China’s most revered leader Mao Zedong was a great fan of Lu Xun. That’s because Lu Xun was a leftist writer. Some of his essays and stories supported the Communist ideals of that period. However, though Mao promoted Lu Xun as a revolutionary writer and even a communist, the dead Lu Xun could not argue.
He has been used. That’s why when asked what would happen to Lu Xun if he had lived to see the communist era, Mao candidly and honestly replied that he either had to keep quiet or go to prison.
Ironically, Lu Xun’s works are taken out of context and studied in communist China, not in their entirety but selectively. For instance, Lu Xun would have supported Mao’s breaking of the “Four Olds”, but definitely not to the extent that went on during the Cultural Revolution. A book that presents Lu Xun as he actually was, will certainly be banned in China today.