18-21.

Zhao Yannian (1924-2014)

Illustrations to the Short Story The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun (4 of 60 works)

1980

Woodblock prints

20 x 13 cm

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The True Story of Ah Q is Lu Xun’s best-known work. Written in the vernacular and published serially between 1921-22, it takes places during the Xinhai Revolution (1911), which ended the Qing dynasty (1644-1911). Ah Q represented all that Lu Xun saw as backward, despicable and self-absorbed in traditional Chinese society. The foreign letter in Ah Q’s name may refer to the May Fourth Movement, advocating Western ideas, or possibly the queue required for Chinese men under the Manchu rulers.

Muban Educational Trust registration number zhayn102, 108, 143, 160