In the first of a two-part post, we’ll look at a letter sent in 1987 from a group of elementary school students to the anarchist writer Ba Jin (most famous for his 1931 novel The Family) as they struggle to cope with China’s changing social values. In Part II, I’ll translate Ba Jin’s reply.
敬爱的巴金爷爷：
我们是十个小学五年级的学生，平均年龄不到十一周岁，在学校里都获得了“三好”或“品学兼优”的奖励。但是近年来，我们被一些新的现象迷惑了。爸爸妈妈说话三句不离钞票，社会上常以收入多作为自己的骄傲。
有位每月工资是三十多元的老师，当我们问她工资多少时，她脸红了。我们有位同学数学考了九十四分，她呜咽起来，原来爸爸答应她，考了九十五分可得五元奖金。许多家长都用金钱、新衣、旅游来鼓励我们取得好成绩。有些同学在谈到将来时，往往把单位好、工资高、奖金多作为自己最好的向往。
一句话，为金钱工作、为金钱学习，已经成为理所当然的事。这难道就是我们八十年代的少年应该追求的理想吗？作为三好学生，我们可以攻克学习上的重重难关，但是在这里，在理想问题上我们成了十只迷途的羔羊。但是我们不甘沉沦，我们决心探索、寻求，我们十个朋友决定开展一个“寻求理想”的活动。
巴金爷爷，我们读过您写的很多书。现在您已上了年纪，可是我们还常常在报纸上、电视里看到您在忙碌地工作。我们想您那里一定有一种神奇的力量，有打开我们心灵窗户的神秘钥匙，因此，我们想向您请教。当您伏案写作的时候，您想的是什么？您写了那么多的书，您追求的是什么？
巴金爷爷，我们知道您很忙，您有很重要的工作，您还需要休息，我们实在不愿意打搅您，但是我们十分需要您的帮助。十只迷途的羔羊向您呼救，请您以最快的速度给我们指点。
祝您长寿。
十个寻找理想的孩子
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 敬爱 | jìng ài | to respect and love; to hold in high esteem |
| 的 | de | of; ~'s (possessive particle); (used after an attribute when it modifies a noun); (used at the end of a declarative sentence for emphasis); (used after a noun, verb or adjective to… |
| 巴 | Bā | Ba, a state during the Zhou dynasty (in present-day Chongqing and the eastern part of Sichuan); the east of Sichuan and Chongqing Municipality; surname Ba; (bound form) abbr. for 巴… |
| 金 | Jīn | surname Jin; surname Kim (Korean); Jurchen Jin dynasty (1115–1234) |
| 爷爷 | yé ye | (coll.) paternal grandfather; grandpa |
| 我 | wǒ | I; me; my |
| 们 | men | plural marker for pronouns, and nouns referring to individuals |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only); correct; right; true; (respectful acknowledgement of a command) very well; (adverb for emphatic assertion); variant of 是[shi4] |
| 十 | shí | ten; 10 |
| 个 | gě | used in 自個兒|自个儿[zi4 ge3 r5]; variant of 個|个[ge4] |
| 小学 | xiǎo xué | elementary school; primary school |
| 五 | wǔ | five; 5 |
| 年级 | nián jí | grade; year (in school, college etc); CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 学生 | xué sheng | student; schoolchild |
| 平 | Píng | surname Ping |
| 均 | jun | (bound form) equal; uniform; even |
| 年龄 | nián líng | (a person's) age; CL:把[ba3],個|个[ge4] |
| 不到 | bù dào | not to arrive; not reaching; insufficient; less than |
| 十一 | Shí Yī | PRC National Day (October 1st) |
| 周岁 | zhōu suì | one full year (e.g. on child's first birthday) |
| 在 | zài | to exist; to be alive; (of sb or sth) to be (located) at; (used before a verb to indicate an action in progress) |
| 学校 | xué xiào | school; CL:所[suo3] |
| 里 | lǐ | variant of 裡|里[li3]; lining; interior; inside; internal; also written 裏|里[li3]; surname Li |
| 都 | Dū | surname Du |
| 获 | huǒ | (literary) to catch; to capture |
| 得了 | dé le | all right!; that's enough! |
| 三 | Sān | surname San |
| 好 | hǎo | good; appropriate; proper; all right!; (before a verb) easy to; (before a verb) good to; (before an adjective for exclamatory effect) so; (verb complement indicating completion); (… |
| 或 | huò | maybe; perhaps; might; possibly; or |
| 品学 | pǐn xué | conduct and learning (of an individual); moral nature and skill |
| 兼 | jian | double; simultaneous |
| 优 | you | excellent |
| 奖励 | jiǎng lì | to reward; reward (as encouragement) |
| 但 | dàn | but; yet; however; still; merely; only; just |
| 近年 | jìn nián | recent year(s) |
| 来 | lái | to come; (used as a substitute for a more specific verb); hither (directional complement for motion toward the speaker, as in 回來|回来[hui2 lai5]); ever since (as in 自古以來|自古以来[zi4 gu3… |
| 被 | bèi | quilt; to cover (with); (literary) to suffer (a misfortune); used to indicate passive voice (placed before the doer of the action like "by" in English passive-voice sentences, or, … |
| 一些 | yī xiē | some; a few; a little; (following an adjective) slightly ...er |
| 新 | Xīn | abbr. for Xinjiang 新疆[Xin1 jiang1]; abbr. for Singapore 新加坡[Xin1 jia1 po1]; surname Xin |
| 现象 | xiàn xiàng | phenomenon; CL:個|个[ge4],種|种[zhong3]; appearance |
| 迷 | mī | to bewilder; fan; lost |
| 惑 | huǒ | to confuse |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker); (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now); (modal particle intensifying preceding clause); (bound form) clear in one's mind; to understand clearly |
| 爸爸 | bà ba | (coll.) father; dad; CL:位[wei4] |
| 妈妈 | mā ma | mama; mommy; mother; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 说话 | shuō huà | to speak; to say; to talk; to gossip; to tell stories; talk; word |
| 句 | gōu | variant of 勾[gou1] |
| 不 | bù | no; not so; (bound form) not; un- |
| 离 | chī | mythical beast (archaic); surname Li |
| 钞 | chao | money |
| 票 | piào | ticket; ballot; banknote; CL:張|张[zhang1]; person held for ransom; amateur performance of Chinese opera; classifier for groups, batches, business transactions |
| 社会 | shè huì | society |
| 上 | shǎng | used in 上聲|上声[shang3 sheng1] |
| 常 | Cháng | surname Chang |
| 以 | yǐ | old variant of 以[yi3]; abbr. for Israel 以色列[Yi3 se4 lie4] |
| 收入 | shōu rù | to take in; income; revenue; CL:筆|笔[bi3],個|个[ge4] |
| 多 | duō | many; much; more; a lot of; too many; in excess; (after a numeral) ... odd; how (to what extent) (Taiwan pr. [duo2]); (bound form) multi-; poly- |
| 作为 | zuò wéi | one's conduct; deed; activity; accomplishment; achievement; to act as; as (in the capacity of); qua; to view as; to look upon (sth as); to take sth to be |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 骄 | jiao | proud |
| 傲 | ǎo | proud; to despise; to defy |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is; (bound form) having; with; -ful; -ed; -al (as in 有意[you3 yi4] intentional) |
| 位 | wèi | position; location; place; seat; classifier for people (honorific); classifier for binary bits (e.g. 十六位 16-bit or 2 bytes); (physics) potential |
| 每月 | měi yuè | each month |
| 工资 | gōng zī | wages; pay; CL:份[fen4] |
| 三十 | sān shí | thirty; 30 |
| 多元 | duō yuán | poly-; multi-; multielement; multivariant; multivariate (math.) |
| 老 | lǎo | prefix used before the surname of a person or a numeral indicating the order of birth of the children in a family or to indicate affection or familiarity; old (of people); venerabl… |
| 师 | Shī | surname Shi |
| 当 | dāng | (onom.) dong; ding dong (bell); to be; to act as; manage; withstand; when; during; ought; should; match equally; equal; same; obstruct; just at (a time or place); on the spot; right; just at |
| 问 | wèn | to ask; to inquire |
| 她 | tā | she |
| 多少 | duō shǎo | number; amount; somewhat |
| 时 | shí | old variant of 時|时[shi2]; surname Shi |
| 脸 | liǎn | face; CL:張|张[zhang1],個|个[ge4] |
| 红 | Hóng | surname Hong |
| 同学 | tóng xué | to study at the same school; fellow student; classmate; CL:位[wei4],個|个[ge4] |
| 数学 | shù xué | mathematics |
| 考 | kǎo | to beat; to hit; variant of 考[kao3]; to inspect; to test; to take an exam; to check; to verify; to test; to examine; to take an exam; to take an entrance exam for; deceased father |
| 九十 | jǐu shí | ninety |
| 四 | sì | four; 4 |
| 分 | fēn | to divide; to separate; to distribute; to allocate; to distinguish (good and bad); (bound form) branch of (an organization); sub- (as in 分局[fen1 ju2]); fraction; one tenth (of cert… |
| 呜 | ||
| 咽 | yǎn | throat; pharynx |
| 起 | qǐ | to rise; to raise; to get up; to set out; to start; to appear; to launch; to initiate (action); to draft; to establish; to get (from a depot or counter); verb suffix, to start; sta… |
| 原 | Yuán | surname Yuan; (Japanese surname) Hara |
| 答应 | dā ying | to answer; to respond; to answer positively; to agree; to accept; to promise |
| 可 | kě | (prefix) can; may; able to; -able; to approve; to permit; to suit; (particle used for emphasis) certainly; very; but; however |
| 得 | dé | to obtain; to get; to gain; to catch (a disease); proper; suitable; proud; contented; to allow; to permit; ready; finished |
| 元 | Yuán | surname Yuan; Yuan dynasty (1279–1368) |
| 奖金 | jiǎng jīn | premium; award money; bonus |
| 许多 | xǔ duō | many; a lot of; much |
| 家长 | jiā zhǎng | head of a household; family head; patriarch; parent or guardian of a child |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ; (coverb) with; using; to need; to have to (usu. used in the negative or in questions); usefulness; utility; (bound form) expense; outlay; (courte… |
| 金钱 | jīn qián | money; currency |
| 衣 | yī | clothes; CL:件[jian4]; Kangxi radical 145 |
| 旅 | lu:3 | trip; travel; to travel; brigade (army) |
| 游 | Yóu | surname You; to walk; to tour; to roam; to travel |
| 鼓励 | gǔ lì | to encourage |
| 取得 | qǔ dé | to acquire; to get; to obtain |
| 成 | Chéng | surname Cheng; short name for Chengdu 成都[Cheng2 du1] |
| 绩 | jì | to spin (hemp etc); merit; accomplishment; Taiwan pr. [ji1] |
| 有些 | yǒu xiē | some; somewhat; rather; a bit |
| 谈到 | tán dào | to refer to; to speak about; to talk about |
| 将 | jiāng | will; shall; to use; to take; to checkmate; just a short while ago; (introduces object of main verb, used in the same way as 把[ba3]) |
| 往往 | wǎng wǎng | usually; in many cases; more often than not |
| 把 | bǎ | to hold; to grasp; to hold a baby in position to help it urinate or defecate; handlebar; classifier: handful, bundle, bunch; classifier for things with handles; (used to put the ob… |
| 单位 | dān wèi | unit (of measure); unit (group of people as a whole); work unit (place of employment, esp. in the PRC prior to economic reform); CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 高 | Gāo | surname Gao |
| 最好 | zuì hǎo | best; had better ...; it would be best to ... |
| 向往 | xiàng wǎng | to yearn for; to look forward to |
| 一句话 | yī jù huà | in a word; in short |
| 为 | wéi | as (in the capacity of); to take sth as; to act as; to serve as; to behave as; to become; to be; to do; by (in the passive voice); variant of 為|为[wei2] |
| 工作 | gōng zuò | to work; (of a machine) to operate; job; work; task; CL:個|个[ge4],份[fen4],項|项[xiang4] |
| 学习 | xué xí | to learn; to study |
| 已经 | yǐ jīng | already |
| 成为 | chéng wéi | to become; to turn into |
| 理 | lǐ | texture; grain (of wood); inner essence; intrinsic order; reason; logic; truth; science; natural science (esp. physics); to manage; to pay attention to; to run (affairs); to handle… |
| 所 | suǒ | actually; place; classifier for houses, small buildings, institutions etc; that which; particle introducing a relative clause or passive; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 当然 | dāng rán | only natural; as it should be; certainly; of course; without doubt |
| 事 | shì | matter; thing; item; work; affair; CL:件[jian4],樁|桩[zhuang1],回[hui2] |
| 这 | zhè | (pronoun) this; these; (bound form) this; the (followed by a noun); (bound form) this; these (followed by a classifier) (in this sense, commonly pr. [zhei4], esp. in Beijing) |
| 难道 | nán dào | don't tell me ...; could it be that...? |
| 就是 | jìu shì | exactly; precisely; only; simply; just; (used correlatively with 也[ye3]) even; even if |
| 八十 | bā shí | eighty; 80 |
| 年代 | nián dài | a decade of a century (e.g. the Sixties); age; era; period; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 少年 | shào nián | early youth; youngster; (literary) youth; young man |
| 应 | Yīng | surname Ying; Taiwan pr. [Ying4] |
| 该 | gāi | should; ought to; probably; must be; to deserve; to owe; to be sb's turn to do sth; that; the above-mentioned |
| 追 | zhui | to sculpt; musical instrument (old) |
| 求 | qíu | to seek; to look for; to request; to demand; to beseech |
| 理想 | lǐ xiǎng | an ideal; a dream; ideal; perfect |
| 吗 | má | (coll.) what? |
| 好学 | hǎo xué | easy to learn |
| 生 | shēng | to grow; to give birth; to produce; to be born; to arise; to occur; to light (a fire); to live; to be alive; life; raw; uncooked; unprocessed; unfamiliar; strange; (bound form) stu… |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can; may; possible; able to; not bad; pretty good |
| 攻克 | gōng kè | to capture; to take; to overcome; to solve |
| 重重 | chóng chóng | layer upon layer; one after another |
| 难 | nán | difficult (to...); problem; difficulty; difficult; not good |
| 关 | Guān | surname Guan |
| 这里 | zhè lǐ | variant of 這裡|这里[zhe4 li3] |
| 问题 | wèn tí | question; problem; issue; topic; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 成了 | chéng le | to be done; to be ready; that's enough!; that will do! |
| 只 | zhī | variant of 隻|只[zhi1]; variant of 只[zhi3]; grain that has begun to ripen; classifier for birds and certain animals, one of a pair, some utensils, vessels etc |
| 途 | tū | way; road |
| 羔 | ||
| 羊 | Yáng | surname Yang |
| 不甘 | bù gān | unreconciled to; not resigned to; unwilling |
| 沉 | chēn | to sink; heavy; deep; to immerse; to keep down |
| 沦 | ||
| 决心 | jué xīn | determination; resolution; determined; firm and resolute; to make up one's mind; CL:個|个[ge4] |
| 探 | tǎn | to explore; to scout; to stretch forward |
| 索 | suó | rope; to search for; to demand; to exact; to reduce; surname Suo |
| 寻 | xún | to search; to look for; to seek |
| 朋友 | péng you | friend; CL:個|个[ge4],位[wei4] |
| 决定 | jué dìng | to decide; to determine; to make up one's mind; decision (CL:個|个[ge4],項|项[xiang4]) |
| 开展 | kāi zhǎn | to launch; to develop; to unfold; (of an exhibition etc) to open |
| 一个 | yī ge | a; an; one; the whole (afternoon, summer vacation etc) |
| 活 | huó | to live; alive; living; work; workmanship |
| 动 | dòng | (of sth) to move; to set in movement; to displace; to touch; to make use of; to stir (emotions); to alter; abbr. for 動詞|动词[dong4 ci2], verb |
| 读 | dòu | comma; phrase marked by pause |
| 过 | Guō | surname Guo |
| 您 | nín | you (courteous, as opposed to informal 你[ni3]) |
| 写 | xiě | to write |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite; (also, often used before an adjective without intensifying its meaning, i.e. as a meaningless syntactic element) |
| 书 | Shū | abbr. for 書經|书经[Shu1 jing1] |
| 现 | xiàn | to appear; present; now; existing; current |
| 已 | yǐ | already; to stop; then; afterwards |
| 年纪 | nián jì | age; CL:把[ba3],個|个[ge4] |
| 可是 | kě shì | but; however; (used for emphasis) indeed |
| 还 | Huán | surname Huan |
| 常常 | cháng cháng | frequently; often |
| 报 | bào | to report; to inform; to announce; to respond; to reply; to sign up for; to register for (abbr. for 報名|报名[bao4 ming2]); to reward; to recompense; to take revenge; to retaliate; new… |
| 纸 | zhǐ | variant of 紙|纸[zhi3]; paper (CL:張|张[zhang1],沓[da2]); classifier for documents, letters etc |
| 电 | diàn | lightning; electricity; electric (bound form); to get (or give) an electric shock; phone call or telegram etc; to send via telephone or telegram etc |
| 视 | shì | variant of 視|视[shi4]; variant of 示[shi4]; old variant of 視|视[shi4]; (literary, or bound form) to look at |
| 看到 | kàn dào | to see |
| 忙 | máng | busy; hurriedly; to hurry; to rush |
| 碌 | lǔ | used in 碌碡[liu4 zhou5] |
| 地 | de | -ly; structural particle: used before a verb or adjective, linking it to preceding modifying adverbial adjunct |
| 想 | xiǎng | to think (about); to think of; to devise; to think (that); to believe (that); to desire; to want (to); to miss (feel wistful about the absence of) |
| 那里 | nà li | there; that place |
| 一定 | yī dìng | surely; certainly; definitely; fixed; settled; a certain ...; a given ... |
| 一种 | yī zhǒng | one kind of; one type of |
| 神奇 | shén qí | magical; mystical; miraculous |
| 力量 | lì liang | power; force; strength |
| 打开 | dǎ kāi | to open; to show (a ticket); to turn on; to switch on |
| 心 | xīn | heart; mind; intention; center; core; CL:顆|颗[ke1],個|个[ge4] |
| 灵 | līng | quick; efficacious; to come true; departed soul |
| 窗户 | chuāng hu | window; CL:個|个[ge4],扇[shan4] |
| 神 | Shén | God |
| 秘 | mǐ | secret; mysterious; confidential (mi4); Peru (in 秘鲁, bi4) |
| 钥 | yǎo | key |
| 匙 | chí | spoon |
| 因此 | yīn cǐ | thus; consequently; as a result |
| 向 | Xiàng | surname Xiang; to tend toward; to guide; variant of 向[xiang4]; variant of 向[xiang4]; direction; orientation; to face; to turn toward; to; towards; shortly before; formerly |
| 请教 | qǐng jiào | to ask for guidance; to consult |
| 伏 | Fú | surname Fu |
| 案 | ǎn | (legal) case; record; table |
| 写作 | xiě zuò | to write; to compose; writing; written works |
| 候 | hòu | to wait; to inquire after; to watch; season; climate; (old) period of five days |
| 什 | shén | what |
| 么 | má | exclamatory final particle; variant of 麼|么[me5] |
| 那么 | nà me | like that; in that way; to that extent; (before a number) ... or so; about ...; then; in that case |
| 知道 | zhī dào | to know; to become aware of; also pr. [zhi1dao5] |
| 重要 | zhòng yào | important; significant; major |
| 需要 | xū yào | to need; to want; to demand; to require; needs |
| 休息 | xīu xi | rest; to rest |
| 实 | shí | real; true; honest; really; solid; fruit; seed; definitely |
| 愿 | yuàn | honest and prudent; variant of 願|愿[yuan4]; (bound form) wish; hope; desire; to be willing; to wish (that sth may happen); may ...; vow; pledge |
| 意 | yì | (bound form) idea; thought; meaning; sense; (bound form) intention; feeling; inclination; state of mind; (bound form) Italy (abbr. for 意大利[Yi4 da4 li4]) |
| 打 | dá | (loanword) dozen; Taiwan pr. [da3] |
| 搅 | jiáo | to disturb; to mix |
| 十分 | shí fēn | very; completely; utterly; extremely; absolutely; hundred percent; to divide into ten equal parts |
| 帮助 | bāng zhù | assistance; aid; to help; to assist |
| 呼 | hu | to call; to shout; to exhale |
| 救 | jìu | variant of 救[jiu4]; to save; to assist; to rescue |
| 请 | qǐng | to ask; to invite; please (do sth); to treat (to a meal etc); to request |
| 最 | zuì | variant of 最[zui4]; old variant of 最[zui4]; (before an adjective or verb) to the highest degree; (the) most ...; -est; (after 之[zhi1]) best or most extreme example (e.g. 世界之最[shi4 jie4 zhi1 zui4] "the greatest in the world") |
| 快 | kuài | rapid; quick; speed; rate; soon; almost; to make haste; clever; sharp (of knives or wits); forthright; plainspoken; gratified; pleased; pleasant |
| 速 | sǔ | fast; quick |
| 度 | dù | to pass; to spend (time); measure; limit; extent; degree of intensity; degree (angles, temperature etc); kilowatt-hour; classifier for events and occurrences |
| 给 | gěi | to; for; for the benefit of; to give; to allow; to do sth (for sb); (grammatical equivalent of 被); (grammatical equivalent of 把); (sentence intensifier) |
| 指点 | zhǐ diǎn | to point out; to indicate; to give directions; to show how (to do sth); to censure; to pick at |
| 祝 | Zhù | surname Zhu |
| 长寿 | Cháng shòu | see 長壽區|长寿区[Chang2 shou4 Qu1] |
| 寻找 | xún zhǎo | to seek; to look for |
| 孩子 | hái zi | child |
Respected Grandfather Ba Jin:
We are ten elementary school students, on average not yet 11 years old, and in school we’ve all received “Three Goods” or “Excellent Student” awards. But in recent years, we’ve been puzzled by some new phenomena. Father and mother are always focused on money, and in greater society [people] base their pride on their income.
There’s a teacher who makes over 30 RMB per month, but when we ask her how much her salary is, she turns red [with embarrassment]. We have a classmate who got 94% on a math test, but she started bawling, turns out her father agreed that if she got 95% she’d get a prize of 5 RMB. Many parents use money, new clothes, or travel to encourage us to get good grades. When some of our classmates talk about their future, often it’s a good job, a high salary, or accolades that they most yearn for.
In a word, working for [the sole purpose of making] money, and studying for [the purpose of making] money, has already become an expected thing. Could it be that this is the ideal that the youth of the 80s should be chasing? As excellent students, we can overcome any kind of study-related difficulty, but in this, on questions of ideals, we’ve become ten lost lambs. But we’re unwilling to sink [down to that level], we’ve decided to explore, to seek, we ten friends decided to launch an endeavor [centered around] “seeking ideals”.
Grandfather Ba Jin, we’ve read many books that you’ve written. Now you’re already in your later years, be we often see in newspapers and on TV that you’re still hard at work. We think you certainly must have a kind of mystical power, a mysterious key to unlock the windows of our spirits, and because of this, we want to ask your advice. When you’re bent over your desk writing, what are you thinking of? You’ve written so many books, what are you chasing after?
Grandfather Ba Jin, we know you’re very busy, and you have very important work, and you also need to rest, we truly don’t wish to trouble you, but we really need your help. Ten lost lambs are calling for your aid, please give us direction as quickly as you can.
We wish you long life.
Signed, Ten Youths Seeking Ideals