms, "The New Year's Sacrifice" is not only a work of social critique but a consummate literary experiment. Lu Xun adopts a distinctive narrative perspective: through the encounters and conversations between the intellectual "I" and Xianglin's Wife, he constructs a double narrative space that presents both the protagonist's outward ordeal and the collapse of her inner world. This technique extends the tragedy beyond one individual's fate to an interrogation of the entire spiritual structure of society.
As an editor, I find this edition particularly valuable because it includes the complete text of Wandering, supplemented by appropriate notes and background explanations that help contemporary readers understand the work's historical context. Lu Xun's writing has a power that cuts through time; his Xianglin's Wife is not merely a product of a particular era but an enduring symbol of humanity's struggle for survival and dignity in adversity. Reading "The New Year's Sacrifice," we are not only looking back at a period of history but examining the invisible shackles that still lurk in our social and cultural life.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers interested in classics of modern Chinese literature
- Researchers seeking to understand Lu Xun's literary thought and artistic features
- Readers in the humanities and social sciences concerned with social issues and women's fates
- Literary readers seeking a deep reading experience
Not a good fit for
- Readers looking for light, entertaining reading
- Young readers with little basic knowledge of Republican-era social background
Reading tips
- Read Call to Arms before Wandering to understand the intellectual thread of Lu Xun's writing
- Pay attention to shifts in narrative perspective to appreciate Lu Xun's distinctive literary technique
- Read comparatively with other works by Lu Xun, such as "Regret for the Past," to deepen understanding of the themes
About the publisher
China Culture and History Press has long devoted itself to modern and contemporary literature and culture-and-history reading matter, with publishing directions centered on classic works, social novels, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy, alongside culture-and-history periodicals such as Zongheng. Among the more than 1,500 titles in the collection, representative books include Zhang Henshui's Ti Xiao Yin Yuan, Lu Xun's Complete Classic Works (10 volumes) and Wild Grass, and Lao She's Four Generations Under One Roof series and the boxed set of Lao She's Classic Works (10 volumes), while its author resources are concentrated on figures such as Zhang Henshui, Lu Xun, Lao She and Sima Qian. Its publishing character lies in solid editorial work on culture-and-history source texts and in issuing famous authors' works in sets, balancing the readability of individual texts with the systematic presentation of complete collections for focused reading and collecting. Beyond these directions, public information on the press's contemporary original publishing is limited, so it is not elaborated here.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 祝福
- 祝福
- 而已集
- 题辞
- 黄花节的杂感
- 略论中国人的脸
- 革命时代的文学
- 写在《劳动问题》之前
- 读书杂谈
- 通信
- 辞“大义”
- 反“漫谈”
- 忧“天乳”
- 革“首领”
- 谈“激烈”
- 扣丝杂感
- “公理”之所在
- 可恶罪
- “意表之外”
- 新时代的放债法
- 魏晋风度及文章与药及酒之关系
- 革命文学
- 当陶元庆君的绘画展览时
- 卢梭和胃口
- 文学和出汗
- 文艺和革命
- 谈所谓“大内档案”
- 拟预言
- 集外集
- 序言
- “说不出”
- 烽话五则
- “音乐”？
- 我来说“持中”的真相
- 杂语
- 俄文译本《阿Q正传》序及著者自叙传略
- 流言和谎话
- 《穷人》小引
- 文艺与政治的歧途
- 选本
- 集外集拾遗及补编
- 对于《新潮》一部分的意见
- 又是“古已有之”
- 诗歌之敌
- 聊答“……”
- 报《奇哉所谓……》
- 一个“罪犯”的自述
- 老调子已经唱完
- 文艺的大众化
- 帮忙文学与帮闲文学
- 英译本《短篇小说选集》自序
- 随感录
- 寸铁
- “生降死不降”
- 文学救国法
- 《绛洞花主》小引
- 新的世故
- 庆祝沪宁克复的那一边
- 关于知识阶级
- 辩“文人无行”
- 做“杂文”也不易
- 势所必至，理有固然
- “骗月亮”
- “某”字的第四义
- “有不为斋”
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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.
