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Why is The True Story of Ah Q a major work of the May Fourth period?

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Scene from Romance of the Three Kingdoms — Chinese literature *Zhang Fei on the Long Sloped Bridge Turning Away One Million Wei Troops with a Powerful Stare*, woodblock colour print by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, 1884. It depicts a scene from the novel *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*.

The True Story of Ah Q (1921) is considered a representative work of the May Fourth period because it serves as a powerful, damning critique of the conservatism and feudalistic traditions that dominated early 20th-century China.1

Written by Lu Xun, the work is a significant example of the era's shift toward critical-realist literature. It is particularly noted for its introduction of the term "Ah Q-ism" into the modern Chinese language—a concept describing a psychological tendency to rationalize personal defeat as a "spiritual victory". By blending humor and pathos, the novelette functioned as a profound repudiation of the old order, solidifying its status as an international classic and a cornerstone of the May Fourth Movement's literary revolution.12