Ba Jin

Ba Jin (or Pa Kin, Li Fei-Kan, Li Pei-Kan - 巴金), born the November 25th 1904 with Chengdu, province of the Sichuan and dead the October 17th 2005 with Shanghai) is the pen name of the Chinese writer Li Yaotang (李尧棠), president of the Center of the PEN Chinese and candidate with the Nobel Prize of literature. Its pseudonym is drawn from the names of Bakounine and Kropotkine, thinkers anarchistic whom he admired. Its stay in France (1927-1928), with Castle-Thierry marked his literary career. Ba Jin also wrote in Esperanto. Its romantic characters fascinated by the revolution had a great influence on youth. Its most famous book is autobiographical, Famille (家).

Biography

Wire of a landowner and governmental civil servant (Mandarin), Ba Jin is shown very early hostile with the rites, formalism and punishment. It follows initially a secondary formation in a school attached to the university of the south-west of its birthplace. Since 1919, he says “anarchist-Communist” and becomes member of the group the company of Equity. Large reader of Kropotkine and Emma Goldman, it ties bonds with the anarchist Zheng Peigang known under the pseudonym of Ke Lao.

Between 1920 and 1924, he collaborates in the voice of the people (anarchistic). Perhaps he signs its 1st anarchistic article in 1921, at the 17 years age, in About fifteen ( Banyue ) Chengdu. He also writes in the review the masses in alarm ( Jingqun ). As from 1922, it is the person in charge of the review the voice of the common peoples and adopts the Peigan pseudonym. In 1924, it leaves Chengdu (which it will re-examine only in 1942) to integrate the School of the Nanjing foreign languages. It is very gifted for the languages, including the Esperanto (it engages in the movement esperantist as from 1924) which enables him to discover multiple libertarian authors. It becomes friendly of the activist studied Hu Feng and takes part in the studied movement of Nanjing. It moves also much in Beijing, Shangaï (where it will undertake an active trade-union activity) and Canton (where it writes in the bell of the people ). It translates libertarian articles and writes a booklet on the tragedy of Haymarket (undoubtedly its first great translation).

In 1926, it goes to France within the framework of a program semi-work semi-study to look further into its knowledge in foreign languages. The literature put aside, its interests are centered on anarchism and the populist movement in Russia, from where its pseudonym - first syllable of the Chinese name of Bakunin and last of Kropotkin, two Russian anarchists. Of return in China in 1928, Ba Jin concentrates on its literary activity and assists in its principal magazines, but is especially pointed out by the drafting of a score of novels between 1928 and 1945.

In 1944 it marries Xiao Shan, whose contribution at the literary level consists of several translations, and who dies at the time of the Cultural revolution. The couple gives rise to a boy and a girl.

In spite of a neutral position from the political point of view, the government invites it to become member of the council of culture and education in 1950 after the foundation of the Popular republic of China. In 1953 it is elected vice-president of the association of the writers. Whereas its work is not necessarily in conformity with the criteria of the mode, the Campagne of the Hundred Flowers is not made feel for him, that by the loss of its post of editor association of the Popular Littérature magazine.

Thereafter, on the other hand, one testifies to him to the recognition, inter alia, by his election at the post of vice-president of the association of the circles of literature and artistic creation and with that of editor association of a literary monthly magazine in Shanghai. For Ba Jin, the Cultural revolution taken very an other turning - classification as counter-revolutionary in 1967, reduction in ashes of its works, deprivation of political right, prohibition of literary activities and the aggressions, also carried against the members of his family, then rehabilitation in 1977. Elected official member of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly, like, again, vice-president of the association of the literary circles and artistic creation in 1978, president of PEN club of China in 1980 and chair Association of the Chinese writers in 1981. He was vice-president of the Chinese League of Esperanto in the years 1980.

Its literary fame was worth also rewards with the international level to him:

Works

  • Destruction , 1927, Editions Blue of China

  • For a museum of the Cultural revolution, Editions Blue of China
  • Decline , 1929
  • the autumn in spring , 1932
  • Family, 1933
  • Spring , 1938
  • Fall , 1940
  • the autumn in spring , 1932
  • frozen Night , 1946.

its ideas

  • How to found a truly free and levelling company (Ba Jin article)
  • Pa Kin the esperantist

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