Ba Jin’s Life

A well-known literary master at home and abroad, an outstanding social activist, a famous non-party patriotic democrat, a close friend of the Communist Party of China, a member of the Chinese People’s Political Bureau Comrade Ba Jin, Vice Chairman of the Sixth, Seventh, Eighth, Ninth and Tenth National Committee of the Consultative Conference and Chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, passed away in Shanghai on October 17, 2005 due to illness at the age of 101.

Comrade Ba Jin, whose original name was Li Yaotang, also known as Fu Gan, had pen names such as Wang Wenhui, Ouyang Jingrong, Huang Shuhui, and Yu Yi. Born on November 25, 1904 in Chengdu, Sichuan. Under the influence of the great "May 4th" movement that broke out in 1919, he began to read a lot of progressive books and periodicals such as "New Youth" and gradually accepted progressive ideas such as anti-imperialism, anti-feudalism, and scientific democracy. In 1920, he entered the Chengdu Foreign Languages ??School and was extensively exposed to Western literature and social science works. He also participated in the work of "Half Moon" magazine and some progressive social activities. In February 1922, he published 12 poems "The Cries of the Abused" in the "Literature Ten Weekly", starting a brilliant career in literary creation. In the winter of 1922, he graduated from the preparatory and undergraduate courses (English) of Chengdu Foreign Languages ??School. He went to Shanghai to study in 1923 and was admitted to the High School Affiliated to Nanjing Southeast University in 1924. After graduating from high school in 1925, he engaged in social activities and compilation work in Shanghai. In January 1927, he went to Paris, France to study. While in France, on the one hand, I read a lot of Western philosophy and literary works; on the other hand, I was always concerned about the fate of the motherland and missed the suffering country and people. With this deep feeling, he wrote his first novel "Destruction" against the forces of darkness. In 1929, he published it for the first time in "Novel Monthly" under the pen name "Ba Jin", which attracted widespread attention both inside and outside the literary world. . In December 1928, he returned to Shanghai from France. During this period, he translated a large number of foreign literary and ideological and cultural works such as Kropotkin's "Ethics", Tolstoy's "The Death of Danton", Gorky's "Story of the Steppe", etc.; subsequently, with great efforts, He devoted himself enthusiastically to literary creation and wrote the novels "Home", "Spring", "Trilogy of Love", the novella "The Dead Sun", and published many books such as "Revenge" and "Light". A collection of short stories. In 1933, he participated in the work of "Literature Special Issue". Studied Japanese in Japan from 1934 to 1935. After returning to China, he served as the chief editor of Cultural Life Publishing House in Shanghai. He spent a lot of time and energy on editing and publishing work, supported the creation of many progressive writers, and made indelible contributions to the development of progressive literature and art. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, he served as an editorial board member of the "National Salvation Daily" chaired by Guo Moruo, and co-edited the magazine "Scream" (later renamed "Fenghuo") with Mao Dun, during which he wrote many patriotic passions. Poetry. After 1938, he engaged in publishing work in Guangzhou, Shanghai, Kunming, Chongqing, Guilin, Chengdu and other places, and published the novel "Fire" (trilogy) to promote the Anti-Japanese War, and completed the novels "Autumn", "Qiyuan" ", "The Fourth Ward", "Cold Night", etc. After the victory of the Anti-Japanese War, he returned to Shanghai and continued his publishing and translation work at Cultural Life Publishing House. In July 1949, he participated in the All-China Literary and Art Workers Congress held in Beijing and was elected as a member of the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. On the eve of the founding of New China, he attended the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference as a representative of the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, Comrade Ba Jin successively served as editor-in-chief of Pingming Publishing House, editor-in-chief of "Literary Monthly", "Harvest" and "Shanghai Literature", vice-chairman, chairman and honorary chairman of Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and East China writer. Vice Chairman of the Association, Chairman and Honorary Chairman of the Shanghai Writers Association, Vice Chairman of the Shanghai CPPCC, Vice Chairman and Chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, Vice Chairman and Honorary Member of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles. He was a deputy to the first, second, and third National People's Congress, a member of the Standing Committee of the fifth National People's Congress, a deputy to the first National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and vice chairman of the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Comrade Ba Jin is one of the most influential literary masters since my country's "May 4th" New Culture Movement. He is also a world-recognized outstanding novelist, essayist, outstanding translator, outstanding editor, Publisher. He has successively created "Destruction", "Rebirth", "Torrent Trilogy" ("Home", "Spring", "Autumn"), "Love Trilogy" ("Fog", "Rain", "Electricity"). "), "Fire", "Open Garden", "Cold Night", "The Fourth Ward" and other novels and novellas as well as numerous short stories, essays, report features, travel notes, fairy tales, etc. He is fluent in English, French, Russian, German, Esperanto and other languages, and has translated more than a dozen world famous works. "Family"'s strong accusation and resistance to the evils of China's feudal autocratic families has aroused the enthusiasm of countless young people and inspired them to get out of the feudal cage and participate in revolution and social progress movements. "Cold Night" reflects the tragic fate of the bottom intellectuals and their families during the most difficult period of the Anti-Japanese War, appeals to the downtrodden and downtrodden little people, and expresses the conscience of a writer with a sense of social responsibility. From 1958 to 1962, People's Literature Publishing House published fourteen volumes of "Ba Jin's Collected Works", which was the culmination of his creative achievements before liberation.

After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he went deep into factories, rural areas and old revolutionary areas to experience life many times. He went to the war-torn Korean battlefield twice. He created a large number of report features and essays, and published a collection of short stories reflecting the Korean War, "The Hero's Life". Story", "Li Dahai", etc. The movie "Heroic Sons and Daughters", adapted from his novel "Reunion", aroused enthusiastic responses from the audience. He and Jin Yi founded and edited the large-scale literary magazine Harvest, which is one of the most influential literary magazines in China. It has published a large number of outstanding writers' works over the past few decades and has had a profound impact on the development of contemporary Chinese literature. When he was nearly eighty years old, he still overcame great illness and used strong perseverance to write five volumes of "Random Thoughts", which brought his prose creation to a peak in thought and art. After the 1990s, he published a collection of essays "Rethinking Records", edited and published "The Complete Works of Ba Jin" (twenty-six volumes), etc. He is famous at home and abroad for his passionate works and his pure heart of loving the people of the motherland. The large number of excellent works he created are precious treasures in the history of modern and contemporary literature in my country. Many of his works have been translated into nearly 30 languages ??including English, Russian, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Swedish, Korean and Esperanto, and have been widely disseminated around the world. Comrade Ba Jin has long served as an important leader of the Chinese Writers Association. He attaches great importance to uniting writers, cares about the construction of a team of writers, promotes the continuous emergence of excellent works, and has made outstanding contributions to the prosperity of socialist literature.

Comrade Ba Jin is an outstanding social activist. After the liberation of the country, he visited foreign countries many times as a civilian diplomatic envoy and participated in international cultural exchanges and other activities. In November 1950, he participated in the Second World Congress for the Defense of Peace in Warsaw. Later he visited the former Soviet Union five times. In April 1961, he attended the Tokyo Emergency Conference of Asian Writers and served as the head of the Chinese delegation. In August 1962, he led a delegation to participate in the Eighth World Conference on the Prohibition of Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs held in Tokyo, Japan, and visited Japan many times thereafter. In April 1979, he led a delegation of Chinese writers to visit France for the first time, setting off a wave of "Bajin fever" in Paris and greatly promoting cultural exchanges between China and France. In the spring of 1981, he led a delegation to attend the Esperanto Congress held in Sweden. In the same year, he participated in the International PEN Conference in Lyon and Paris. In May 1984, as one of the world's seven major cultural celebrities, he was invited to participate in the 47th International PEN Conference held in Tokyo, Japan. He has made positive contributions to promoting world peace, developing friendly cooperation and international cultural exchanges between China and other countries around the world. He has received many honorary titles at home and abroad. In 1982, he was awarded the "Dante International Prize" in Italy, in 1983 he was awarded the "Legion d'Honneur" in France, in 1984 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, in 1985 he was awarded the title of Foreign Honorary Academician of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and in 1990 he was awarded the title of the former Soviet Union "People's Friendship Medal", "Asian Culture Award Special Award" in Fukuoka, Japan. In 1993, he won the "Senior Writer Consolation Award" from the Asian Chinese Writers Literary Foundation. In 1998, he won the Shanghai Literature and Art Award for Outstanding Contribution. In 2003, the State Council awarded him " "People's Writer" honorary title.

Comrade Ba Jin is a close friend of the Communist Party of China and a well-known non-partisan patriotic democrat. For decades, he and the Communist Party of China have worked together through thick and thin. During the democratic revolution, he actively participated in progressive social activities. After the September 18th Incident, he enthusiastically participated in the anti-Japanese and national salvation movement. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he served as a director of the All-China Literary and Art Circles Anti-Enemy Association. After the Wannan Incident, he signed a petition to oppose the Kuomintang dictatorship. He actively supported Chairman Mao Zedong's proposal to establish a coalition government. As a representative of the first plenary session of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, he participated in the great historical process of the founding of the People's Republic of China. After the founding of New China, he supported the leadership of the Communist Party of China, supported socialism, and made significant contributions to the literary cause of New China. After entering a new era of reform and opening up, he sincerely supports the line, principles and policies since the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and is sincerely happy for the great achievements in my country's economic construction and social development. Although he was seriously ill in his later years, he was still very concerned about national affairs. He actively called for and organized the construction of a modern Chinese literature museum, and donated hundreds of thousands of his savings, royalties and more than 8,000 books to the literature museum. He participated in the establishment of the Chinese Literature Foundation and has been its president. He has also made many donations to Project Hope and social charities. Because of its special contribution, the asteroid No. 8315 was named Barkin in 1999 with the approval of the Small Object Nomenclature Committee under the International Astronomical Union. He has served as Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference for five consecutive terms. He is concerned about my country's reform, opening up and modernization, and the work of the People's Political Consultative Conference. He actively provides suggestions and suggestions for upholding and improving the multi-party cooperation and political consultation system led by the Communist Party of China. The development of the People's Political Consultative Conference has made important contributions to the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Anecdotes about Ba Jin, a great literary figure of a generation

■Written his illness into novels

Ba Jin, who was sickly as a child, actually never went to college. When he was 14 years old, he finally got his grandfather's permission to attend an English cram school. After just one month, he dropped out of school due to illness. In 1925, he went to Beijing to prepare for admission to Peking University. However, he was found to have lung disease during a physical examination and had no choice but to miss out on Peking University. In Ba Jin's works, there are often descriptions of protagonists suffering from lung disease or other diseases, and their emotions and thoughts change due to the illness. This is also the case for Du Daxin in "Destruction".

When "Destruction" was written, it was a critical period for Ba Jin to treat lung disease and recuperate. The protagonist Du Daxin also had lung disease and came up with the idea of ??assassinating the warlord to relieve his pain.

■"Home" brings Ba Jin a home

Ba Jin has always regarded "hoping that everyone in the world has food to eat" as his mission, and he devotes himself wholeheartedly to his career and has no time to take into account the personal relationships of his children. In 1936, Ba Jin became an idol among young people with "Home", and many people pursued him. There was a female high school student who wrote the most letters to him. They corresponded for half a year but never met. Finally, it was the girl who asked in the letter: "The written conversation is so harmonious, why can't we have an interview?" The girl took the initiative to send a photo to Ba Jin, and then they arranged to meet in a cafe. After eight years of long-distance love, Ba Jin, now in his late teens, got married to a girl named Xiao Shan. Xiao Shan, who is 13 years younger than Ba ??Jin, is the first and only woman who makes Ba Jin fall in love.

■Buy books even if you don’t have food

Ba Jin is famous in the cultural circle for his love of books. On the eve of the liberation of Shanghai in 1949, Ba Jin's family was already living in poverty, but he still had to buy books despite being frugal. One day, Xiao Shan, who had always been relying on him, couldn't help but said to him: "There is no money at home anymore." Ba Jin, who didn't know whether the family had money or whether it could survive, said: "Money is used to buy books." How can a writer live without buying books?” The next day, he took his children to the bookstore again.

■Ba Jin’s son is “incognito”

Ba Jin’s son Li Xiaotang has been studying at Fudan University for four years. Many leaders of the school do not know that he is Ba Jin’s son. During graduation, many people asked people to go through the back door in order to get a good unit for their children. However, Ba Jin did not say hello to anyone. After graduation, Li Xiaotang went to work in the Literature and History Office of the Shanghai CPPCC Committee, where he worked for more than 20 years without any complaints. On Ba Jin's 90th birthday, Chen Tiedi, Chairman of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, came to visit Ba Jin at his residence.

When he saw his staff member Li Xiaotang, Chen Tiedi asked strangely: "Why are you here too?"