Li Yaotang ( zh, s=李尧棠, t=李堯棠, p=Lǐ Yáotáng; 25 November 1904 – 17 October 2005), better known by his

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

Ba Jin ( zh, s=巴金, t=巴金, p=Bā Jīn) or his

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Li Feigan ( zh, s=李芾甘, t=李芾甘, p=Lǐ Fèigān), was a Chinese anarchist, translator, and writer. In addition to his impact on Chinese literature, he also wrote three original works in

Esperanto Esperanto (, ) is the world's most widely spoken Constructed language, constructed international auxiliary language. Created by L. L. Zamenhof in 1887 to be 'the International Language' (), it is intended to be a universal second language for ...

, and as a political activist he wrote '' The Family''.

Name

He was born as Li Yaotang, with alternate name Li Feigan or Li Pei Kan (in

Wade–Giles Wade–Giles ( ) is a romanization system for Mandarin Chinese. It developed from the system produced by Thomas Francis Wade during the mid-19th century, and was given completed form with Herbert Giles's '' A Chinese–English Dictionary'' ...

). The first word of his pen name may have been taken from Ba Embo, his classmate who committed suicide in Paris, which was admitted by himself, or from the first syllable of the surname of the Russian anarchist

Mikhail Bakunin Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin. Sometimes anglicized to Michael Bakunin. ( ; – 1 July 1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist. He is among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major figure in the revolutionary socialist, s ...

; and the last character of which is the Chinese equivalent of the last syllable of Russian anarchist

Peter Kropotkin Pyotr Alexeyevich Kropotkin (9 December 1842 – 8 February 1921) was a Russian anarchist and geographer known as a proponent of anarchist communism. Born into an aristocratic land-owning family, Kropotkin attended the Page Corps and later s ...

(克鲁泡特金, Ke-lu-pao-te-jin).

Biography

On November 25, 1904, Li Yaotang was born in Chengdu, Sichuan Province, into a wealthy Li family. The family's wealth came mainly from the land acquired by his grandfather and father when they were officials, and Li Yaotang sometimes described his family as a "typical landlord's family". In 1919, Ba read Kropotkin's ''

An Appeal to the Young An Appeal to the Young (French: ''Aux jeunes gens'') is a revolutionary, anarchist pamphlet published in 1880 and written by the Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin. It is one of the most successful and moving tracts by Kropotkin in favor of a Sociali ...

'' and converted to anarchism. It was partly owing to boredom that Ba Jin began to write his first novel, ''Miewang'' (“Destruction”). In France, Ba Jin continued his anarchist activism, translating many anarchist works, including Kropotkin's ''

Ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...

'', into Chinese, which was mailed back to Shanghai's anarchist magazines for publication. During the

Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, Ba Jin was heavily persecuted as a counter-revolutionary. In his memoir, Ba Jin also wrote about his own participation in the persecution of friends and acquaintances. He asked that a Cultural Revolution Museum be set up in 1981. Ba Jin stated that such museums could include "concrete and real objects" and reconstruct "striking scenes" of the Cultural Revolution in order to engrave the upheaval of the period in Chinese national memory. In his view, passing on to later generations memories of this "catastrophic era" would help avoid history repeating itself. Ba Jin did not attempt to implement his proposal for a Cultural Revolution museum. The Shantou Cultural Revolution Museum referenced the influence of Ba Jin on its establishment through displaying a depiction of his at the entrance as well as a quote of his, "Every town in China should establish a museum about the Cultural Revolution." Some critics of Ba Jin noted that his vision of a Cultural Revolution did not deviate much from the official judgment on the period contained in the 1981 '' Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party since the Founding of the People's Republic of China'' and that he did not propose how to treat the actions and figure of

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

in such a museum. Other critics contended that Ba Jin's vision privileged the suffering of elites during the Cultural Revolution and ignored the experience of the poor, many of whom remembered the Mao era as when they first received job security and

health care Health care, or healthcare, is the improvement or maintenance of health via the preventive healthcare, prevention, diagnosis, therapy, treatment, wikt:amelioration, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other disability, physic ...

, or who may remember the period as a time of simple virtue and close communities. Ba Jin contributed calligraphy to photographer Yang Kelin's 1995 two volume work, ''The Cultural Revolution Museum''. Ba Jin's works were heavily influenced by foreign writers, including

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, ; ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of Naturalism (literature), naturalism, and an important contributor to ...

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev ( ; rus, links=no, Иван Сергеевич ТургеневIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poe ...

, Alexander Herzen,

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

, and

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born Anarchism, anarchist revolutionary, political activist, and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europ ...

.He described Goldman as his "spiritual mother", and dedicated ''The General'' to her. See Preface, ''The General'', and Olga Lang, ''Pa Chin and His Writings: Chinese Youth Between the Wars'' (Harvard University Press, 1967). His married wife since 1944, Xiao Shan, died of cancer in 1972. Ba Jin suffered from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

beginning in 1983. The illness confined him to Huadong Hospital in Shanghai from 1998. He died in 2005.

Bibliography

English translations

*(1954) ''Living Amongst Heroes''. Beijing: Foreign Language Press. *(1958) '' The Family''. (trans. Sidney Shapiro) Beijing: Foreign Language Press. *(1959) ''A battle for life: a full record of how the life of steel worker, Chiu Tsai-kang, was saved in the Shanghai Kwangrze Hospital''. Beijing: Foreign Language Press. *(1978) ''Cold Nights'' (trans. Nathan K. Mao and Liu Ts'un-yan) Hong Kong: Chinese University press. *(1984) ''Random Thoughts'' (trans. Germie Barm&ecute). Hong Kong: Joint Publishing Company. (Partial translation of Suizianglu) *(1988) ''Selected works of Ba Jin'' (trans. Sidney Shapiro and Jock Hoe) Beijing: Foreign Language Press. (Includes The Family, Autumn in Spring, Garden of Repose, Bitter Cold Nights) *(1999) ''Ward Four: A Novel of Wartime China'' (trans. Haili Kong and Howard Goldblatt). San Francisco: China Books and Periodicals, Inc. *(2005) "How to Build a Society of Genuine Freedom and Equality"(1921), "Patriotism and the Road to Happiness for the Chinese"(1921) and "Anarchism and the Question of Practice"(1927) in '' Anarchism: A Documentary History of Libertarian Ideas, Volume 1: From Anarchy to Anarchism'' (300CE-1939), ed. Robert Graham. Montreal: Black Rose Books. *(2012) ''Ward Four: A Novel of Wartime China'' (trans. Howard Goldblatt). San Francisco: China Books and Periodicals, Inc. .

Ba Jin stories in collections

*Arzybasheff, M. (1927). "Morning Shadows?" in Tales of the Revolution. Tr. Percy Pinkerton. New York Huebsch. *(1927). "Workingman Shevyrev." in Tales of the Revolution, tr. Percy Pinkerton. New York: Huebsch.

Works

;Short story collections *''Vengeance'' 《复仇》, 1931 *''Dog'' 《狗》, 1931 *''Brightness'' 《光明》, 1932 *''The Electric Chair'' 《电椅》, 1933 *''Wiping Cloth'' 《抹布》, 1933 *''The General'' 《将军》, 1934 *''Gods, Ghosts and Men'' 《神·鬼·人》, 1935 *''Sinking'' 《沉落》, 1936 *''The Story of Hair'' 《发的故事》, 1936 *''Thunder'' 《雷》, 1937 *''Resurrection Grass'' 《还魂草》, 1942 *''Little People, Little Events'' 《小人小事》, 1943 *''Heroic Tales'' 《英雄的故事》, 1953 *''Pigs and Chickens'' 《猪与鸡》, 1959 *''Li Da-hai'' 《李大海》, 1961 *''Stories Outside the City'', 1992 ;Children's literature *''The Immortality Pagoda'' 《长生塔》, 1937 *''The Pearl and the Jade Concubine'' 《明珠和玉姬》, 1957 ;Novels and novellas *''Destruction'' 《灭亡》, 1929 *''The Dead Sun'' 《死去的太阳》, 1931 *The "Love" Trilogy 《爱情的三部曲》 (1931–5) **''Fog'' 《雾》, 1931 **''Rain'' 《雨》, 1933 **''Lightning'' 《电》, 1935 *''New Life'' 《新生》, 1933 *''Miners'' 《砂丁》, 1933 *''Germination'' 《萌芽》, 1933 *''A Dream of the Sea'' 《海的梦》, 1932 *''Autumn in Spring'' 《春天里的秋天》, 1932 *The "Torrents" Trilogy 《激流三部曲》 **'' The Family'' 《家》, 1933 **''Spring'' 《春》, 1938 **''Autumn'' 《秋》, 1940 *''Lina'' 《利娜》, 1940 *''Fires'' 《火》(in three volumes), 1940–1945 *''Stars'' 《星》(English-Chinese bilingual), 1941 *''A Garden of Repose'' 《憩园》, novella, 1944 *''Ward No 4'' 《第四病室》, 1946 *''Cold Nights'' 《寒夜》, 1947 ;Autobiography and memoirs *''Ba Jin: An Autobiography'' 《巴金自传》, 1934 *''I Remember'' 《忆》, 1936 *''Thinking Back on Childhood'' 《童年的回忆》, 1984 ;Non-fiction *(coauthor) ''Anarchism and its Practical Problems'' 《无政府主义与实际问题》, 1927 *''From Capitalism to Anarchism'' 《从资本主义到安那其主义》, 1930 *''A Walk by the Sea'' 《海行》, 1932 *''Travel Notes'' 《旅途随笔》, 1934 *''Droplets of Life'' 《点滴》, 1935 *''Confessions of Living'' 《生之忏悔》, 1936 *''Brief Notes'' 《短简》, 1937 *''I Accuse'' 《控诉》, 1937 *''Dreaming and Drunkenness'' 《梦与醉》, 1938 *''Thoughts and Feelings'' 《感想》, 1939 *''Black Earth'' 《黑土》, 1939 *''Untitled'' 《无题》, 1941 *''Dragons, Tigers and Dogs'' 《龙·虎·狗》, 1941 *''Outside the Derelict Garden'' 《废园外》, 1942 *''Travel Notes'' 《旅途杂记》, 1946 *''Remembering'' 《怀念》, 1947 *''Tragedy of a Still Night'' 《静夜的悲剧》, 1948 *''The Nazi Massacre Factory: Auschwitz'' 《纳粹杀人工厂—奥斯威辛》, 1951 *''Warsaw Festivals: Notes in Poland'' 《华沙城的节日—波兰杂记》, 1951 *''The Consoling Letter and Others'' 《慰问信及其他》, 1951 *''Living Amongst Heroes'' 《生活书局在英雄们中间》, 1953 *''They Who Defend Peace'' 《保卫和平的人们》, 1954 *''On Chekhov'' 《谈契河夫》, 1955 *''Days of Great Joy'' 《大欢乐的日子》, 1957 *''Strong Warriors'' 《坚强的战士》, 1957 *''A Battle for Life'' 《—场挽救生命的战斗》, 1958 *''New Voices: A Collection'' 《新声集》, 1959 *''Friendship: A Collection'' 《友谊集》, 1959 *''Eulogies: A Collection'' 《赞歌集》, 1960 *''Feelings I Can't Express'' 《倾吐不尽的感情》, 1963 *''Lovely by the Bridge'' 《贤良桥畔》, 1964 *''Travels to Dazhai'' 《大寨行》, 1965 *''Ba Jin: New Writings'', 1978–1980 *''Smorching Smoke'' 《烟火集》, 1979 *''Random Thoughts'' 《随想录》, 1978–86 *''Thinking Back on Writing'' 《创作回忆录》 1981 *''Exploration and Memories'' 《探索与回忆》, 1982 *''Afterwords: A Collection'' 《序跋集》, 1982 *''Remembrance: A Collection'' 《忆念集》, 1982 *''Ba Jin: On Writing'' 《巴金论创作》, 1983 *''Literature: Recollections'' (with Lao She) 《文学回忆录》 1983 *''To Earth to Dust'' 《愿化泥土》, 1984 *''I Accuse: A Collection'' 《控诉集》, 1985 *''In My Heart'' 《心里话》, 1986 *''Ten Years, One Dream'' 《十年一梦》, 1986 *''More Thoughts'' 《再思录》, 1995 ;Letters *''To Our Young Friends Looking for Aspirations'' 《寻找理想的少年朋友》, 1987 *''The Collection of the Snow and Mud – All the Remaining Letters Written by Ba Jin to Yang Yi'' 《雪泥集》, 1987 *''Collected Letters of Ba Jin'' 《巴金书信集》, 1991 ;Others
A Battle For Life
* ttps://www.revoltlib.com/anarchism/how-are-we-to-establish-a-truly-free-and-egalitarian-society/view.php How Are We To Establish A Truly Free And Egalitarian Society?, 1921br>Nationalism and the Road to Happiness for the Chinese, 1921Letter from Ba Jin to the CRIA (International Anarchist Liaison Commission, Paris), 18 March 1949A Museum of the "Cultural Revolution", 1986

References

External links

* ttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/4351760.stm "Chinese literary icon Ba Jin dies" (BBC)
A giant of Chinese literature
"A giant of Chinese literature" ~ ''The Sydney Morning Herald (21 October 2005)]
Ba Jin at Anarchist Archives

"When the Snow Melted" Translated by Tang Sheng
at ''Words Without Borders''
Pa Chin: A Literary and Revolutionary Chinese Anarchist ~ ''YemenTimes Newspaper''

Ba Jin. A Portrait by Kong Kai Ming
at Hong Kong Baptist University Library {{DEFAULTSORT:Ba, Jin 1904 births 2005 deaths 20th-century Chinese novelists Recipients of the Fukuoka Prize Anarchist writers Chinese anarchists Chinese anti-capitalists Chinese atheists Chinese autobiographers Chinese men centenarians Chinese children's writers Chinese Esperantists Chinese male novelists Chinese male short story writers Commanders of the Legion of Honour Deaths from cancer in the People's Republic of China Deaths from Parkinson's disease Delegates to the 1st National People's Congress Neurological disease deaths in the People's Republic of China Recipients of the Order of Friendship of Peoples 20th-century Chinese essayists 20th-century Chinese short story writers Short story writers from Sichuan Sichuan University alumni Vice chairpersons of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Victims of the Cultural Revolution Writers from Chengdu Writers of Esperanto literature 20th-century pseudonymous writers