Students bring Lu Xun’s century-old classic to life

An original stage adaptation of Lu Xun's collection of essays, Morning Blossoms Plucked at Dusk, was performed at the Beijing No 4 High School on Oct 25. Jointly produced by Beijing No 4 High School Beihai Campus, the National Theatre of China and the Beijing Lu Xun Museum, the production featured 26 student actors who brought characters and episodes from Lu Xun's works alive on stage.

The year 2026 marks the 145th anniversary of Lu Xun's birth, the 90th anniversary of his death and 100 years since Morning Blossoms Plucked at Dusk was written. Based on the collection of essays, the play weaves together literary memories shared by generations of Chinese readers, including Baicao Garden, Sanwei Study Room, Ah Chang and Mr Fujino, a Japanese teacher of Lu Xun whom he fondly recalls in his works. Told through the reading experience of young people, it brings to life the innocence, searching spirit and sense of responsibility found in the work. The production traces Lu Xun's formative years and the choices he made amid profound social change, inviting audiences into a fresh encounter with the classic.

After several months of collaborative development and rehearsal, the student actors transformed words from the classic into vivid stage characters, deepening their understanding of the work as they shaped their roles. Li Yunxuan, who played the adult Lu Xun, said: “I no longer see him simply as a stern fighter. I now see a man struggling to find a way forward in the darkness, with his country in his heart. I have come to understand the warmth and strength in Lu Xun's writing.” In the play, Li and Liu Shenhe, who portrayed Lu Xun as an adolescent, share a dialogue across time in Baicao Garden. They recite the same passage in contrasting tones — one bright and lively, the other low and wistful. “This exchange across time helped me understand the deep feeling in the work and Lu Xun's search for a path as a young man,” Liu said. “I realized that greatness is not a halo one is born with. We should carry forward his integrity and continue his search.” Through sincere and restrained performances, the two students brought the characters to life and gained a deeper understanding of the youthful sincerity in Lu Xun's writing.

From reading the entire book, consulting historical records and discussing the script to developing characters and rehearsing for the stage, the students served not only as performers but also as close readers and co-creators of the classic. Experts from the National Theatre of China and the Beijing Lu Xun Museum took part in the course and production, while the school's Golden Sail traditional Chinese orchestra and choir enriched the performance with traditional Chinese instrumental music and choral arrangements. By linking literary reading, historical understanding and artistic practice, the project brought together the school, a professional theater company and a museum in a collaborative approach to education.

Zhou Jiquan, an eighth-grade student in the audience, said: “I think one way to pass on a cultural tradition is for young people like us to step onto the stage and retell the people and events of a century ago, so Lu Xun is no longer just a solemn figure in our textbooks.”

When familiar words are read aloud, written down and performed anew by young people, classics are no longer confined to textbooks. They take on concrete form through voices, movements and emotions, finding new life as a new generation seeks to understand and reinterpret them.