ABSTRACT
While scholars have identified numerous influences within Lu Xun's works, they often overlook the impact of Kuriyagawa Hakuson on his writing. In contrast, this chapter argues that Lu Xun, who translated Kuriyagawa Hakuson's magnum opus, The Symbol of Depression, in 1924, was indeed influenced by Hakuson in composing the prose poems later published as Wild Grass. Through intertextual analysis of Hakuson's theories and Lu Xun's prose poems “Dead Fire” and “After Death,” this chapter demonstrates that, although Lu Xun was inspired by Hakuson, he ultimately rejected some of his most fundamental ideas. Rather than implementing Hakuson's theories directly, Lu Xun used the free form of prose poetry as a means to explore and test them.
