Biography of Jia Pingwa

Author: Li Xing, Sun Jianxi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-10-01
Features: Timid and humble in life, subdued and lowly, yet unrestrained and free in his works—his is a contradictory nature. Out of too deep love, I am overly sensitive, unable to tolerate even a speck of dust in my eyes, or a hint of filth in life, transforming into a frenzied calm, a startled joy, an urgent envy, my eyes filled with tears and melancholy. Others often use "×××" to replace unwillingly expressed content, while I am accustomed to using "□□□," with no deeper meaning than that.
—Jia Pingwa experienced two periods of hardship that profoundly shaped his later creative work. One was two decades of life's toil, which fostered his indomitable spirit of striving, self-reliance, and perseverance. In this world, his primary goal was to secure his own existence and gain external recognition. The other was the arduous period of preparation for his creative endeavors at Northwest University, which forged his unyielding and tenacious fighting spirit. As a son of the mountains, he felt psychologically inferior in the sacred halls of literature and before the boisterous urbanites, unable to help but feel in the face of others' superiority. He fully understood the difficulties of literature, taking one step at a time, yet remaining steadfast, with slow but steady progress. Jia Pingwa had extensive exposure to traditional Chinese philosophy and the classics of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. Despite their differences, he saw a "common thread" in them—all the vastness and complexity of the world could be reduced to a single "unity," a single philosophical interpretation. The philosophy embedded in these interpretations is deeply compelling, yet it cannot be accepted wholesale in today's world. Thus, he embarked on a journey to find his own "unity," aiming to establish an independent worldview—his philosophy, outlook on life, and aesthetics.
Jia Pingwa: A Critical Biography, a 200,000-word work, chronicles Jia Pingwa's creative development, his reading life, poetry, painting, calligraphy, personality, psychology, and the literary significance of his works in 18 chapters, arranged in chronological order. Through numerous vivid and meticulous details, the book reveals how Jia Pingwa is a "contradictory person—timid and humble in life, yet unrestrained, free, and bold in his works."