Cold Night
by Ba Jin
About This Novel
The protagonists of the novel, Wang Wenxuan and Zeng Shusheng, are a couple who graduated from the university's education department. When I was young, I had weaved many beautiful ideals, hoping to use my knowledge and strength to set up a "rural, family-oriented" school and do something useful for the country and the people. But after the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, they fled to Chongqing. Wang Wenxuan worked as a proofreader in a semi-official and semi-commercial book and stationery company, and Zeng Shusheng worked as a "vase" at Dachuan Bank. In order to reduce her son's living burden, Wang Wenxuan's mother came to take care of the housework. However, Wang's mother had a bad relationship with Zeng Shusheng's mother-in-law and daughter-in-law. Wang Wenxuan was caught in the middle and suffered from lung disease. The family's finances were very tight. Finally, Zeng Shusheng followed the young bank manager to Lanzhou by plane. Wang Wenxuan died of illness amidst the sound of firecrackers celebrating the victory of the Anti-Japanese War. Wang's mother took her grandson Xiaoxuan back to her hometown in Kunming. Two months later, Zeng Shusheng returned to Chongqing from Lanzhou, but his life had changed and he was very sad.
What Readers Think
Rating
Community(0)
Official(26)Scraped 12d ago
In fact, man cannot defeat God, he can only defeat himself. In the trend of the general environment, individuals are just rootless duckweeds.
When I first read it, I just felt it was very depressing. No one was right or wrong. Everyone was entangled in sacrifice and demand, and it ended sadly!
A woman who lost her partner early will transfer her love for her husband to her son, and does not want another woman to share her son's love. She keeps the old-fashioned way of raising her daughter-in-law, only caring about her son, living for her son, and dying for her son. A woman longing for freedom and pursuing happiness, her mother-in-law's hatred and her husband's cowardice brought her to a crossroads with no direction. I wish we could share joys, but we must not share hardships, and we cannot be wives. A man who was too cowardly should have died long ago. No one is more important than yourself, and nothing is more important than health. In front of yourself, everyone has to take a back seat, and in front of health, everyone has to lean back.
Che Xinhui
As soon as I read the title of the book, I feel chilled to the bone. I can imagine the hardship and misfortune of this life.
It's a very good book, you should really read it.
If the eyelashes grow in front of your eyes and cannot be seen, what else can you ask for if the Tao is not there?
Touched by bitterness
I felt so moved in my heart when I saw it, and I felt like crying. In fact, Wang Wenxuan is really good. I believe that gentle and kind people will be happy now! ...
Is there anything wrong with Shu Sheng?
It's always better to live
I read this book in the summer, using a human voice to read word for word. Although it was a sultry summer, I could still read the coldness of winter, as if I could truly feel the painful death of Wang Wenxuan and the hopeless sinking of Shu Sheng when he disappeared on the street on that cold night. Wenxuan, Shusheng and Wenxuan's mother, they were all at fault. They fell in love and killed each other in that dark room. In fact, everyone was very selfish. The only one who was not so selfish was Wenxuan, so I showed great sympathy to him, pitied him, but also hated his cowardice and his image as a good old man. I also sympathized with Shusheng, and even hoped that Shusheng would leave quickly, and that she would get the happiness she wanted. The whole novel is very depressing, and the cough seems to be eating away at my heart bit by bit like thousands of ants. There is nothing more than depression. But when I read Wenxuan's mother cried loudly and said, "If you die, I will die with you, and I don't want to live anymore!" I actually felt a sore nose and was about to cry. I never thought that the point of tears in the whole novel would be here. I thought it would be when Wen Xuan died. I couldn't imagine how such an old and frail mother could continue her helpless life after losing her son. Wenxuan was relieved, but his mother's life was the beginning of despair, just like the cold night when no light could be seen, the kind that chilled the bones. Maybe one day she can live a good life, but maybe she can't wait until this day. There are always people who will be abandoned under the giant wheel of the times and crushed to pieces. But as long as there is still a glimmer of hope and we fight for it, we might be able to survive.
A century of Ba Jin, a century of great changes
Rating
Community(0)
Official(26)Scraped 12d ago
In fact, man cannot defeat God, he can only defeat himself. In the trend of the general environment, individuals are just rootless duckweeds.
When I first read it, I just felt it was very depressing. No one was right or wrong. Everyone was entangled in sacrifice and demand, and it ended sadly!
A woman who lost her partner early will transfer her love for her husband to her son, and does not want another woman to share her son's love. She keeps the old-fashioned way of raising her daughter-in-law, only caring about her son, living for her son, and dying for her son. A woman longing for freedom and pursuing happiness, her mother-in-law's hatred and her husband's cowardice brought her to a crossroads with no direction. I wish we could share joys, but we must not share hardships, and we cannot be wives. A man who was too cowardly should have died long ago. No one is more important than yourself, and nothing is more important than health. In front of yourself, everyone has to take a back seat, and in front of health, everyone has to lean back.
Che Xinhui
As soon as I read the title of the book, I feel chilled to the bone. I can imagine the hardship and misfortune of this life.
It's a very good book, you should really read it.
If the eyelashes grow in front of your eyes and cannot be seen, what else can you ask for if the Tao is not there?
Touched by bitterness
I felt so moved in my heart when I saw it, and I felt like crying. In fact, Wang Wenxuan is really good. I believe that gentle and kind people will be happy now! ...
Is there anything wrong with Shu Sheng?
It's always better to live
I read this book in the summer, using a human voice to read word for word. Although it was a sultry summer, I could still read the coldness of winter, as if I could truly feel the painful death of Wang Wenxuan and the hopeless sinking of Shu Sheng when he disappeared on the street on that cold night. Wenxuan, Shusheng and Wenxuan's mother, they were all at fault. They fell in love and killed each other in that dark room. In fact, everyone was very selfish. The only one who was not so selfish was Wenxuan, so I showed great sympathy to him, pitied him, but also hated his cowardice and his image as a good old man. I also sympathized with Shusheng, and even hoped that Shusheng would leave quickly, and that she would get the happiness she wanted. The whole novel is very depressing, and the cough seems to be eating away at my heart bit by bit like thousands of ants. There is nothing more than depression. But when I read Wenxuan's mother cried loudly and said, "If you die, I will die with you, and I don't want to live anymore!" I actually felt a sore nose and was about to cry. I never thought that the point of tears in the whole novel would be here. I thought it would be when Wen Xuan died. I couldn't imagine how such an old and frail mother could continue her helpless life after losing her son. Wenxuan was relieved, but his mother's life was the beginning of despair, just like the cold night when no light could be seen, the kind that chilled the bones. Maybe one day she can live a good life, but maybe she can't wait until this day. There are always people who will be abandoned under the giant wheel of the times and crushed to pieces. But as long as there is still a glimmer of hope and we fight for it, we might be able to survive.
A century of Ba Jin, a century of great changes
