When Lu Xun's Old Tales Retold first appeared in 1936, few could have predicted how this collection of satirical rewrites would become a masterclass in literary reinvention. As I turned the final page of the English translation, what lingered wasn't just the biting humor or political subtext, but the startling relevance of reconstructing ancient myths for modern sensibilities.

The Alchemy of Ancient and Modern in Old Tales Retold

Lu Xun doesn't merely update these Chinese legends—he performs open-heart surgery on cultural memory. The opening story "Mending Heaven" transforms Nuwa's creation myth into a meditation on creative frustration, her five-colored stones becoming metaphors for artistic compromise. This thematic depth makes Old Tales Retold particularly rewarding for English readers exploring cross-cultural literary adaptation.

Satire as Cultural X-Ray

Through the looking glass of these retellings, Lu Xun exposes 20th-century societal fractures. His version of "The Flight to the Moon" turns the romantic Chang'e into a disillusioned housewife, her lunar escape reading like proto-feminist rebellion. The translation captures this nuance beautifully, preserving the original's layered meanings while making the social commentary accessible to international audiences.

Why This 1936 Collection Speaks Volumes Today

Contemporary readers will recognize in Old Tales Retold the DNA of modern fanfiction and postmodern revisionism. Lu Xun's decision to recast Confucius as a comically self-important academic ("Gathering Vetch") predates today's trend of historical figure deconstruction by nearly a century. The English edition's footnotes brilliantly contextualize these daring choices without diluting their subversive punch.

What makes this reading experience unforgettable is how Lu Xun balances reverence with rebellion. His retelling of "Curbing the Flood" maintains Yu the Great's heroic core while exposing the human cost of monumental projects—a theme echoing through today's discussions about progress versus preservation. The translation mirrors this delicate equilibrium, its prose crisp yet poetic.

The Universal Language of Reinvented Legends

As someone who's read multiple versions of these myths across languages, I'm struck by how Old Tales Retold transcends its specific cultural moment. The collection's central tension—between honoring tradition and demanding change—resonates powerfully in our era of cultural reckoning. The English rendering preserves this duality, allowing new readers to appreciate why these eighty-year-old stories feel freshly urgent.

Closing the book, I'm left with profound admiration for how Old Tales Retold makes antiquity vibrantly contemporary. Lu Xun's genius lies in showing how stories aren't relics but living things—mutable, argumentative, and endlessly renewable. This English edition doesn't just translate words; it bridges understanding across time and space, proving great storytelling defies both chronology and borders.