Then, Ba was mainly renowned for the “Jiliu trilogy” — The Family, The Spring and The Autumn, which shed light on ancient feudal society. With the traditional Chinese family structure as his target, the novels depicted the struggles and tragedies, love and hatred of the young generation in a saga of family decline, and were enormously popular with Chinese youth at the time and throughout the century, encouraging them to get rid of the old patriarchal clan system and seek self-realization. As a result, a great many young people devoted themselves to revolution.
The Family of the trilogy, especially, has been seen as a masterpiece of his as well as one the most outstanding work in China’s modern literature. Due to its deep exploration into the complexity and depression of the big traditional family, the novel has inspired many film or TV directors. In fact, many of Ba’s works are irreplaceable in terms of literary meaning, such as Destruction, Love Trilogy, and The Cold Night .
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| The Jiliu Trilogy |
Unlike Lu Xun ‘s indignation or Mao Dun’s penetration (both are outstanding figures in China’s modern literature history), Ba’s passion and strong eagerness for the shock of young people have made him the best symbol of the “5.4″ youth spirit.
The second period was from 1978 to 1986 when the Cultural Revolution when his five-volume Random Thoughts came out. After 10 miserable years, he regained human dignity and freedom of expression, called for humanitarian, accused others of atrocity and reflected upon his own flaccidity. His five-volume Random Thoughts, a memoir on the culture revolution, was his masterpiece during this period as well as his major contribution to the “new time” culture. Some of the short essays within it are still reminding Chinese intellectuals to remember history and stick to innate ability. His works at this period showed his aspiration for an open and free society.
During the first period, Ba’s works encouraged people to smash the shackles of old conventions and seek emancipation from unfair and unreasonable social order. His works in the second period were mostly reflections upon the Cultural Revolution and the past political movements, putting forward another concept of “emancipation of human beings.” It is his constant exploration and expression of human beings’ pursuit that makes Ba an inspiring and passionate writer.
Ba is revered by his readers from home and abroad not only because of his extensive publications but also his love for his family, friends, his countrymen, and the world.
Ba refused to receive payment from the government, and chose to live on a writer’s remuneration since the 1950s. He was also an experienced editor and publisher, giving advice and assistance to numerous younger people.
“My homeland is always with me.”
“You are the light and heat. You are the conscience of the10th century.” – Cao Yu , a famous Chinese playwright, wrote in praise of Ba a decade ago.
In 1927, with his first novel “Destruction” on the shelf, Ba Jin gradually became the leading writer in Chinese literary circles and his position remained irreplaceable and unshakable for as
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| Ba Jin in his later years |
long as 10 years. His heat and light, as Cao Yu mentioned, are in fact his many literary works, either composed or translated, which have served several generations of Chinese people and which will continue to benefit coming generations.
Patriotism is the foundation of Ba’s contributions. From a small boy to an old man, Ba’s love for country never changed, whatever the situation encountered.
As he said, “I write not because I am gifted at it. Rather, it is because I have passion for my country and people. As I am not good at speaking, I turn to writing as a way to express my infinite love. ”
In 1979, Ba Jin headed a delegation to visit Paris, the first time he set foot on this land since he left in 1928. Any one revisiting the old haunt might be shocked by a riot of emotions and memories. For Ba, however, it was not the case. Every morning, as he sat beside the window and what he saw was not the vistas of Paris, but of Beijing‘s Chang’an Street, Shanghai’s Huaihai Road, Hangzhou‘s West Lake , and so on.
“In this way, I can go back to my homeland every day, feeling rather satisfied. Once I leave China, my strongest feeling is that I am Chinese. I had the same feeling 50 years ago. We often compare our homeland to mother. It is true. But for a long time in the past, our poor and devastated mother was in a critical situation, unable to tell in the morning what may happen in the evening, not to mention taking care of her children. It is different today. No matter where I go, I can feel the concern from the mother. She is always with me.”
（Source: chinaculture.org）
