Ba Jin's funeral held amid tears, praise
By Xu Jitao (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-25 05:53

Zong said that Ba's legacy includes not only his literary works, but also his character. "His honesty, especially, has been a great source of encouragement to many people," he said.

People attend the funeral for late writer Ba Jin in Shanghai October 24, 2005. [Xinhua]

Yao Yien, a 78-year-old member of the Shanghai Writers' Association and the Shanghai Translators' Association said that he would never forget the friendship with Ba, who he said helped many people.

"He was a very considerate person. His death marks the end of an era for me, the last master of his time has gone," he said.

At 4:30 pm, a hearse carrying the coffin left the funeral home and it appeared that there was no dry eye among the mourners.

In Beijing, more than 5,000 admirers and members of the literary circle visited the mourning hall at the China Modern Literature Museum which Ba helped found in 1985 over the weekend, according to Shu Yi, curator of the museum.

(China Daily 10/25/2005 page2)