{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20260418T162306Z","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/067474425X?tag=bookfrontier-20","asin":"067474425X","authors":["Xun Lu","Eileen J. Cheng","Kirk A. Denton","& 0 more","Lu Xun","Eileen Cheng"],"book_id":"9780674744257","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/jottings-under-lamplight-067474425X","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780674744257.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","description":"Lu Xun (1881–1936) is widely considered the greatest writer of twentieth-century China. Although primarily known for his two slim volumes of short fiction, he was a prolific and inventive essayist. Jottings under Lamplight showcases Lu Xun’s versatility as a master of prose forms and his brilliance as a cultural critic with translations of sixty-two of his essays, twenty of which are translated here for the first time. While a medical student in Tokyo, Lu Xun viewed a photographic slide that purportedly inspired his literary calling: it showed the decapitation of a Chinese man by a Japanese soldier, as Chinese bystanders watched apathetically. He felt that what his countrymen needed was a cure not for their physical ailments but for their souls. Autobiographical accounts describing this and other formative life experiences are included in Jottings , along with a wide variety of cultural commentaries, from letters, speeches, and memorials to parodies and treatises. Lu Xun was remarkably well versed in Chinese tradition and playfully manipulated its ancient forms. But he also turned away from historical convention, experimenting with new literary techniques and excoriating the “slave mentality” of a population paralyzed by Confucian hierarchies. Tinged at times with notes of despair, yet also with pathos, humor, and an unparalleled caustic wit, Lu Xun’s essays chronicle the tumultuous transformations of his own life and times, providing penetrating insights into Chinese culture and society.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780674744257","publication_date":"20170918","publisher":"WW Norton","slug":"jottings-under-lamplight","subtitle":"Hardcover – Illustrated, September 18, 2017","title":"Jottings Under Lamplight"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"LCO004010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Chinese Literary Collections","score":0.8329,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT008010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chinese Literary Criticism","score":0.8189,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"POE009010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chinese Poetry","score":0.7828,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"LCO004010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Chinese Literary Collections","score":0.8329,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"LIT008010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chinese Literary Criticism","score":0.8189,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"POE009010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chinese Poetry","score":0.7828,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS008000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chinese History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"LCO004010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chinese Literary Collections","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"LIT008010","confidence_band":"high","label":"Chinese Literary Criticism","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Chinese Literary Collections","score":0.8329,"slug":"chinese-literary-collections"},{"label":"Chinese Literary Criticism","score":0.8189,"slug":"chinese-literary-criticism"},{"label":"Chinese Poetry","score":0.7828,"slug":"chinese-poetry"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers who enjoy Chinese Literary Collections","Good for readers interested in short stories","Good for fans of China"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["Yunte Huang"],"book_id":"9780393353808","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780393353808.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":19.2396,"title":"The Big Red Book of Modern Chinese Literature","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780393353808"},{"authors":["Gloria Davies"],"book_id":"9780674072640","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780674072640.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":17.3844,"title":"Lu Xun's Revolution","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780674072640"},{"authors":["Qu Yuan","Various","David Hawkes"],"book_id":"9780140443752","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780140443752.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":16.6476,"title":"The Songs of the South","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780140443752"},{"authors":["Hua Hsu"],"book_id":"9780674967908","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780674967908.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":14.8223,"title":"Floating Chinaman","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780674967908"},{"authors":["Pu Songling","Herbert A. Giles","Victoria Cass","Herbert Allen Giles"],"book_id":"9780804849081","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780804849081.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":14.8028,"title":"Strange Tales From a Chinese Studio","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780804849081"},{"authors":["Michael A. Fuller"],"book_id":"9780674977013","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780674977013.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":14.7333,"title":"Introduction to Chinese Poetry","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780674977013"},{"authors":["Frances Wood"],"book_id":"9781629190075","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781629190075.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":14.3509,"title":"Great Books of China","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781629190075"},{"authors":["Yi Zheng"],"book_id":"9781557535764","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781557535764.jpg?v=20260418T162306Z%3A2026-04-19T10%3A16%3A55Z","score":14.2481,"title":"From Burke and Wordsworth to the Modern Sublime in Chinese Literature","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781557535764"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:world history"],"label":"World","score":0.2022,"slug":"world"},{"evidence_refs":["phrase_map_match"],"label":"Book Club","score":0.0914,"slug":"book-club"},{"evidence_refs":["phrase_map_match"],"label":"Short Stories","score":0.0624,"slug":"short-story"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:essays"],"label":"Essays","score":0.0469,"slug":"essays"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Book Club, Short Stories, Essays.","Reading lane: Chinese Literary Collections and Chinese Literary Criticism.","Publisher: WW Norton."]},"llm_signals":null,"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":false,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":7,"goodreads_ratings_count":23,"goodreads_reviews_count":2,"quality_score":0.8422}}