The Spread and Reception of Don Quixote in China

The reception of Don Quixote in China started in the early 20th century, with its media Japanese literature and Russian literature and its initiating point Chinese social reforms as well as intellectuals’ self-reflections on their role. Zhou Zuoren was the very first to make a scientific criticism of the novel Don Quixote while Lu Xun took the lead in exploring the essence of Don Quixote’s spirit, defining it as mixing realism with idealism, which would have a negative impact on its readers. Lu Xun was thus inspired to create a character named AQ, eternally charming readers. Feiming, as an explorer of the truth of humanity, orientalized Don Quixote’s spirit in the form of parody. Don Quixote has become a universal symbol of the human spirit, has aroused the attention of Chinese intellectuals, and has even directly “engaged in” the controversies in the Chinese literary world. By the end of 20th century, translations and research on Don Quixote attained new achievements, Don Quixote again winning recognition as an essential theoretical category in helping researchers in the literary world elaborate on the phenomenon of human spirit.