Bai Jin Translation Complete Collection, Volume 8

Author: Stepannikov (Russian) / et al.
Translator: Ba Jin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1997-06-01
Features: Excerpt:
Lavrov's Preface
The socialist movement and revolutionary movement in Russia would inevitably attract the attention of Western Europe. Naturally, there are many publications on this topic in various European countries. Some of these works aim only to narrate facts, while others delve deeper, seeking to uncover the causes of this movement. I do not wish to mention novels, pamphlets, or those works where the authors, with great effort, present the figures and events of the nihilists in a very clever form to stimulate readers' imagination—these are all distorted accounts. We must admit that such works are almost entirely without value. The authors of these works are completely unclear about the facts they record, and their material is obtained only indirectly, or even indirectly again. They cannot prove the reliability of the material they base their ideas on, nor can they understand the current situation of Russia. Furthermore, the information and materials about Russia published in Western Europe are extremely scarce. Moreover, they are completely unaware of the key figures in the lively drama of the Russian movement. Therefore, it is very difficult to point out even one book written by foreigners that can accurately present a faithful view of this issue, or even a faithful view of a specific aspect of it. In such works, I cannot even find a single book without significant errors and deviations.
However, not only this, but even in works published in Russian (which, up to this point, are not numerous and are almost completely unknown to the West), there is not enough material. The reason is as follows: writers for Russian newspapers, that is, those who write under the authority of the Tsar, cannot but be very cautious in their writing, considering every word and sentence carefully for their own safety. Therefore, when writing about nihilism, they know they must lightly pass over many aspects of the nihilist movement itself, as well as the issues of the Russian political and social systems that contributed to it. Moreover, they are forced to conceal the fact that they have known one or two of the main leaders of nihilism very closely, and they must deliberately distort the truth, portraying the nihilist leaders as loyal subjects of the Tsar. This is not surprising, for we all know that writing about this topic is extremely dangerous. A careless remark can lead to imprisonment or exile. In fact, most works on nihilism published in Russia are written by the movement's enemies. The authors either view nihilism as a terrifying crime or as a great madness. These authors, in their positions, cannot and will not see the true reasons that led to the development of nihilism. They completely fail to recognize and understand the nihilists, except for the materials they gather from prosecutor's speeches and judicial reports. Some have never even met a nihilist, while others have only seen them in court a few times.
Postscript:
In lieu of a preface, Shu Ji:
The Complete Works have now reached Volume 8, nearing the end. The Underground Russia, a famous work by the Russian populist revolutionary Stepannikov, was one of my favorite books when I was young, and On the Scaffold was written based on it. I first encountered it in the Japanese translation by Miyazaki Ryūsuke. Later, in Paris, I obtained an English translation, which was sent to me by my friend Zhong Shi from the United States. Zhong Shi was a Chinese immigrant working in San Francisco. When I was in Nanjing, I began corresponding with him through an introduction from a Guangdong friend. Our correspondence continued until 1950. Although our letters were simple, our feelings were sincere. In 1928, when I returned to China from Marseille on a French mail ship in steerage class, it was Zhong Shi who paid my passage. Whenever I needed books, I always asked for his help. Most of the rare books I collected were sent to me by him. I never met him in person, but later I heard that he had returned to China and learned from others that he had passed away. Yet the books he sent me are still with me, and some have been preserved in the National Library. In the early 1930s, I translated The Underground Russia and published it with Qiji Bookstore. In 1937, I revised it and republished it with the title A Chronicle of the Russian Nihilist Movement, issued by Cultural Life Press. This book depicts the young men and women of the 19th century in Russia who went "to the people" and devoted themselves to revolution. There are many moving stories in it that I still cannot forget.
The Story of My Life is the autobiography of the Italian worker, B. Fanzeredi. This man, whom I once called "Master," was imprisoned in the Charles prison in Boston, Massachusetts, with his friend Shako in 1927. When I first arrived in Paris, a global movement was underway to correct the injustice against these two Italian workers, demanding their release. The voices of the condemned prisoners echoed in the newspapers: "Will your shared fate indeed save us from hell, from the hands of the executioner? Will they indeed send us back to the people we love? Back to the sunlight, to the wind of freedom, to life, to our struggle?" We do not know—however, we understand that if we return, we will not come back as ungrateful or cowardly people; if we die on the electric chair, our gratitude will die with us. Our thought is: Give me liberty, or give me death. These words struck me deeply. I picked up my pen and wrote to Fanzeredi and Shako from a small apartment on the fifth floor in Paris. Fanzeredi replied and sent me this "autobiography." I translated it immediately and included it in On the Scaffold.
On August 23, 1927, Fanzeredi and Shako were executed in the Boston prison. It was not until 1979 that their case was finally overturned. I wrote two short stories about him: The Electric Chair and My Tears.
The Small Series on the Spanish Question (six volumes) was compiled and printed for me by a friend during the War of Resistance. These were compiled from works published in journals during the three years of the Spanish Civil War. The journals themselves have long been lost, but these articles preserve the people's desire for freedom and justice, and the Nazi fascists ultimately failed. I think of the eight-year War of Resistance, of the days when I lived through countless bombings. Before my eyes is a bright future.
Ba Jin
February 4, 1996