Lu Xun (or Lu Hsün) is called the father of modern Chinese literature. His first story "A Madman's Diary" is considered the first story written in Modern Chinese. The classic Chinese literature by Lao Zi (or Lao Tze) and Confucius for example were written in literary Chinese which is different than the language spoken by everyday folks. Any scholar worth his salt would have written in this literary style. Lu Xun chose to begin writing the way people talk. At the same time though, he was well educated and learned and, I am told, used the language very colorfully and had a large vocabulary. In no way can what he did be considered "a dumbing down".

     Lu Xun is a pen name. His real name was Zhou Shuren. Lu Xun wrote stories, poetry, essays, literary criticism and literary history. His stories were published in literary journals of the time and were then collected and published as books. He has three volumes of short stories.

Photo of Lu Xun and Drawing of Ah Q