Anarcho-socialist for most all of his life -- although, understandably, not always openly -- the Chinese writer Ba Jin (real name: Li Feigan) has died. Ba Jin had reached the ripe old age of 100, and had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for many years, unable to walk or speak.
His adopted name - chosen in 1929 - reflected his admiration for anarchism: Ba stood for the first syllable in the Chinese transliteration of Mikhail Bakunin, and Jin for the last syllable of prince Piotr Kropotkin.
Having tried to read, a long time ago, one of the books in his famous trilogy (Family?), I can only hope he is now better served by more modern English translations.
What I can recommend is the black and white movie made in Hong Kong in 1955, Cold Nights. Based on a short story by Ba Jin published in 1947, it tells the story of a penniless, depressed, idealistic and tubercular book editor and his much younger, much healthier, prettier, materialistic wife. Sounds grim? It is. But it is also a powerful tale beautifully told -- long remembered, while many other films have long been consigned to the forgotten.
Guardian: obituary
Xinhua: obituary
Wikipedia: entry
English translation of Ba Jin's dedication in a 1934 collection of his short stories to the extraordinary 'spring thunder' life of anarcho-communist and feminist Emma Goldman: UCLA Berkeley
No comments:
Post a Comment