Ba Jin, whose original name was Li Yaotang, also had the courtesy name Fu Gan. A native of Chengdu, Sichuan (original from Jiaxing, Zhejiang), he was born on November 25, 1904 in an old-style large family in Chengdu.
In 1920, Qiuba Jin entered the Chengdu Foreign Languages ??School. Under the influence of the "May 4th" New Culture Movement, he read a large number of Western literature and social science works, and was especially influenced by the anarcho-communist trend of socialism. theoretical influence. In 1921, he and his friends participated in the work of social groups such as Banyue Society and Jun Society. In 1922, he began to publish poetry. He left Chengdu in April 1923 and went to Shanghai, Nanjing and other places, and completed high school at the High School Affiliated to Southeast University. In 1925, he organized the People's Society with his friends, published the semi-monthly magazine "People", and engaged in anarchist theoretical exploration and social movements.
In 1927, Ba Jin went to Paris, France to study. During this period, he actively participated in the international activities to rescue the Italian labor leaders Sacco and Vanzait who were framed by the US government. He was influenced by this and wrote the novella "Destruction". , praising the revolutionary youth who devoted themselves to their ideals. After returning to China in 1929, because the anarchist movement had failed, he pinned his despair and anger on literary fiction. The novels he has created have two major themes: first, exploring the path of young people pursuing their ideals and beliefs. Representative works include "Rebirth" and "Trilogy of Love" ("Fog", "Rain", "Electricity"), etc.; It exposes the evils of the feudal family system and insinuates the evils of the social autocratic system. Representative works include "Autumn in Spring" and "The Torrent Trilogy" ("Home", "Spring", "Autumn"), which are warm, sincere and well-written. It has a strong emotional color and has a significant social impact.
Ba Jin settled in Shanghai in the 1930s, and continued to travel to the south and north, writing a large number of prose travel notes. In the autumn of 1934, he went to Japan and wrote the novel "Gods", "Ghosts" and "Humans". His style gradually became calmer and more stable. In 1935, he returned to China to join the Cultural Life Publishing House founded by a friend and served as chief editor. He edited large-scale book series such as "Literature Series", "Translation Series", and "Cultural Life Series", and made positive contributions to the new literature in the 1930s and 1940s in terms of discovering new literary talents and recommending outstanding works.
After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he traveled to Guangzhou, Guilin, Shanghai, Chongqing and other places, integrating his ideals into the private publishing business of intellectuals. In the later period of the Anti-Japanese War, his creative style changed, and he mainly described small people in real life, showing profound humanitarianism. His representative works include the novella "Open Garden", "The Fourth Ward", "Cold Night", etc. In 1946, he returned to Shanghai and settled down.
After 1949, he served as the third and fourth vice-chairman of the All-China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, vice-chairman and chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, chairman and honorary chairman of the Shanghai Branch of the Writers Association, chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and editor-in-chief of "Harvest" and "Shanghai Literature" , successively served as 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, and vice chairman of the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He is currently the Chairman of the Chinese Writers Association and Vice Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. He visited abroad many times and wrote a large number of prose travel notes, as well as short story collections "The Hero's Story" and "Li Dahai" that reflected the Korean War. They mainly praised the new era and heroes, and founded a partnership with the writer Jin Yi. Edited the large-scale literary journal "Harvest".
From 1958 to 1962, 14 volumes of "Ba Jin's Collected Works" were published by People's Literature Publishing House. He was persecuted during the Cultural Revolution and lost his beloved wife. In 1973, he quietly translated the memoirs of the Russian democratic revolutionary Herzen, "Past Events and Thoughts".
After the end of the "Cultural Revolution" in 1978, he reflected with a heavy heart on the path and lessons learned by intellectuals in the 20th century, and used individuals as the object of anatomy to write five volumes of "Random Thoughts" (including "Random Thoughts", "Exploration Collection", "Truth Collection", "Sickness Collection", "Untitled Collection"), summarize the historical lessons of the Cultural Revolution, explore the psychological flaws of intellectuals, and advocate the establishment of a modern Chinese literature museum and a cultural revolution museum , written seriously, sincerely and profoundly, was praised by the cultural circles as "a big book that tells the truth".
Ba Jin won the Italian "Dante International Prize" in 1982, the French "Legion d'Honneur" in 1983, the Chinese University of Hong Kong's Honorary Doctorate of Literature in 1984, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Foreign Academician in 1985. title, in 1990 he was awarded the "Medal of People's Friendship" of the former Soviet Union, in 1990 he was awarded the "Special Award for the Establishment of the Asian Culture Award" in Fukuoka, Japan, in 1993 he was awarded the "Senior Writer's Consolation Award" by the Asian Chinese Writers Literary Foundation, and in 1998 he was awarded the fourth Outstanding Contribution Award of the Shanghai Literary and Art Awards.
In his later years, Ba Jin published a collection of essays "Reflections", compiled and published "The Complete Works of Ba Jin" (16 volumes), "The Complete Works of Ba Jin's Translations" (10 volumes), etc. Due to his outstanding achievements in ideology and literature, as well as his typical exploration of the path of Chinese intellectuals in the 20th century, he has been an important subject for academic research on the path of Chinese literature and intellectuals in the 20th century since the 1980s. Since 1989 , the country has held four Bajin International Symposiums, and published more than a dozen research chronologies, biographies and theoretical monographs.
Xinhuanet Shanghai Channel reporter Zhao Lanying reported on October 17: The long river of life for more than a century has flowed through mountains, ridges, and canyons, and stopped at this moment. Ba Jin, how many people are calling this name, how many people are mourning the fall of the towering tree in the Chinese literary world.
The majestic Ba Jin stands in the Chinese literary world and survives in people's hearts because of his outstanding character and literary quality. The wealth he left us cannot be calculated with numbers, cannot be bought with money, and cannot be fully expressed with words. The literary world is brilliant because of him; the country is beautiful because of him; the people are proud of him.
"The motherland will always be by your side"
"You are the light, you are the heat, and you are the conscience of the twentieth century." 10 years ago, Mr. Cao Yu wrote these words, Praise Ba Jin.
After Ba Jin became known to people with his first novel "Destruction" in 1927, he gradually became a leader in the Chinese literary world with all his light and heat, and continued to do so for decades. For a long time, no one can replace, no one can shake. Ba Jin's light and heat are his 26 volumes of immortal works and 10 volumes of brilliant translations. This abundant wealth has been enjoyed by several generations in China, and will be enjoyed by several, a dozen or even more generations. Ba Jin's light and heat are his noble spiritual realm and perfect personality. This huge wealth is even more respected, admired and inspired by others.
Patriotism is an important foundation for Ba Jin’s two great fortunes. From his youth to his decline, Ba Jin’s patriotism has never been affected by any environment. On the contrary, it is more enthusiastic. In the past century, China has experienced ups and downs and the world has been in chaos. She was once oppressed by three mountains: poverty, backwardness, and stupidity. She has suffered from various interferences and taken many detours, causing confusion, worry, and humiliation. Ba Jin did not dislike all of this, and always used his actions to pursue his ideals and express his feelings.
When Ba Jin was 12 years old, he read through "The Complete Biography of Yue Fei" and was deeply shocked by Yue Fei's patriotism and national spirit. By chance, he got the "Poetry of Drunken Mo Shanfang" collected by his grandfather. In the book, the poem "Man Jiang Hong" by Wen Zhengming, a poet and calligrapher of the Ming Dynasty, made Ba Jin love it and never tire of it. Ba Jin has always kept this book close to him. Even during the turmoil of the "Cultural Revolution" and his home was robbed several times, this book was not destroyed. In the 1990s, Ba Jin went to Hangzhou to recuperate under the persuasion of everyone. He was always afraid of causing trouble to others, but one day he made a request to visit Yue Yue's tomb. In front of the statue of Yue Fei, Ba Jin in the wheelchair stared intently for a long time. The staff around him were deeply moved by this scene, and no one moved easily. Later, they came to the stele of Wen Zhengming's "Man Jiang Hong". At this time, he was over ninety years old, and his speech and enunciation were not very clear at ordinary times, but he recited this poem like a primary school student. The voice became clearer and louder: "Brush the broken stele, and the words will fly." , vaguely readable... It's just a smile, but what can I do? "Every sentence and every word is actually already familiar to Ba Jin and melted in his blood.
Ba Jin is a person who is not good at talking and smiling, and his eyebrows are always frowned. The old man Bing Xin once commented on her "brother" with a smile: "He is very melancholy. I think he is happy when he is in pain." Melancholy and pain are a manifestation of Ba Jin's patriotic sentiments. He is an idealist and pursues it all his life. He hopes that his motherland will become stronger and its people will become rich. He once said: "I write not because I have talent, but because I have feelings. I have infinite love for my country and people. I use my works to express my endless feelings."
This is a passage written by Ba Jin about the creation process of "Destruction": "Every night when I returned to the hotel, I rested my tired body for a while, then lit the gas stove and made tea to drink. Then, the bells of Notre Dame de Paris It hit me hard. In this environment, the memories of the past continued to torture me. I thought about my active life in Shanghai, and I thought about those friends who were struggling. The past love and hate, sorrow and joy, suffering and communion, hope and struggle, when I think of everything in the past, my heart feels like being cut by a knife, and the unquenchable flame burns fiercely again. To comfort this lonely young heart, I started to write down the little things I got from life. Every night while listening to the bells of Notre Dame, I wrote something like a novel in my exercise book. , I wrote the first four chapters of "Destruction" in March."
In 1979, Ba Jin led a delegation of Chinese writers to visit Paris. This is the first time Ba Jin has set foot on this land after leaving Paris for half a century. Revisiting the old place will bring many emotions to anyone. However, every morning, Ba Jin sat quietly in front of the window. What he saw in front of him was not the street scene of Paris, but Chang'an Street in Beijing, Huaihai Road in Shanghai, West Lake in Hangzhou, double wells in Chengdu, and the countryside in Guangzhou... He said: "In this way, I return to my dear motherland every day and feel very fulfilled. Leaving the motherland, I have an obvious feeling that I am Chinese. I also had this feeling 50 years ago. We often compare the motherland to Mother, the motherland is indeed a mother. However, in the past, this mother was poor and ill, and could not care about the life and death of her children. However, it is different today. No matter where I am, I always feel that she has a pair of loving eyes. Look at me with concern. No matter how far you go, you will never be able to escape the motherland. The motherland will always be by your side."
In front of many honors and on many foreign affairs occasions, reporters have heard him say: " I grew up in China, and everything about me belongs to the Chinese people.
"In 1983, when Ba Jin received the French Medal of Honor, he said to French President Mitterrand who came to award the medal: "Thank you, President, for coming to Shanghai and awarding me the medal while I was ill. I don't think it's my personal achievement. This is His Excellency the President's respect for our socialist motherland and respect for the time-honored Chinese culture. This is a symbol of the friendship between the French people and the Chinese people. "
"Let everyone have spring"
Ba Jin is an active supporter and participant of the "May 4th" New Culture Movement. Get rid of old ideas, old consciousness, and old systems , ushering in a new China with the spirit of democracy, freedom and science is Ba Jin’s lifelong ideal.
Care for the people with all sincerity and enthusiasm, "Let everyone have housing and every mouth." "A full meal, every heart is warm." Ba Jin always cherishes this beautiful wish in his heart.
Ba Jin was born in a large feudal family in Zhengtongshun Street, Chengdu. His loving mother was the most important person in his life. The first teacher. He learned about love and tolerance from his mother. Another teacher when Ba Jin was young was Lao Zhou, the sedan bearer. At that time, he often went to the stable and lay beside Lao Zhou's cigarette lamp to listen to him. Story. After every story, Lao Zhou would always teach him: "Be a good person, be true to people, and never make the wrong move no matter how others treat you." "Don't lie to others, don't treat others badly, don't take advantage of others..." He often went to the kitchen to help them light the fire. Sitting on the stone in front of the stove, Ba Jin kept putting firewood in, often turning the fire on. It was out. At this time, Lao Zhou pulled him away and poked the stove with the tongs a few times. The fire started to burn again. Lao Zhou put down the tongs and told Ba Jin: "You must remember: the fire must be hollow. , people must be loyal. ”
As an adult, Ba Jin has been thinking about this question: what kind of spirit and strength enabled the thin old Zhou to speak such profound truths under such difficult conditions. This is benevolence, righteousness, and morality. , Loyalty and love. And it is precisely these that are the spiritual root of the Chinese nation and the foundation of human beings.
Ba Jin is a person who is not good at words. He reflects his love and thoughts in him. Therefore, almost every work of Ba Jin reflects the voice of the times and the demands of the people. Anti-imperialism, anti-feudalism, anti-oppression, and calling for equality, freedom, and happiness are the main contents of Ba Jin's works. This is also the fundamental reason why Ba Jin’s works are still accepted and loved by today’s readers after more than 70 years.
In many of Ba Jin’s literary essays, we can read the following words: “Our lives. The creed should be: act faithfully, love the people passionately, help those in need of love, oppose those who destroy love, seek personal happiness in the happiness of everyone, and seek personal freedom in the liberation of the masses. "The goal of my life is to help people, so that everyone can have spring, every heart can have light, everyone can have happiness in life, and everyone can have freedom in development." "What are my enemies? All old traditional concepts, an unreasonable system that hinders social evolution and the development of human nature, and all forces that destroy love, they are my biggest enemies." ”
He was kind to everyone. In front of his friends, he always expressed his heart sincerely. In the 1950s, the writer Xiao Qian was criticized for nothing. At this time, his former friends avoided him. He was like a stranger. Only Ba Jin called him loudly in public, sat beside him generously, and quietly told him to be humble and cautious. But when Cao Yu had more and more titles on his head. As he got older, he criticized him: Don't take too much care of affairs and write more good works. After Cao Yu's death, he asked people to help Cao Yu's wife, Li Yuru, organize and publish Cao Yu's unpublished manuscripts, leaving Cao Yu at the end. The true image of Ba Jin.
Ba Jin’s concern for others has always been silent. When it was cold, Ba Jin stood in front of the window and saw the master trimming the flower seedlings in the wind, and he was worried that the master would do it. They were freezing, so he quickly asked his family to buy down vests and cotton hats to send. Xiao Zhang and Xiao Wu came to work with Balao from the countryside. Years passed. Ba Jin has been worried about what will happen to these two children a hundred years from now. ? One day, Zhai Taifeng, then secretary of the Party Committee of the Chinese Writers Association, came to visit and asked Ba Lao what he wanted? , one by one, people who are around Ba Jin or have had contact with Ba Jin will tell many stories and say sincerely: "Ba Lao is a good person. ”
Benevolence, loyalty, justice, self-discipline, and humanitarianism accompany Ba Jin throughout his life.
“Let life bloom”
The literary works and character are highly consistent. This is the most touching thing about Ba Jin.
In his later years, Ba Jin said this to reporters many times: “I can’t work now. But, a part of my heart is still burning. I want to use practical actions to prove whether what I write and say is true or false, and what kind of person I am. "Exploring Ba Jin's life is a life of continuous perfection of Ba Jin's personality. What runs throughout is his dedication to "let life bloom".
In Ba Jin's essays, prefaces, correspondence, and conversations, We have read many of Ba Jin’s discussions on “letting life bloom”, and we have even seen an old man with an independent personality who is eager for life to bloom:
“There is something in the world that cannot be separated from survival. Generosity, without which we would die, dry up from within.
We must blossom. Morality and selflessness are the flowers of life. "--"Friends" (1936)
"Writing this, my eyes became foggy, and with tears in my eyes, I saw a huge, strange, and beautiful flower. Isn't that a strange plant in the desert? No, it's not. I've never been to the desert. It loomed, for three days in a row, and never disappeared from my mind. It is possible that it will never disappear. It is the flower of life. "-"Letter to Wei Jinyun" (1986)
"I am willing to live again, learn again, work again, and let my life blossom and bear fruit. "-"Letter to the Students of Heping Street Primary School" (1990)
"Only when we spend them for others can our lives bear fruit. Otherwise we languish and die. I'm still thinking, still exploring, still pursuing. I keep asking myself: When will my life blossom? Then let me live again, live again, live again! "--"Let Me Live Again" (1991)
"Someone asked me what it means for life to bloom. I said: People don’t live to live for free. We live to add a little glory to the society we live in. We can do this because each of us has more love, more sympathy, and more Energy, much more time, than is needed to sustain our own existence, only when it is spent for others does our life blossom. Those who are dedicated to themselves and their whole lives will gain nothing. "-"Letter to Dongcheng Gen Street Primary School" (1991)
......
When Ba Jin was just embarking on the path of literature, a friend invited him to his own school As an editor in a bookstore, he was paid 80 yuan a month. But Ba Jin said: 40 yuan was enough. He gave the royalties for his first novel "Destruction" to a friend who lived in difficulty in the 1930s and 1940s. During the peak period of Ba Jin's creation, he spent 14 years of his precious time editing other people's books without taking any money. After liberation, he was the only writer in China who did not receive a salary. The royalties and the collection of books were donated one by one. Mr. Shu Yi, Lao She’s son, once recalled this scene: When the Museum of Modern Chinese Literature opened, Ba Jin came to cut the ribbon that day, sitting on the sofa with his hands in his hand. He dug into his pocket, and finally took out a paper bag, handed it to Shu Yi, and said: "Turn over the royalties you just received. "Shu Yi said: "I really didn't know what to say at that time. He is completely transparent. Love the motherland, love the people, and be willing to dedicate yourself. ”
In the Chinese literary world, generations of writers have felt the fragrance of Ba Jin’s flower of life. In 1936, at the funeral of Mr. Lu Xun, Hu Feng’s wallet was stolen. Ba Jin once When he saw Hu Feng handing out money to others, he stuffed his wallet casually into his pocket. At that time, he was careful whether someone would steal it because of the crowd. After the funeral, he couldn't get through. The crowd dispersed like a tide. Ba Jin saw Hu Feng looking for something anxiously. He hurried up and asked, and he found that the wallet had been stolen. Ba Jin suggested on the spot: "Hu Feng lost it while working for the government." Money, everyone should help him. "At that time, Ba Jin was the editor-in-chief of the Cultural Life Publishing House, and he discussed with the president Wu Langxi to solve Hu Feng's urgent need by advancing the manuscript fee. In the 1930s, Liu Baiyu was still an unknown literary youth. By chance, he met Ba Jin. Ba Jin told him that Cultural Life Publishing House was going to publish a collection of his works, but he was so worried that he didn't even bring a cut of the manuscript. He took out a paper bag and said: "I have already compiled it for you, you just need to check it yourself to see if there are any changes. "Liu Baiyu took it and took a look. All the works he published during the year were cut and pasted here neatly. This is Liu Baiyu's first novel collection "On the Grassland".
Xu Qian, who has worked beside him for more than 40 years, plainly summarized Ba Jin’s impression in his mind: “He always felt that he owed others. Therefore, he has to give and he has to contribute. In real life, most people always think that others owe them something. Therefore, the mentality is very unbalanced, complaining about this and that. The difference between us and Balao lies in this point. However, with this small gap, it is difficult to catch up, and it is impossible to catch up.
In a century of extraordinary life, Ba Jin created extremely brilliant wealth for society. But in the end, he was so "harsh" to himself: He suggested time and time again that if he could no longer work, he was a disabled person, so he should stop using good medicine and just euthanasia.