ABSTRACT
Lu Xun was born into a family of scholar-officials that lost all its power and wealth due to corruption and illness. He had a traditional education in the Confucian classics before turning to Western science and literature. He was studying to become a medical doctor when he decided he could best help a weak and backward China by writing literature that might inspire its people to change. He became the most celebrated author of his time; he wrote essays and prose poetry and worked as an editor and translator. His works of social criticism focused on the crushing cruelty and ignorance in Chinese society, but he hoped his writing would help lead the way to a better future for China. Kong Yiji was first published in March 1919 and A Small Incident in July 1920. Dark as these two stories are, they are more positive than most of Lu Xun's work.
