A small old man named Ba Jin

Author: Liu Ping
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-11-01
Features: Excerpt: What is the greatest love in the world? It is maternal love, the eternal sacred love of humanity! The famous 19th-century French novelist Guy de Maupassant once said these words: "The most beautiful scenes in the world appear when we remember our mothers." These heartfelt words contain the sincere feelings of countless people. When Ba Jin opened his door of memories, what first appeared before him was also the same. He said from the bottom of his heart: "My earliest memories are inseparable from my mother. I especially cannot forget my mother's gentle voice." Ba Jin's original name was Li Yaotang. He was born on November 25, 1904, in a feudal family in Chengdu, Sichuan. When he was born with a pure heart into this world, the first voice he heard was his mother's gentle breathing and her half-sung, tender songs. Those songs were like a gentle stream, nurturing a young heart. Ba Jin said, "This heart was given to me by my mother. She also gave me boiling blood and sympathetic tears." Among the people Ba Jin admired, his mother was the first. On the long and winding journey of life, every time he paused to look back on the past, his mother's "gentle round face" and her "flawlessly smooth hair" (matted with wood shavings), her loving gaze, and her often smiling mouth, would appear vividly before Ba Jin's eyes. It was as if his mother was standing there, watching him with loving silence. Ba Jin's childhood was spent in an atmosphere of love. In his heart, his mother was also extremely loving and perfect. She was like a warm little boat, gently supporting a tiny heart as it wandered the ocean of love. Ba Jin sighed, "In my childhood, she was the center of my world." His mother's name was Chen Shufen, a typical Chinese name. His mother spent only a short time with the children—only a few years—but in Ba Jin's heart, she left an unforgettable impression. His mother deeply loved her children. She had once told them an interesting story, a magical dream she had had: "On the first night of my birthday, the goddess of childbirth drifted over, smiling broadly as she said to me, 'This baby was originally meant for your sister-in-law, but I'm afraid she won't treat him well, so I'll give him to you instead.'" His mother