Kong Yiji – Lu Xun Series #5

Today, we have author, translator and teacher, Professor Bryan Van Norden, on the podcast to discuss Lu Xun’s short but fascinating story of Kong Yiji (鲁迅 – 孔乙己), the book-stealing scholar who Lu Xun imagined to be the symbol of the true state of China’s elite culture. Professor Van Norden, Rob and Lee walk through the symbolism of the story and discuss its wider importance. This is #5 in our Lu Xun Series. 

Professor Van Norden is not only a teacher at Vassar College, he is also an author and translator. Please check out his work like his excellent Introduction to Classical Chinese Philosophy and Classical Chinese for Everyone. Also, Professor Van Norden is a prolific public intellectual on Twitter.