In Ceaseless Pursuit of “A Good Art for the Public”
Reinterpreting Lu Xun’s Promotion of Creative Woodcuts in Republican China
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19520858 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Wei Wu (0000-0003-1901-9134, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 36 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 283-310 |
| Publication date | 2024-12-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Modern Chinese Literature and Culture (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1520-9857 • E-ISSN: 2328-966X |
| Publisher | Edinburgh University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3366/mclc.2024.0059 |
| OpenAlex | W4405923995 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 10 |
In addition to contributing to the modernization of Chinese literature in the 1920s, Lu Xun is also remembered for his support of the development of creative woodcuts in China in the 1930s. This paper argues that while Lu Xun’s promotion of the woodcut coincided with his engagement with leftist organizations and Marxist theories, he did not conceive of the medium from a leftist perspective. Rather, it was the passion, struggle, and despair he experienced and sustained throughout his intellectual journey as a socially concerned and politically independent writer that drove him to seek such art for the public ( dazhong). For Lu Xun, the woodcut, an affordable and malleable visual medium, could appeal to and unite a broader audience more effectively than literature. By analyzing Lu Xun’s writings from 1909 to 1936, especially those centered on the arts, revolution, and the relationship between intellectuals and the people, this paper interrogates how and why Lu Xun came to see the creative woodcut as a medium imbued with potential. It illuminates his choice to introduce, describe, and promote creative printmaking and elucidates how he understood the public as the art form’s main audience
Aesthetics · Art · Art history · China · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Woodcut · Chinese history and philosophy · History · Law
| Highly cited | No |
|---|