Bulletin Number Five 1984

An Interview with Dr. Ba Jin During Mr. Ba J in ， s stay at the University ， we had several occasions to meet the great author and talk with him on his writing career, his views on creative writing and on the literary scene o f China to-day ， and his plans fo r the future. -- Editor Q. I remember that in describing your writing career, you once remarked ， ' I ' m only a pro cessing worker, using my experience in life as raw materials ，. Could you explain how you go about your work? A. I wrote about life, basing myself on how I look at it and analyse it. This is life as I saw and experienced it. It does not necessarily mean that everything is true to life. Q. You have reiterated that you are not concerned with the techniques o f creative writing and indicated that ‘the highest reaches o f literature transcends any craftmanship'. Would you say more about that? A. When I wrote my novels, I never concerned myself with methods of creative writing and techniques of expression, etc. At the beginning, I was so inexperienced that I often came out with wrong Chinese characters. Over a long time, I learned to write, I learned to correct what I have written. With practice I came to understand how to write better. In my past experience, what is called craftmanship is noth ing more than what is described by the Chinese proverb, ‘Practice makes perfect'. The more you write, the better you can master the language. To be ‘skilful’ simply means being able to get around, cover up, or remedy your defects and to highlight your virtues. You will find that I have no technique in my works, and I write only to move my readers. Take for example, whenever I see something very touching, I have an urge to tell others, and as I repeat my story, I have a chance to polish it and write a little better, leaving a deeper impression on my readers each time. The value o f a piece of work lies in its content rather than its form. An at tractive person does not need to dress up. Of course, dressing up has its uses as it makes a person even more attractive. I am an unattrac tive person and nothing can make me look better. The highest reaches o f art transcends technique. This is only my personal view on writing. 2. Perhaps this is a state where ‘the personality o f the author comes through ， transcending the words'. Let us turn to the style o f your writings in the.early and later periods. I t is generally felt that your early writings are overcharged with emotion while your recent works are more con trolled and subtle. What do you think o f this way o f looking at your writings? A. At the beginning of my career, I merely wanted to pour out all my thoughts and feelings, and tried by doing so to move my readers. As time went on, I gained more experience in life and had a deeper understanding of life as it was, therefore when I wrote Leisure Garden ， Cold Nights and Ward Number Four, I tried to be more objective, laying before my readers the facts of life, which I hoped would impress them INTERVIEWS 21