My fourth father Ba Jin

Author: Li Zhi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-12-01
Features: This book is one of the "Commemorative Anthology for Ba Jin's 100th Birthday." The author, Li Zhi, is the son of Ba Jin's older brother—Juxin, the life model for the older brother character in The Family. Since his youth, Li Zhi has shared a large bed with Ba Jin (who was affectionately called "Fourth Uncle" in Sichuanese), and they have had over sixty years of close interaction, spanning Ba Jin's youth, middle age, and later years. The book contains over thirty essays, written over a span of more than two decades. Due to familial ties, their close—even zero-distance—interaction, and Ba Jin's candor, the Ba Jin presented in Li Zhi's eyes, heart, and writing is revealed as a deeply personal, vivid, and fully fleshed-out figure, imbued with a strong sense of humanity. This provides readers with authentic firsthand materials and vivid details that are often absent in conventional biographies, textbooks, or academic monographs. Additionally, the book records Ba Jin's interactions and friendships with modern and contemporary writers such as Sha Ting, Li Jianwu, Li Jieren, and Cao Yu. Beyond the text, the book is accompanied by over a hundred images related to the content, including Ba Jin's life photographs from different periods, his letters and inscriptions, portraits, book covers, and personal notes from his daily life.