In 1902 he traveled to Japan to study Japanese and medical science, and while there he became a supporter of the Chinese revolutionaries who gathered there. In 1903 he began to write articles for radical magazines edited by Chinese students in Japan. In 1905 he entered an arranged marriage against his will.

Lu Xun (鲁迅) was the pen name of Zhou Shuren (周树人), one of China’s most famous fiction authors, poets, and essayists. He is considered by many to be the father of modern Chinese literature because he was the first serious author to write using modern colloquial language.

On October 19, 1936, Zhou Shuren, known by his pen name Lu Xun, died of tuberculosis in his house in Shanghai. He was a writer, poet, editor, translator, thinker and revolutionary who laid the foundation for China’s modern literature.

Lu Xun

Washington Irving

The first Chinese writer that win the Nobel Prize for literature is Mo Yan.

A spokesman for the Chinese Writers’ Association dismissed the prize as one used for “political purposes, and has therefore lost its authority”. Gao’s novels and plays have been banned in his homeland since 1986.

The names Confucius, Lao Tzu, and Sun Tzu are well-known around the world, but many of China’s poets, philosophers, and novelists remain hidden gems to outsiders. Take a look at the list below and discover 10 of China’s greatest writers, from the end of the Zhou dynasty to the twentieth century.

Women Writers in Modern China （After the 1911 Revolution）

• Xie Wanying (1900–1999), better known by her pen name Bing Xin (Chinese: 冰心) or Xie Bingxin, was one of the most prolific Chinese writers of the 20th century.
• Shi Pingmei (1902–1928), China’s modern female revolutionary activist.

Classical Chinese poetry There is also a traditional Chinese literary form called fu (賦/赋), which defies categorization into English more than the other terms, but perhaps can best be described as a kind of prose-poem. During the modern period, there also has developed free verse in Western style.

Five Great Chinese Authors

• Confucius. What is China without Confucius (Chinese: 孔子)?
• Lao Tzu. There’s a great deal of debate whether the teacher known as Lao Tzu (Chinese: 老子) actually existed.
• Li Bai.
• Cao Xueqin.
• Lu Xun.

The Tale of Genji

Li Fang

The greatest poets are thought to have lived a thousand years ago or more during the Tang (618-907), Song (960-1279) and Han (206 BC – 220 AD) dynastic eras. Du Fu, Li Bai and Su Shi are considered among the best ancient poets, and there are five major kinds of major ancient poetic styles called Shi, Ci, Ge, Qu and Fu.

Mirsky noted that with his ability to read and speak Chinese, his attention to detail, and his acceptance of cultural differences, Seth is “a wonderful companion,” able to manage better than the average tourist. “Very few foreigners have spent the night in Chinese truck parks and country inns,” the reviewer added.

The rebellion, which lasted for nearly eight years, severely disrupted Chinese society. In these years, Du Fu led an itinerant life, writing poetry about the events he witnessed and endured—famine, political unrest, and personal tragedy.

Tan Prefecture

770 AD