Lu Xun & China’s Dissident Authors
Julia Lovell in conversation with Ma Jian
Thursday 18 March, 6.45pm
Tonight I realise I have spent the past thirty years or more in a state of dream; but I must still be careful. Why did the Zhao’s dog look at me twice? I have reason to be afraid.
Lu Xun, ‘Diary of a Madman’, 1918
You will no longer have to rely on memories to get through the day. This is not a momentary flash of life before death. This is a new beginning.
Ma Jian, ‘Beijing Coma’, 2008
Lu Xun was one of the leading radical intellectuals of early 20th century China. Celebrated for their powerful satirical attacks on his country’s poverty, complacency and political violence, his short stories continue to resonate in China’s national consciousness today. Julia Lovell, translator of the newly published complete fiction of Lu Xun, ‘The Real Story of Ah-Q and Other Tales of China’ is joined by Ma Jian, one of post-Mao China’s most prominent dissident writers. They discuss Lu Xun’s legacy to modern Chinese writing and consider his enduring impact on the contemporary People’s Republic.
Julia Lovell is a lecturer in the Department of History, Classics and Archaeology at Birkbeck, University of London. Ma Jian is the award-winning author of ‘Beijing Coma’ and ‘Red Dust’.
Booking:
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020 7307 5454
www.asiahouse.org/net/Events.aspx
Tickets £10, Concessions £6
Asia House Friends £5
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