Photo: Courtesy of the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China

Lu Xun, the pen name of Chinese writer Zhou Shuren, is a household name in China. Most people know Lu as one of the greatest literary giants of the 20th century, and a pioneer of China's modern ideological liberation, but few are familiar with the equally huge achievement he made in the field of art.

The exhibition The Art World of Lu Xun, which kicked off at the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Sunday, shows the public the little-known artistic side of Lu with 105 exhibits from the Beijing Luxun Museum and the New Culture Movement Memorial of Beijing.

The exhibits include Lu's own drawings and calligraphic works, the book covers he designed, and some stone rubbings and woodcut paintings he collected during his lifetime, including the artworks of famous German printmaker and sculptor Käthe Kollwitz.

"These precious works of art and historical documents show Lu's love for art and his important contribution to the art world," the memorial's director Xue Feng said at the exhibition's opening ceremony on Sunday morning.

They showcase to visitors Lu's rich art collections and his rich spiritual world, and expound upon Lu's thoughts on aesthetic education, which aimed to enlighten the soul of Chinese people with art, Xue said.

Born in 1881, Lu was one of the representatives of the New Culture Movement, a progressive movement in China in the 1910s and the 1920s that criticized feudal thoughts and promoted progressive and modern ideals. For a century, Lu's literary works have inspired generations of Chinese people. Some of his representative works have been included in Chinese textbooks for high school students.

Lu is so famous for his literary achievements that few people know about his contributions to the field of art, said the exhibition's curator Zhang Lifang. 

"Through the exhibition, we hope that visitors can take a closer look at his colorful artistic life," Zhang told the Global Times on Sunday.

To attract more visitors, particularly young ones, and to enrich their visiting experience, the exhibition offers interesting artificial intelligence (AI) devices, Zhang said.

She added that in the exhibition hall, there is an interactive screen that enables visitors to take photos of their own, and then present their photos in a creative way that dresses them in the style of clothes in the early 20th century. 

"The photo backgrounds come from content in the exhibition, such as the book covers Lu designed," Zhang said.

The exhibition hall was flooded with visitors on Sunday morning, many of whom were parents and their teen children.

"In the past, I only knew that Lu Xun as a master of literature. Today I am surprised to see so many achievements he made in the art field," a visitor surnamed Li told the Global Times.

Li's 10-year-old daughter Shuoshuo also visited the exhibition. The young beginner in painting said she was happy to see Lu's paintings. 

"Lu makes me feel that literature and art are interlinked," she said.

The exhibition was organized by the Memorial Hall of the First National Congress of the CPC, and Beijing Lu Xun Museum and the New Culture Movement Memorial of Beijing. It is scheduled to run until February 25.