As Chinese literary giant Lu Xun had left us for 70 years in 2006, the anniversary commemorative campaigns are set to begin. As part of commemorative activities, Tongxin Publishing House in October launched a book entitled The Lu Xun Family Album to illustrate the writer's life as a family man.

Zhou Haiying, Lu Xun's son, is the chief advisor of the book project.

Tongxin Publishing House organized a book seminar on December 11 that was attended by Zhou, other Lu Xun experts and students.

"I hope this family album could help everyone know more about my father," Zhou said. He donated the book's copies to Lu Xun Museum and Beijing Lu Xun High School.

Lu Xun, whose real name is Zhou Shuren, was born in 1881 and died in 1936. He was recognized as one of the greatest modern Chinese writers in modern times. His classic works include The Diary of a Madman, The True Story of Ah Q, and The New Year's Sacrifice. From 1926, Lu wrote satirical essays and served as head of the League of Leftwing Writers. The late Mao Zedong called Lu Xun "the nation's hero."

The Lun Xun Family Album is different from any previous pictorial book on the author. It shows a down-to-earth Lu Xun, the family man. It is a visual documentary of the life of Lu Xun's family. Zhou provided 353 rare photos, one-third of which are being viewed by the public for the first time. Zhou also wrote articles to accompany the photos.

Zhou said: "My mother donated most of father's books, letters, scripts and photos. But she kept those photos that were truly personal to her. I asked the editors to publish the material in its original state."

The earliest photo in The Lun Xun Family Album is dated March 1903 when Lu Xun cut his queue in Tokyo. The last is dated October 8, 1936 when Lu Xun was attending a woodcarving exhibition.

Sun Yu, director of the Lu Xun Museum, said: "This is the first time to show Lu Xun as a family man."

It is likely that Tongxin Publishing House will publish more books about Lu Xun, including Lu's foreign prints collection.

Other commemorative activities included the publication of the latest compilation of Lu Xun's works by the People's Literature Press on December 3.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Rui, December 17, 2005)