With the passing of Ba Jin, it's time to look into the legacy of this towering figure in Literary China.

If you scan the online landscape, you may come to the conclusion that Ba Jin was well-respected, but didn't strike a chord with China's netizens. Most postings are made up of one-sentence condolences, proper and formal.

That is not unusual. The online demographic is heavily skewed towards the young, who may not have read his masterpieces such as "Family" and "Chilly Night." Or even if they have, it may be hard for those born in the 1980s to identify with children of the May Fourth Movement.

For those of us who went through the 1980s as adults, Ba Jin represented the epitome of a writer or artist, which is integrity. He was not afraid to cut through his own wounds of the "cultural revolution" (1966-76) and expose his own "sins" while most people of his age and stature would be happily swallowing in their survival skills and accolades.

The memoirs he published in the post-cultural revolution years have a relevancy that overshadows his previous novels, and they can be crystallized into this three-word motto: shuo zhen hua, or speak the truth.

It may sound as hackneyed as every father's admonition. But it may be the most stinging legacy from this prolific writer whose life spanned a whole century.

Speaking the truth may not be easy and often brings on disastrous consequences. I'm not just talking about here and now. The whole notion of civilization can be construed as couching truth in palatable languages, or more bluntly, not telling it as it is.

If the "mirror on the wall" had told the queen that Snow White is not more beautiful than her, there might not be a poisonous apple incident.

Since this is a fairy tale and the queen is evil personified, nobody would blame the mirror for having a big mouth. However, in real life, there can be at least two types of approaches to giving vent to truth.

One is the artist type. An artist should by nature be truthful to himself and his ideals. That does not mean he cannot use symbols or other circuitous means, but that should be his own choice. He can choose to whisper, sing or even rant and does not need to think much of how others will respond.

On the other side is the politician, who, on most occasions, cannot blurt out what is on his mind. He will have to identify his goal first, and then find the best persuasive expression to reach it.

In novels and films, the protagonist is generally a straight arrow and calls a spade a spade. A hero who tricks the villain, without provocation, into foolery and defeat may automatically lose his moral credentials.

When a child is growing up, he or she is torn between these two forces: You must tell the truth and not lie; you should speak properly and not hurt others' feelings. This paradox plagues us into our adult lives.

Truth can hurt, and the object is not only evil queens. The Western culture is so enamoured with the cute appearance of babies that you'd be forced to lie if a baby has the face of Quasimodo. Seinfeld, the 1990s hit television sitcom, made a whole episode out of breaking this taboo when the main characters dropped their jaws and got convulsed in horror at the sight of a friend's newborn.

And as pop songs go, the truth shall set you free. But in reality, the truth can also haunt you for the rest of your life. That's why we have the saying "blissfully ignorant."

I'm not sabotaging Ba Jin's axiom here. As everyone is aware, not telling the truth can be disastrous, which was illustrated in the 2003 SARS epidemic. But telling the truth is not as simple as black and white. The whole public relations business exists to present "truth" in a seller-friendly way.

Withholding truth does not necessarily mean telling lies because the latter is often viewed as an act of desperation or a sign of imminent failure. But not telling the whole truth is almost de rigueur in modern life. It is the line between social etiquette and massive deception that we should watch out for.

Ba Jin had a lofty ideal. Truth be told, no sane person can achieve it 100 per cent. But a society that totally ignores it will be insane.

Email: raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 10/22/2005 page4)