Ba Jin : Chinese Anarchist Writer and Critic of the Chinese Communist Party

November 25, 1904 — October 17, 2005

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Ba Jin, one of the main figures of twentieth century Chinese literature, died in Shanghai on the 17th of October 2005. He was also a survivor of the Chinese anarchist movement which disappeared with the victory of the Communists. While he was required to 'repent', and purged and humiliated during the Cultural Revolution, he never embraced any other ideal.

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From : Kate Sharpley Library

"The blight upon the people's freedom is the State. Ever since the State came into existence, we have stopped being free. No matter what we do or say, the State sticks its nose in. All we ask is to live in love with our brethren from other nations, but the State would have us patriots at any price, enrolls us in its armies and forces us to murder our neighbors."

From : "How Are We To Establish A Truly Free And Egalitarian Society?" by Ba Jin, 1921


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About Ba Jin

Ba Jin: From Rebellion to Endurance
Published by the Kate Sharpley Library

Ba Jin1, one of the main figures of twentieth century Chinese literature, died in Shanghai on the 17th of October 2005. He was also a survivor of the Chinese anarchist movement which disappeared with the victory of the Communists. While he was required to 'repent', and purged and humiliated during the Cultural Revolution, he never embraced any other ideal.

Ba Jin was born in 1904 in Chengdu, Sichuan province, into a wealthy family. Economically comfortable but personally stifling, he described his patriarchal family home as a despotic kingdom. His first escape came in 1919 when, under the influence of Kropotkin's Appeal to the Young and the writings of Emma Goldman, he joined the local anarchist group, the Equality Society. 'He became the group's most active member, taking part in the students' demonstrations against the local war lords, distributing revolutionary leaflets, and organizing a reading room on the premises of the local anarchist journal, to which he began to contribute articles.'2 He was also inspired by the stories of nineteenth-century Russian radicals who went 'to the people' as recounted by writers like Turgenev, whose works he would later translate.

His second escape came in 1923 when he was finally able to leave Chengdu to study, moving to Nanking and then Shanghai. There he continued his anarchist activism and writing, producing a pamphlet on the Chicago Haymarket Affair of 1886-7.3 From 1927 to 1928 Ba Jin lived in France, meeting many anarchists including Alexander Berkman, whose Now and After: an ABC of Communist Anarchism (A.K.A. What is Anarchism?) he later translated and adapted as From Capitalism to Anarchism. In France he also wrote to Bartolomeo Vanzetti awaiting execution in Massachusetts. He was deeply affected by the case and later wrote a pamphlet, On the Scaffold, about it.

In France Ba Jin completed Destruction, the first of his novels based on the struggles of young Chinese revolutionaries. In 1931 he wrote Family, recognized as his greatest work, and from this point he was established as a writer. In 1931 came the first Japanese invasion of China which preceded the full-scale war of 1937-45. Ba Jin wrote extensively for the anti-Japanese resistance, though without abandoning anarchism.

After the Communist victory in 1949, Ba Jin was forced to rewrite his works. 'In the first editions the protagonists acted with anarchist ideas and in a clearly anarchist ambiance, and they often quoted the well-known texts of anarchism… In the "revised" edition… Emma Goldman is not only no longer his spiritual mother; she doesn't exist.'4 From this point on, he abandoned fiction, and only wrote a small amount of reportage. In 1958 he renounced Anarchism and in 1961 stated 'I am not satisfied either by the quantity or quality of my works.'

However, whenever the regime allowed it, Ba Jin was prepared to speak out. 'In 1962, when the party seemed to tolerate and even promote a more creative and spontaneous style in literature, [Ba Jin] came out with a speech under the title "Courage and Sense of Responsibility of Writers." It was a strong protest against the literary bureaucrats and an admonition to writers to be fighters, to uphold the truth and their own vision of reality.'5

Payback came during the Cultural Revolution (1966-76). Mao unleashed the Red Guards on his 'bureaucrat' enemies. They also persecuted writers, including Ba Jin - making a great deal of his anarchist past. 'To the people', instead of being an optimistic plan to spark social change as it had been for the nineteenth-century Russian narodniks became a punishment for independent thinking or 'disloyalty.'

'Finally, on June 20, 1968, [Ba Jin] was dragged to the People's Stadium of Shanghai. Those present and those who watched the scene on television saw him kneeling on broken glass and heard the shouts accusing him of being a traitor and enemy of Mao. They also heard him break his silence at the end and shout at the top of his voice, 'You have your thoughts and I have mine. This is the fact and you can't change it even if you kill me.'"6

Worse came in 1972 when his wife Xian Shan died of cancer, after being denied adequate medical care. During these years Ba Jin gave himself strength by reading Dante's Inferno. In 1977 Ba Jin was rehabilitated and returned to his position as a respected writer of an earlier generation. Soon after his return, he produced a series of essays entitled Random Thoughts dealing largely with the Cultural Revolution.

Unlike the rest of his anarchist comrades we're able to sketch out the life of Ba Jin: in many ways he was protected by his fame as a writer. Facing a totalitarian regime, he could have surrendered and endorsed every new slogan demanded by the powers that be, but didn't. Beyond that it is difficult to discuss the exact political attitudes he held, since censorship and self-censorship take us into a foggy world of codes and meaningful silences.

But his words show that the spirit of freedom endured:

'When Ba Jin was a guest speaker at a lecture series in Kyoto in 1980, he declared: "I do not write to earn a living or to build a reputation. I write to battle enemies.

"Who are they? Every outdated traditional notion, every irrational system that stands in the way of social progress and human development, and every instance of cruelty in the face of love. These are my great enemies.

"My pen is alight and my body aflame. Until both burn down to ash, my love and my hate will remain here in the world."'7

1, a note on names: Born Li Yaotang and later named Li Feigan (Li Pei Kan) by his family, Ba Jin (previously transliterated as Pa Chin or Pa Kin) took this pen name (which he used only for his fiction) from the first syllable of Bakunin and the last of Kropotkin to show his anarchist politics.

2, from the introduction by Olga Lang to Family, Anchor Books edition: 1972 posted at http://plawiuk.blogspot.com/

3, The Chicago Tragedy (published 1926). See 'Ba Jin's Blood of Freedom' by Diane Scherer in Haymarket Scrapbook, edited by Dave Roediger and Franklin Rosemont (Charles H. Kerr, 1986).

4, Giuseppe Galzerano, 'The Anarchist writer Pa Kin', Le Monde Libertaire, Nº 470, January 13, 1983. Trans. Paul Sharkey.

5, Olga Lang, introduction to Family.

6, Olga Lang, introduction to Family.

7, 'Warrior of the Pen - Ba Jin' by Daisaku Ikeda (President, Soka Gakkai International). Posted at http://plawiuk.blogspot.com/

From : Kate Sharpley Library, http://www.katesharpleylibrary.net/4xgxxt

Works

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Anarchism is a product of the mass movement, and can never divorce itself from practice. In fact, anarchism is not an idle dream that transcends time. It could not have emerged before the Industrial Revolution, and could not have developed before the french revolution. Many Chinese hold that Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu were China's first anarchists. This is very misleading. Taoism shares nothing with modern anarchism. The time of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu could not have produced the ideas of modern anarchism. I think that many people have some misunderstanding of the doctrine of anarchism. It is true that anarchists are opposed to war, but the kind of war that anarchists are opposed to is the war resulting from the power struggle among warlo... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
On February 20, 1928, the Japanese comrade Wada Kyutaro died in the Akita prison, in the coldest part of northern Japan. The news of his death was a hard blow for me. For a long time now I have been writing articles for the Chinese press about the events that led to Wada’s conviction and the martyrdom of Furuta Daijiro. The name of Wada is new to the European world; but in the hearts of the Japanese workers his memory will long endure, and so will the memories of Furuta and so many other martyrs, concerning whom we shall say that, by virtue of the memories of their lives that they leave behind them, they are not dead. Their lives, their struggles, their martyrdoms, represent a tragedy that only the pen of a Shakespeare could depict wi... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)
1958
Foreword On May 26, 1958 at midnight, Chiu Tsai-kang, a steel worker of the Shanghai No. 3 Steel Works, was burned by molten steel. The affected area extended over 89 percent of his body, 20 percent being third degree burns with the muscles and bones involved. According to Western medical authorities, a patient with such severe burns would be likely to die. But due to the affectionate' concern of the Communist Party, to the great efforts made by the medical staff and to the widespread support of society at large, Chiu Tsai-kang is still alive. After being treated for more than five months his wounds are now completely healed and covered by grafted skin. On November 23 he was transferred to the Sino-Soviet Friendship Hospital in Peking fo... (From: Anarchy Archives.)
1921
These days these words "freedom and equality" are part of the vocabulary of each and every one of us. But make a few inquiries and ask: What is freedom? and you will be told "Freedom means freedom of opinion, freedom of the press, freedom of association and assembly, the freedom of secrecy of correspondence". Ask: What is equality? and you will be told: "All citizens are equal before the law, with no difference between the high-born and the yokel." Now, such narrow definitions have nothing to do with true freedom, true equality. Don't believe me? Then have a read of the following. The blight upon the people's freedom is the State. Ever since the State came into existence, we have stopped being free. No matter what we do or say, the State ... (From: Kate Sharpley Library, http://www.katesharpleylibr....)
1949
Dear comrade Received your letter, for which I thank you. Apologies for the belated reply, but I have been very busy of late. Anyway, eight days ago I sent off my editions of the artwork of Sim and Castelao on the Spanish Revolution. The publications that you sent me from Paris have yet to arrive. I am delighted that you have sent me them. I get the Japanese newspaper regularly and know of the proposal for a Far Eastern Congress. But I don’t reckon a congress is feasible, given current circumstances in Asia. For a start, there is no way of traveling abroad from here without the permission of the government and correspondence destined for Japan is subject to censorship here and over there. I regret that I am not in a position to bri... (From: Kate Sharpley Library, http://www.katesharpleylibr....)
1986
Some time ago, in one of my essays in "Record of Random Thoughts," I recorded a conversation I had had with a friend. I declared that a museum of the "Cultural Revolution" should be established. I did not have anything specific in mind, no formal project, but I was driven by a strong conviction that such a museum should be found, and it was the responsibility of every Chinese. I had just mentioned this, anticipating that others would add their support. I believe that the many who passed through the crucible of the "Cultural Revolution" could not remain silent. Each individual had a unique experience. But nobody can depict the "cowshed" prison as a paradise, nor depict inhuman massacre as a "Great Proletarian Revolution." Although our opi... (From: CND.org.)
1921
Chinese society is at the darkest stage now. Under such circumstances, young people become impotent and weak without the power to resist corruption. Even the brave ones can only keep quiet and submit to fate. When it is really unbearable, suicide is the only way out. China is paralyzed; where can we find happiness? Some conscious youth believe that the only way to improve China’s current situation is to promote “nationalism,” and identify “nationalism” as the only road to happiness for the Chinese. Voices of “nationalism” have spread all over the nation. I shudder at such a thought. “Nationalism” is in fact the obstacle to human progress. Being a member of this society, I cannot accept na... (From: Anarchy Archives.)
A spring breeze ruffled my hair; at the foot of the hills a thaw had set in. It is usually cold when the snow melts, but today the long-hidden sun finally made an appearance. I put on a coat and started down the hill, bathed in sunlight. Few people used that quiet path, though we were not far from the city and the hill was not high. People here kept to themselves; aside from a trip down for their shopping in the mornings, they had little contact with the outside world. I found life up there pleasantly quiet. Because of my weak nerves, I could not stand the noise and the bustle of city life and had moved up to the hills two months beforehand. Life was regular: I ate and slept at scheduled times and did nothing all day long. I t... (From: TheAnarchistLibrary.org.)

Image Gallery of Ba Jin

Quotes by Ba Jin

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"The blight upon the people's freedom is the State. Ever since the State came into existence, we have stopped being free. No matter what we do or say, the State sticks its nose in. All we ask is to live in love with our brethren from other nations, but the State would have us patriots at any price, enrolls us in its armies and forces us to murder our neighbors."

From : "How Are We To Establish A Truly Free And Egalitarian Society?" by Ba Jin, 1921

"What horror! So much for the benefits that the State has brought us. Arrogating to themselves the resources that are the common wealth of our planet, the capitalists grind us into a poverty that denies us the right to live. Not that the State punishes them for it: worse still, it protects them through a battery of laws."

From : "How Are We To Establish A Truly Free And Egalitarian Society?" by Ba Jin, 1921

"Here comes my answer: Anarchy. That is the real freedom. And communism is the real equality. Only a social revolution can allow us to build a really free and really egalitarian society."

From : "How Are We To Establish A Truly Free And Egalitarian Society?" by Ba Jin, 1921

"Without the State and its laws, we would have real freedom: without the capitalist class, we would have real equality."

From : "How Are We To Establish A Truly Free And Egalitarian Society?" by Ba Jin, 1921

"Friends of the world of labor, can you see just how free a society rid of all authoritarian power would be? Can you see how egalitarian it would be? Are you willing to build such a society of freedom and equality? Well then, make the social revolution and have done with these rascally politics."

From : "How Are We To Establish A Truly Free And Egalitarian Society?" by Ba Jin, 1921

"... nobody can depict the 'cowshed' prison as a paradise, nor depict inhuman massacre as a 'Great Proletarian Revolution.'"

From : "A Museum of the 'Cultural Revolution,'" by Ba Jin, June 15, 1986

"...only those who do not forget the past will be masters of the future."

From : "A Museum of the 'Cultural Revolution,'" by Ba Jin, June 15, 1986

"China is paralyzed; where can we find happiness? Some conscious youth believe that the only way to improve China's current situation is to promote 'nationalism,' and identify 'nationalism' as the only road to happiness for the Chinese. Voices of 'nationalism' have spread all over the nation. I shudder at such a thought. 'Nationalism' is in fact the obstacle to human progress. Being a member of this society, I cannot accept nationalism against my conscience."

From : "Nationalism and the Road to Happiness for the Chinese," by Ba Jin, Originally published in Awakening the People, No. 1, September 1921

"...the state relies on the system of private property to survive. So once we abandon private property we will easily overthrow the state."

From : "Nationalism and the Road to Happiness for the Chinese," by Ba Jin, Originally published in Awakening the People, No. 1, September 1921

"Bakunin is right to say that if there is a real God, we should destroy him. Let us try!"

From : "Nationalism and the Road to Happiness for the Chinese," by Ba Jin, Originally published in Awakening the People, No. 1, September 1921

Chronology

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An icon of a baby.
November 25, 1904
Birth Day.

An icon of a gravestone.
October 17, 2005
Death Day.

An icon of a news paper.
November 15, 2016; 4:55:35 PM (UTC)
Added to http://revoltlib.com.

An icon of a red pin for a bulletin board.
January 9, 2022; 5:01:22 PM (UTC)
Updated on http://revoltlib.com.

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