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Ba Jin as a small boy

In 1949, Ba was elected standing committee member of theChina Federation of Literary and Art Circles, and became vice president of Shanghai Literature Federation in 1950. He twice visited the frontlines during the war in Korea for interviews. Helater published two prose collections. In 1960, he was elected vice president of the China Federation of Literature and Art Circles as well as the China Writers' Association, and suffered brutal persecution during the Cultural Revolution.

After 1978 when the revolution came to an end, Ta Kung Pao, aHong Kong-based newspaper, published a series of Ba Jin's essays under the title of "Sui Xiang Lu." Many of his works are now available in other languages. He also received many international honors, such as the Dante International Award of Honor and the French Award of Honor, for his enormous contributions to world literature.

In July 1999, one of the asteroids found by Chinese scientists in 1997 was named after Ba, who was then the chairman of the Chinese Writers' Association. In 2003, theState Councilawarded him the title of "People's Writer."

Ba was elected a deputy to the 1st through the 5thNational People's Congresses (NPC) and a member of the Standing Committee of the 5th NPC and vice chairman of the 6th, 7th and 8th National Committees of the 9th of the

 

Ba Jin as a young man

Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Ba was recognized as one of the greatest Chinese cultural masters in modern Chinese history and an outstanding publisher and editor.

  Symbol of the 5.4 Youth Spirit

During his life, Ba witnessed the ups and downs, nightmares and wakening of the Chinese nation over a century. Accomplishing brilliant achievements in his literature career, Ba's works had significant impact on Chinese society in two periods.

The first was from the beginning of his career to the founding of thePeople's Republic of China, during which Ba influenced his readers as a young outstanding novelist. During that time, Ba, with his endless energy and creativity not only created a large number of novels and prose, but also took on periodicals and launched a publishing house, which was a huge sensation for the then literary circles.