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What was Ba Jin’s life like?

Ba Jin, formerly known as Li Yaotang and courtesy name Fu Gan, was born in 1904 in a bureaucratic landlord family in Chengdu, Sichuan.

Ba Jin has witnessed the corrupt, depraved and infighting lifestyle within the feudal family since he was a child, as well as the violent behavior of feudal authoritarianism that oppresses and destroys the younger generation. In his father's yamen, he also saw the persecution of common people by feudal rulers, which triggered suspicion and disgust towards the feudal system. On the other hand, as he himself said, "I have loved being with servants since I was a child. I grew up among servants." The kind qualities and tragic fate of workers inspired his "fire-like thoughts of rebellion." ". He bravely declared: "I said I don't want to be a young master, I want to be a person who stands on their side and helps them." As early as that time, life had already sown in his young mind the seeds of feudal system, The seed of a rebel in a feudal family.

When I was 15 years old, the "May 4th" New Culture Movement happened. The anti-imperialist and anti-feudal surge, as well as the widespread spread of democratic and socialist ideological trends, made Ba Jin feel surprised and excited and inspired and enlightened like never before. He paid close attention to the development of the movement, and publications such as "New Youth" and "Weekly Review" as well as some new books became his enlightenment reading. The suspicion and disgust that originally grew out of real-life feelings began to find theoretical explanations and guidance; what was originally just personal thinking and exploration began to merge into the torrent of struggle in the entire society. Ba Jin's life and thoughts thus took a decisive turn. He said: "I often say that I am a child of the May Fourth Movement. The May Fourth Movement woke me up from my sleep like a spring thunder. I opened my eyes and began to see a brand new world." It was the May Fourth Movement. , pushing him onto the path of resolutely opposing the feudal system and passionately pursuing new social ideals. In 1923, he ran away from his family and left the isolated Sichuan to study in Shanghai and Nanjing. At one time, he even wanted to apply for Peking University, the birthplace of the New Culture Movement. In early 1927, he went to France to study, and continued to eagerly search for the truth of social liberation in a broader world.

For Ba Jin, this is not a smooth road. Among the various ideological trends spread before and after the May Fourth Movement, the one that attracted him most was anarchism. Readings advocating this trend of thought, such as Kropotkin's political treatise "To the Youth" and Liao Kangfu's play "The Night is Young", all gave him great excitement and inspiration, which gradually formed Ba Jin's life beliefs and beliefs in his youth. Political views guided him on the path of life. One of his earliest articles was a political commentary advocating anarchism entitled "How to Build a Really Free and Equality Society." From then until the end of the 1920s, he translated and compiled many anarchist books with great enthusiasm. The "May 4th" New Culture Movement brought science and democracy, as well as socialist ideological trends. At that time, people were eager to absorb all new knowledge from foreign countries, and for a while they could not distinguish the boundaries between anarchism and socialism, individualism and collectivism. Nietzsche, Kropotkin and Marx had almost the same attraction. Only later did I realize that Marxism-Leninism is the only truth and weapon to liberate mankind. Many advanced people who seek revolutionary truth have experienced such a tortuous journey to varying degrees. Among modern Chinese writers, Ba Jin may be the most representative in this regard, and his ideological journey was arduous. This trend of thought that defied all authority and restraint pushed Ba Jin onto the path of democratic revolution and became his ideological weapon for resolutely anti-imperialist and anti-feudal. It also gave his creations a distinctive and radical color that broke with the old world from the beginning. . At the same time, this trend of thought more or less hindered Ba Jin from correctly understanding the scientific socialist theory and the people's revolutionary movement led by the proletarian party. For a period of time, he had doubts or reservations of one kind or another, which had a profound impact on his life and life. Creation brings some negative effects. However, Ba Jin was concerned about the liberation of the people and the practical problems of the Chinese people. Therefore, he was able to determine his own understanding and actions based on the reality of Chinese society. Even when he was most enthusiastic about anarchism, he could put forward and insist on his own ideas. view. This not only made him different from ordinary anarchists at that time, but also made him finally part ways with this trend of thought after more than 10 years of thinking and exploration.

Ba Jin’s earliest creations were some new poems and poems published in the "Literature Ten Weekly" (supplement to "Current Affairs News") from July 1922 to November 1922 and "Women's Magazine" in October 1923. prose. They conveyed the "cry of the abused", flashed the faces of "bereaved children", bearers, beggars... and pointed out that there are no rich people in the world who take the initiative to give wealth to the poor. "If you want to realize a beautiful world, you have to create it yourself." These works, which were exercises in nature, were rarely mentioned at the time and later; however, they drew themes from real life, paid attention to sharp social oppression and class contradictions, sympathized with those who were insulted and harmed, and called on people to rise up and resist. The sharp edge directed at the unreasonable social system, the revolutionary passion and the clear and enthusiastic words have all shown the basic tendency and characteristics of Ba Jin's creation in the following decades.

His formal literary career began in 1927 while traveling in France. In the lonely and monotonous days when I first arrived in a foreign country, many past experiences and knowledge came back to life in my memories. "In order to comfort my lonely young heart, I began to write down the little things I got from life."

The Kuomintang reactionaries rebelled against the revolution on April 12, and new warlords replaced the old warlords, pushing the Chinese people who were prepared to welcome the victory of the revolution into new abyss of suffering. Soon, a protest movement broke out around the world to save the anarchist, Italian worker, and Fan Zaidi who was regarded as "Mr." by Ba Jin from the death penalty. However, the U.S. government still ordered his execution despite the warnings of public opinion in various countries. These major changes made Ba Jin extremely shocked and angry. In order to express and vent these passions, he wrote some chapters intermittently. In the summer of 1928, after sorting, adding and deleting, it was his first novella "Destruction".

The novel is about Shanghai under the rule of Beiyang warlords. From the beginning when a warlord's car kills a pedestrian to the end when the revolutionary's head is hung on a telephone pole for public display, interspersed are plots such as feudal families ruining the love of young men and women, workers being killed for delivering revolutionary leaflets, etc., showing that this is a story that is tainted everywhere. A world full of "scarlet blood". The novel mainly describes the anguish and struggle of some intellectual young people who were inspired by the new ideological trend of the "May 4th Movement" and sought the road to social liberation in such an environment. What echoes throughout the book is the cry: "Anyone who has ever built his happiness on the pain of others should perish." This is actually the theme of the novel. The protagonist Du Daxin has the determination "for the sake of my beloved oppressed compatriots, I am willing to perish." However, the cruel social reality, painful personal experiences, anarchist beliefs, and severe tuberculosis made him suffer from a deep world-weariness. "He regarded death as his obligation and wanted to rest in peace with death," he said. A long and constant struggle throughout his life.” His actions are therefore deeply pessimistic and blind. In order to avenge his comrades killed by the warlord, he attempted to assassinate the martial law commander. As a result, the other party was only slightly injured, but he gave up his young life. The writer praises his dedication while seeing and writing about this personal act of terror that doesn't mean much. Ba Jin said: "I myself opposed him taking this path, but I couldn't stop him. I could only cry for his death" and called Du Daxin a "sick revolutionary". The image of Du Daxin can well show the influence of anarchism reflected in Ba Jin's early creations and his breakthrough in this thought.

In early 1929, "Destruction" was serialized in "Novel Monthly". The plot of the fierce struggle between revolution and counter-revolution is certainly very attractive; the debate between Du Daxin, brothers and sisters Li Leng and Li Jingshu about whether life should be loved or hated, eulogized or cursed, and whether the real society should be gradually improved or completely destroyed. The book's alternately exciting and depressive tone, as well as Du Daxin's act of self-sacrifice, have aroused strong responses among young readers who are eager to seek a future. As one reader stated: "Destruction" "truthfully describes this murderous reality... and also shows the resistance of the suffering people under thousands of oppressions... from the perspective of resisting oppression. During the call, we can know: the weak are not always weak, they have blood, and when the blood spurts out, hum! They not only deeply understand the author's overall creative intention, but also accurately feel it. The writer's emotional ups and downs are immersed in the same pain and joy, disillusionment and expectation. This is a true exchange of thoughts and feelings between writer and reader. Therefore, although "Destruction" was still relatively rough in art and had ideological weaknesses, it immediately became one of the most popular works among readers in 1929. This unexpected success made Ba Jin discover for the first time that literary creation could be a means of spiritual connection between himself and the young people who had experienced the suffering of life together with him. He said: "The publication of "Death"... chose a career for me. My literary life began from then on."

"Rebirth", the sequel to "Death", narrates Li Leng , Li Jingshu's brother and sister were inspired by Du Daxin's sacrifice and successively moved toward revolution. The novel takes the form of a diary. The work exaggerates the numbness and backwardness of the masses and the loneliness of the revolutionaries - they can only rely on "faith" to persist in life and struggle, thus painting a layer of gloomy color. However, what Li Leng thought about before he died was to "connect individual life to the life of the group. Then when human beings prosper upward, we will only see the continuous extension of life, and there will be no individual destruction." It can be seen that the writer has a "big heart" and is concerned about the fate of the people and the future achieved through struggle and sacrifice. He hopes to use the heroic deeds of the pioneers to inspire more successors to work together to overthrow the evil old world. Although this belief is vague and has not been fully expressed in art, it still has a certain inspiring power.

In the early stages of creation, Ba Jin’s favorites were the three novels collectively titled “Love Trilogy”. The first "Fog" is short and mainly describes Zhou Rushui's love life. Although he was a new young man after the May 4th Movement, he could not get rid of the fetters of feudal moral concepts. He showed a weak and indecisive character in love, and therefore lost his beloved. In "Rain", after another failed love affair, he committed suicide by throwing himself into the river. The second film "Rain" has more characters than "Fog", the plot is also more complex, and the images of several characters are more fleshed-out. The novel focuses on the love entanglement between the "enthusiastic, a bit rough and impetuous" Wu Renmin, Zheng Yuwen and Xiong Zhijun.

But this is not a love triangle story, but a serious issue about how to deal with the relationship between revolution and love. Both women in the work had tragic endings, but Wu Renmin finally got rid of the restraints of emotions and fully devoted himself to the revolutionary struggle. In the third "Electricity", some of the characters in the previous two works gradually matured, showing what the writer called "an almost sound character." There are not many descriptions of love anymore, and it is no longer used as a running clue. The work shows the anti-warlord struggle of a radical group in a certain city through activities in trade unions, women's associations, schools, etc. Young people's sincere friendship, firm belief, and courageous dedication spirit and behavior constitute the main content of the book. This is the broadest of the three in terms of the social reality it reflects. "Electricity" is also Ba Jin's favorite one. It is worth noting that the novel repeatedly appears in the debate about whether individual terror should be used to resist reactionary forces. The writer repeatedly stated that “what we hate is the system, not the individual.” Therefore, “giving up one’s life happily is a heroic cause. We seem to need ordinary people more,” “people who can work patiently and silently.” Compared with "Destruction", "Electricity" emphasizes this idea more clearly. However, the novel still uses more words to describe terrorist actions and praise the spirit of sacrifice, making those "heroes" more glorious than "ordinary people". These places reflect Ba Jin's profound ideological and emotional contradictions.

From "Destruction" to "Love Trilogy", the protagonists are all intellectual youths who are rebels in the old world. They come from the exploiting class, but they are determined to devote themselves to the cause of liberation of the exploited. They pride themselves on being representatives of the people, but they fail to see the power of the people, let alone find the correct revolutionary path. Deep in their hearts, they still retain the soul of petty bourgeois individualism. Their bravery and vulnerability, confidence and emptiness are often paradoxically intertwined. Ba Jin repeatedly mentioned that he drew the material for these characters from his own friends. He is not only familiar with them but also loves them. He always depicts their figures and expresses their emotions with a brush full of sincere emotions. It is undeniable that these works have left some negative effects of anarchism, but they do truly record the lives and struggles of these intellectual youths, and truly portray their complex, often morbid, mental outlook. There were many petty bourgeois intellectual youths with similar contradictions and depression in the real society of the 1920s and 1930s. Bringing this type of image into the literary gallery is an important reason why Ba Jin's novels can excite so many young readers.

Although Ba Jin is famous for expressing intellectual youth, he has touched on the struggles of modern industrial workers from the beginning. The image of revolutionary worker Zhang Aiqun appeared in "Destruction", and later in the novella "The Dead Sun", more space was used to show the strike movement launched by Nanjing workers to protest the atrocities of the "May 30th". In the early 1930s, Ba Jin wrote two novellas that mainly described workers: "Sand" was about the life of tin miners, and "Snow" (originally called "Grudge") was about the struggles of coal miners. Readers are presented with gloomy pictures: the suffering of workers not only lies in the plundering of the surplus value created by greedy capitalists, but also more medieval-style inhuman torture - from being lured to the mines From the moment they were buried in a pit (either dead or alive), they completely lost their personal freedom and had no guarantee of life. For them, the mine is undoubtedly a prison of death. The novel also describes the hazy awakening of workers, from spontaneous personal resistance to preliminary organized strike struggle. The writer said: "I put a dying system in front of people and pointed it out to them: 'Here are the scars, here is the blood, look!'" Although the image of the workers in the work is not very successful; but it is truly In terms of reflecting the social reality of life in semi-feudal and semi-colonial old China - the various inhumane super-economic exploitation endured by the proletariat, the novel is still well written.

Since 1929, Ba Jin began to write short stories. By the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War in 1937, more than 60 articles had been written, which were included in 11 collections including "Revenge", "Light", "General", and "Fa's Story". These short stories depict a vast world. Chapters based on life in foreign lands account for a large proportion; many of the chapters feature French protagonists, as well as Russians, Italians, Poles, Austrians, Jews, Japanese, and Koreans, especially the revolutionaries among them. Writers and young people with rebellious spirit are often the protagonists of Ba Jin's short stories. A few of these works were adapted from materials provided by historical documents and biographies, and most of them were written through the writer's interactions with foreign friends and the exchange of understanding and thoughts and feelings. In the colorful exotic scenery, it also shows the harsh life of national oppressor and class opposition, and the heroic struggle against the unreasonable system. After the May 4th Movement, with the increase in social and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries, both content and form had a significant impact on literary creation. The influx of foreign themes into Chinese works is one of the changes. Ba Jin's short story is a good example. The short stories based on domestic life also touch on various contradictions in real society. "Coal Pit", "More than Fifty", "Returning Home", "Moonlight Night", "A Little Thing" and other chapters reflect the suffering and resistance of workers and peasants under natural and man-made disasters and heavy destruction by the landlord and bourgeoisie. Chapters such as "The Intellectual Class" and "The Fall" lashed out at the depravity of the upper class intellectuals.

"When Father Comes Back from Buying New Leather Shoes", "Spring Rain", "Thunder", "Star", etc., use revolutionaries familiar to the writer or intellectual young people looking for a way out of depression as protagonists, revealing more flashes of ideals. .

Ba Jin’s short stories like to be written in the first person, and many of them are in the style of letters or diaries. The "I" may be the central character in the story, or it may be a minor participant or witness in the development of events. He later explained that he often used this type of writing. The positive reason was that he could "vouch for his feelings" directly, and the negative reason was that it was easier to avoid writing about things he didn't know. Most of his novels are more about the expression of subjective feelings and less about the depiction of objective life. Ba Jin also said: "When I write articles, especially short stories, I only feel a kind of enthusiasm that wants to be vented, and a kind of sadness that wants to be poured out. I don't have time to think about what form I should use. I am for "I just started writing novels to commemorate them." He generally doesn't pay much attention to the details of story structure, plot editing, and text control. Instead, his emotions are unrestrained, flowing, exciting, and very fluent.

Nevertheless, Ba Jin's short stories are still colorful and colorful. Hidden in the miserable singing voice of the down-and-out musician, it turns out to be an unfortunate love tragedy, and the whole story is shrouded in a touch of sadness ("Mr. Loper"). The broken grand piano evokes the solemn image of a Russian peasant who loves art and freedom and is exiled in Siberia. The words are full of accusations against the autocratic system ("The Silent Grand Piano"). It draws from several articles about the French Revolution, and uses brightly colored brushes to vividly depict the storm of the times, and highlights the faces of several historical giants in such pictures (three articles including "The Death of Marat"). These works have a relatively distinct romantic sentiment. Two articles are included in the collection "Rags": "Sister Yang" describes the tragic experience of a maid at the bottom of society, and "Second Mother" describes the painful life of a woman who lives in the upper class and is teased by others. With their kindness, and love for life, which reflects the coldness of society and is filled with humanitarian indignation. "The General" portrays the image of a Belarusian aristocrat who lives on the beach and relies on his wife's prostitution. From the strong contrast between the glory of the past and the dilapidation of today, it points out their inevitable fate. The first two chapters of "Gods, Ghosts and People" ("Gods" and "Ghosts"), through a series of ordinary and trivial descriptions of daily life, depict the emptiness and depression of several Japanese people who are suffering from the hardships of real life and turn to religion to seek relief. soul. These works have more detailed descriptions, rich characters, and realism characteristics. In addition, some symbolic writing methods are absorbed in chapters such as "Ghost" and "Dog". Each chapter of "Tower of Eternal Life" is a fairy tale. Under the severe white terror, writers used symbols and metaphors to express their protest against class oppression and proclaim the message that the unreasonable system will eventually be eliminated, which is unique in art. Although in Ba Jin's entire creation, the achievements and influence of short stories are not as good as those of novels and novels, they still have characteristics worthy of attention in terms of ideology and art, showing the writer's multi-faceted talents.

His first collection of essays, "Miscellaneous Notes from a Journey to the Sea," was written before his first novel. During his trip to France in early 1927, he wrote down his experiences along the way in prose. The purpose at that time was to write it for his two brothers; the collection and publication was already after Ba Jin became a famous novelist. Therefore, for a long time people (including the writer himself) have taken "Destruction" instead of "Miscellaneous Notes of a Journey to the Sea" as the starting point of his literary career.

Ba Jin wrote a lot of prose, and he published nearly 10 collections in the early stage. Genres include travel notes, essays, sketches, essays, letters, memoirs... The most eye-catching ones are those that describe one's own life, thoughts and creations (respectively included in "Memories", "Short Briefs", and "Confessions of Life") wait). Among modern Chinese writers, Ba Jin may be the one who likes to talk to readers the most, and he always talks so cordially and frankly, never hiding his love, hate, joy and frustration. He said in a letter to a young student: "Our hearts are connected." These proses particularly clearly demonstrate this characteristic of heart-to-heart communication of thoughts and feelings with readers. They are not only loved by readers because of their vivid and enthusiastic writing, but also are valued by researchers because they provide a large amount of first-hand historical materials about the writer's life and creation. In other prose, Ba Jin is good at using sketches to outline the social beings. For example, "193X·Double Tenth Day·Shanghai" captured several scenes of imperialism insulting the Chinese people; "Ghost Pengwei" exposed the reactionary government's connivance with prostitution and the despicable act of collecting "flower donations"; "One Day" "Three Hundred Yuan" writes about the public sale of women; "Gambling" depicts the scenes of large and small casinos - this is an old world that must be overthrown. In "Old Chen the Carpenter" and "A Coachman", the upright and stubborn character of the laborers is depicted; "A Maid" tells the story of a peasant woman who took revenge and killed a local tycoon and dared to do something; "The Gathering of Peasants" has a front view It describes the emerging mass political struggle in rural areas of Guangdong - what highlights is the huge power hidden in the people. In addition, works such as "Bird's Paradise" depict the scenery of the southern countryside: lush banyan trees, singing birds, vibrant vitality of nature, are also praised works.

Ba Jin’s prose is clear and smooth, and he is good at blending narrative and lyricism: feelings echo in the narrative plot, and events unfold with the turbulence of emotions, with virtual reality alternated with ease. His prose does not pursue external exquisiteness, but can convey strong passion in the simple language he talks about, giving people ideological enlightenment and artistic enjoyment, and has an inner charm. and brilliance. Among the prose creations in modern China, Ba Jin is an outstanding one who has developed a unique style and is in a league of his own.