| Summary: | Modern Chinese literature witnessed the popularity of Sichuan writers
like Li Jieren and Sha Ting, who were well known for their distinctive
regional characters and the experiences portrayed in their works, telling
unadulterated “Sichuan Stories” and depicting lives in the context of BaShu culture. People even consider their works to be the modern “Chronicles
of Huayang (Huayang Guo Zhi) in modern time.” However, when we
look at Ba Jin, his works are not like typical Sichuan writers (such as Guo
Moruo, Li Jieren, Sha Ting, and Ai Wu). He did not pay much attention to
depicting the customs and lives in Sichuan, and we can seldom find the
flavor of Ba-Shu culture in his works. When editing Chinese Literature and
Regional Culture in the 20th Century in 1995, Yan Jiayan so commented,
“To study Sichuan literature Ba-Shu culture, it is not appropriate to pick Ba
Jin (though he was a great writer with great contributions)” (Li, 1997). As it
were, the relationship between Ba Jin and the Ba-Shu culture is delicate. Ba
Jin showed his distinctive choices and pursuit in this relationship. By studying
the “regionalism” and “non-regionalism” of Ba Jin’s works, we can better
understand Ba Jin and his writing. It is also enlightening for us to review the
future development of Ba-Shu culture
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