The Garden of Repose

Ba JinChongqing Culture and Life Publishing House1944

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Word count
120K words
Series
The Torrent Trilogy (Sequel)

Tags

Literature Classic Works Family DeclineCritique of Old SocietySocial CritiqueNovellasNarrative VoiceFirst PersonFirst-Person NarrativeModern Chinese LiteratureModern LiteratureIntellectual View

Summary

During the War of Resistance, a writer who has roamed abroad for sixteen years returns to his native Chengdu and runs into his old friend Yao Guodong, who invites him to stay in the Yang family's former mansion, which Yao has recently bought and renamed "The Garden of Repose." In the garden the writer sees Yao's young second wife, Wan Zhaohua, harassed by the family of Xiaohu, the son of Yao's first wife; he also catches the old owners' son climbing the wall to steal flowers, which draws out the story of the Yang family's decline: Yang the Third squanders the ancestral fortune, ends up in a ruined temple, is driven from his home by his eldest son, and dies quietly in prison. With the mansion as its thread, the novel interweaves the new owners' domestic troubles, the old owners' tragedy, and the plot of the story the writer is composing, showing how a parasitic life of money corrupts two generations of a family.

Editor's review

A representative work of Ba Jin's mature period, superior to the Torrent volumes in artistic restraint and balance of structure. Suited to readers of modern Chinese literature interested in family narrative and critique of the old society. Told from the perspective of an observing writer, its four threads interweave without falling into disorder; its weakness is that almost no one resists, the tone is somber, and the plot moves slowly, so readers seeking thrills and strong conflict will be unsatisfied.

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Reading tips

  1. Read about Gao Keding in Family first, then Yang the Third here, to see the resonance between character prototypes.
  2. Note the recurring "Long Bless the Descendants" screen wall and the Garden of Repose gate plaque; they carry the theme.
  3. After finishing, read the appendix preface to the French translation and the afterword to understand the author's intent and self-assessment.

About the publisher

Chongqing Culture and Life Publishing House

Chongqing Culture and Life Publishing House is an institution focused on literary publishing. Publicly available information is limited, and its catalogue currently contains only one book. Based on the existing title, the press appears to devote attention to the organization and dissemination of classic works of modern Chinese literature, with Ba Jin's novel Garden of Repose as its representative book. This choice reflects the publisher's emphasis on famous works by major modern writers and suggests a direction favoring works that are both literary and classic. Ba Jin is an important writer in modern Chinese literature, and the inclusion of his work indicates that the press draws on authors of lasting influence and values literary merit and the transmission of reading. Because public information is limited, a fuller publishing structure and series plan cannot be confirmed; only the literary and classic orientation reflected in the catalogue can be summarized.

FAQ

What is the relationship between The Garden of Repose and Family, Spring, and Autumn? It is a sequel to the Torrent Trilogy, telling what happens after the decline of the great family; Yang the Third is the prototype of Gao Keding in Family.
Is this a romance or a best-selling web novel? No. It is a modern novella published in 1944, serious and realistic in subject.
Does it have a happy ending? No. The tone throughout is somber; Yang the Third dies in prison, and the Yao family also declines.

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About the author

Ba Jin Author · Chinese · 1904–2005

Ba Jin (1904–2005), originally named Li Yaotang with the courtesy name Feigan, was a native of Chengdu, Sichuan, and a modern Chinese writer, translator and publisher. He is known mainly for his fiction and essays, including the "Torrent" trilogy Family, Spring and Autumn, as well as Cold Night and Random Thoughts. His works often focus on family ethics, the fate of youth and social change, written in a sincere, plain style with strong emotion. He also translated foreign literary works such as The Happy Prince, served as chairman of the Chinese Writers Association, and was named "People's Writer" in 2003. The library holds 10 of his works, spanning classics, essays and literary appreciation, showing the lasting influence of his writing and translations.