Ba Jin
Sep 18
2009
From Mythmakers and Lawbreakers:
Ba Jin (1904–2005) is considered one of the most important figures in Chinese literary history. He was introduced to anarchism at the age of 15 by Kropotkin’s writing and he translated many anarchist works into Chinese for publication by a Shanghai newspaper. He worked on behalf of the struggle to free Sacco & Vanzetti and corresponded with Vanzetti until the Bostonian was executed. His most famous novel, Family, is a work critiquing the Chinese feudal system and promotes the concept of youth in revolt. In the 1950s, perhaps due to fear of persecution, he disavowed the anarchism of his youth, and even went to far as to purge his own works of their anarchistic content. Regardless, he was branded as a counter-revolutionary by the Cultural Revolution and was prevented from writing for years. When the Cultural Revolution passed, he rose in party favor and found himself Chairperson of the Chinese Writer’s Association. In later writings, he alluded to possible resentment of his abandonment of anarchism.
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