The EAA Summer Institute 2025, under the theme “Lu Xun and the World,” was held from September 1 to 4 in Shaoxing, Zhejiang Province, China. 

Last year’s Summer Institute brought together students from the University of Tokyo and Peking University in Sendai, Japan. We visited Tohoku University, where Lu Xun spent one and a half years before giving up the study of medicine to devote himself to literature.

This year’s gathering in Lu Xun’s hometown offered us a precious chance to re-counter Lu Xun and to engage with his life and works in a more embodied and experiential way. Throughout this year’s Summer Institute, students studied Lu Xun’s writings, cultural activities, and life trajectories through various ways of learning, including lectures, field visits, group discussions, and presentations. 

Reported by Li Jia (Ph.D. student, The University of Tokyo)