Selected Works of Ba Jin (Volume 5) The Sea Dream. Rest Park. Autumn in Spring

Author: Ba Jin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1996-09-01
Features: Ba Jin (1904–) was originally named Li Yaotang, styled Fugan. He was from Chengdu, Sichuan. In 1920, he enrolled in Chengdu Foreign Language Special School. He participated in the activities of the anti-feudal progressive journal "Banyue She" (Half-Month Society). To pursue the light, in 1923, he broke through the cage of the feudal family and came to Shanghai and Nanjing, entering the preparatory school of Southeast University and engaging in some social activities. In 1927, while traveling in France, he studied in Paris and began literary creation. The following year, he returned to China to engage in literary activities. After the September 18th Incident, he actively participated in the salvation efforts. He had connections with Lu Xun. He served as an editorial committee member of "Literary Quarterly," the general editor of the China Cultural Life Publishing House, and co-edited "Wenji Monthly" with Jin Yi. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, he and Mao Dun founded "Fenghuo" and served as a council member of the China Association for Promoting Cultural and Literary Resistance to Japan. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, he successively served as vice chairman of the second to fourth sessions of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles, vice chairman and chairman of the Chinese Writers' Association, chairman and honorary chairman of the Shanghai branch of the Chinese Writers' Association, chairman of the Shanghai Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and editor-in-chief of "Harvest" and "Shanghai Literature." He also served as a standing committee member of the fifth National People's Congress and vice chairman of the sixth and seventh National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. In 1982, he won the International Dante Prize from Italy. In 1983, he received the French Legion of Honor. In 1984, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature by Hong Kong Chinese University. In 1985, he was named a foreign fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In 1990, he received the Soviet Order of Friendship of Peoples. His major works include the novels "Wang mie" (Destruction), "Love Trilogy" (Fog, Rain, Lightning), "Rise of the Wave Trilogy" (Family, Spring, Autumn), and "War Trilogy" (Fire, Part One, Part Two, Part Three), the novellas "Autumn in Spring" and "Rest Garden," and the essays "New Voice Collection," "Ode Collection," and "Random Thoughts" (5 volumes). His translated works include the novels "Father and Son" and "Virgin Soil," and the memoir "Reminiscences and Random Thoughts." This book is one of the selected works of Ba Jin, including the three works "The Sea Dream," "Autumn in Spring," and "Rest Garden." "The Sea Dream" tells a story through the narrative of a woman named Nana, praising the revolutionary youth and singing the resistance struggle of the people suffering from invasion. "Autumn in Spring" depicts the tragic love story between the heroine Zheng Peiyi and Lin, condemning the unreasonable old social system, unfree marriage, ideological constraints, family autocracy, and the devastation of young women in their prime. "Rest Garden" describes the life of the protagonist Yao Guodong and his family in Rest Garden, telling people that grand houses and beautiful gardens often change owners. Who has seen private property preserved for a hundred or hundreds of years! What is preserved are the ideals and beliefs, which are considered extremely vague and utterly empty by some people.