Mr. Chou Shu-jen (周樹人), who writes under the pen name Lu-hsün (魯迅), was born in 1881 in the city of Shaohsing, in Chekiang province. Before we consider the early struggles of this great writer of the modern school, it may be well to translate a passage, which he wrote after his book had received recognition and which will serve not only to reveal one pronounced side of his nature but also to cheer the reader as he follows the early trials with a foreknowledge that the dreamer does not always suffer at the hands of an ungrateful world even if he is so daring and magnanimous as Lu-hsün. The translated passage reads as follows: "In the days of my youth, I had woven dreams without number, but as time passed by, I let most of them slip into oblivion. I myself, however, felt no regret. Although in calling to mind these dreams, it may be said that they had in them the power to gladden the heart, still, at times, they could not but fill one with dreary silence, making the spirit cling to the memory of solitary stillnesses in times past. So, what interest could they hold for me! It came about that I felt exceedingly harassed in that I could not forget those dreams
