Literary Installations and Markets Celebrate Lu Xun Prize's Shanghai Debut
Creative outdoor literary art installations and cultural-product markets are brightening the century-old shikumen (stone-gate houses) blocks in Hongkou District to celebrate the Lu Xun Literary Prize award ceremony's permanent move to Shanghai and the launch of the Lu Xun Literary Week.
Named after the great standard-bearer of China's New Culture Movement, the Lu Xun Literary Prize was established in 1996 and has since been one of the nation's highest literary honors. This year, the award ceremony will be held in Shanghai for the first time – on Friday, marking the first occasion it has ever left Beijing.
Lu Xun spent the last decade of his life in Hongkou, where he wrote many of his most celebrated works. In tribute to him and that literary legacy, The INLET has introduced an outdoor light-and-shadow installation series titled "Every Sentence Shines."
It features selected passages and classic lines from award-winning works of literature – both domestic and international – including, naturally, excerpts from Lu Xun himself and from past Lu Xun Prize recipients.
Some of the installations are tucked into the narrow alleyways between traditional lane houses. Under sunlight, the words are reflected onto walls or pavements, inviting passers-by to pause and read.
Other enlightening sentences are "suspended" among the trees, resonating with the surrounding ambience, conveying the refinement and tranquility of literature.
At night, yet more lines are projected onto the alley floors, illuminating the lanes after dark. These installations will remain on display until the end of November.
From Thursday to Sunday (August 27 to 30), a cultural-product market will open to the public. On Saturday and Sunday, the Shanghai Literature Museum, located in The INLET, will host Lu Xun-themed citywalk tours, guiding participants through the writer's former haunts in Hongkou.
If you go:
"Every Sentence Shines" Installation Series
Dates: Through November 30
Cultural-product Market
Dates: August 27-30, 3pm-8pm
Venue: The INLET 今潮8弄
Address: Intersection of Sichuan Rd N. and Wujin Rd 四川北路武进路口
