3 volumes. All (8vo) with printed paper wrappers. Housed in two cream library enclosures. Including: 漫畫阿Q正傳 (Man hua A Q zheng zhuan). Shanghai: Kai ming shu dian, 1939. [1], 53, [1] leaves. 55 full-page illustrations by Feng Zikai. In Chinese. Volume heavily rubbed, soiled, some foxing; several pages torn, about ¼ of last leaf torn off; good. Only 1 US copy this edition in WorldCat (Johns Hopkins). The True Story of Ah Q. Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1946. vii, 100 pp. Translated into English by George Kin Leung. Cover lightly soiled; pages toned and brittle; title-page detached; good. No US copies in WorldCat (4 worldwide). 阿Q正傳 = True Story of Ah Q. [Shanghai?]: Ji liu shu dian, 1949. [Trans. George Kin Leung, same text above but unattributed]. Lacking title-page. Cover rubbed, spine wrapper partially lacking; toning and light soiling, tears, foxing throughout; good. 4 US copies in WorldCat. Noted as the first novella in modern Vernacular Chinese, The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun (pen name for Zhou Shuren, 1881-1936) tells the story of a depraved man who goes through life believing he is superior and the master of his own fate, while the reader sees that it is obviously the other way around. The work is often interpreted as an allegory for the hypocrisy and impotency of the ruling class in China following the 1911 revolution and stems out ideas and emotions of the May Fourth period immediately following World War I. However, the story also casts its protagonist, Ah Q, and the characters he meets as mostly just as hapless, lacking the drive, vision, and ability to improve society themselves. The True Story of Ah Q forms an important chapter in the move towards a modern Chinese literature and politics. This lot features three very scarce editions of this crucial text: one in Chinese and illustrated by Feng Zikai, one in English, and one with facing Chinese-English text all published in Shanghai between 1939-1949.
3 volumes. All (8vo) with printed paper wrappers. Housed in two cream library enclosures. Including: 漫畫阿Q正傳 (Man hua A Q zheng zhuan). Shanghai: Kai ming shu dian, 1939. [1], 53, [1] leaves. 55 full-page illustrations by Feng Zikai. In Chinese. Volume heavily rubbed, soiled, some foxing; several pages torn, about ¼ of last leaf torn off; good. Only 1 US copy this edition in WorldCat (Johns Hopkins). The True Story of Ah Q. Shanghai: The Commercial Press, 1946. vii, 100 pp. Translated into English by George Kin Leung. Cover lightly soiled; pages toned and brittle; title-page detached; good. No US copies in WorldCat (4 worldwide). 阿Q正傳 = True Story of Ah Q. [Shanghai?]: Ji liu shu dian, 1949. [Trans. George Kin Leung, same text above but unattributed]. Lacking title-page. Cover rubbed, spine wrapper partially lacking; toning and light soiling, tears, foxing throughout; good. 4 US copies in WorldCat. Noted as the first novella in modern Vernacular Chinese, The True Story of Ah Q by Lu Xun (pen name for Zhou Shuren, 1881-1936) tells the story of a depraved man who goes through life believing he is superior and the master of his own fate, while the reader sees that it is obviously the other way around. The work is often interpreted as an allegory for the hypocrisy and impotency of the ruling class in China following the 1911 revolution and stems out ideas and emotions of the May Fourth period immediately following World War I. However, the story also casts its protagonist, Ah Q, and the characters he meets as mostly just as hapless, lacking the drive, vision, and ability to improve society themselves. The True Story of Ah Q forms an important chapter in the move towards a modern Chinese literature and politics. This lot features three very scarce editions of this crucial text: one in Chinese and illustrated by Feng Zikai, one in English, and one with facing Chinese-English text all published in Shanghai between 1939-1949.
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
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