Ward Four: A Novel of Wartime China

by Ba Jin

"A triumph of humanism in war-ravaged China of the 1940s, this work of autobiographical fiction not only shows Ba Jin at his best, but also demonstrates why he is rightly viewed as the 'conscience of China.'"— Michelle Yeh, department of East Asian languages, University of California, Davis

A major work by a towering figure in twentieth century Chinese literature, Ward Four intimately reveals the frailties and strengths of the human spirit and the will to survive. Set in a hospital in rural China during World War II, it provides a haunting window into the isolation and displacement faced by ordinary citizens. Ba Jin's hospital ward is a dark corner where life and death intersect and the absurd is transformed into the comic. Amid the uncertainties of war are the foundations of strength and the will to survive during one of the darkest periods of Chinese history.

Ba Jin (1904–2005) is widely considered one of China's greatest literary figures.

Haili Kong is professor of Chinese literature at Swarthmore College.

Howard Goldblatt is professor of Chinese literature at Notre Dame University.

Genres: Fiction, Chinese Literature, China

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Ba Jin (巴金) took this pen name from Russian anarchists Bakunin and Kropotkin.

Known also as "Pa Chin"

Reviews

[Whitaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

第四病室 (available in English translation as Ward Four: A Novel of Wartime China ) recounts the stay of Mr Lu, who checks into the third class ward at the local hospital. He is placed into Ward Four. Ba Jin does not mention this but the number four is considered deeply unlucky in Chinese culture -- the Chinese equivalent of the number 13 in Anglo-European cultures -- as it is a homonym of the Chinese word for death. Both are pronounced "si". Ward Four does indeed become a ward of death as three deaths take place in the ward during the time of Mr Lu's stay there. And these are out of a total of four that occur that month as Mr Lu's bed was made available to him through the death of the former patient in that bed. Given that there are only 12 beds in the ward, that's a pretty high mortality rate (even taking into account the fact that vacated beds are quickly filled with new patients).

The novel is a slice of life and Chinese society at the time, as it provides rich portraits of the doctors, nurses, and patients in the ward. We have an old man who suffers from an open sore. A vegetarian, a practice which connotes Buddhist piety, we later learn that he has syphilis as a result of a debauched youth. We have a couple of other patients with less serious ailments and more financial resources who pass petty, caustic remarks on the others in the room. We have a soldier with a broken arm transferred to the ward from the military hospital so short of funds that it did not have a proper roof.

Indeed, the period in which the novel was set -- shortly before the end of World War II and during the fight and occupation of various Chinese counties by the Japanese -- means that the poverty and high inflation rate facing the population at the time result in greatly reduced heath care for the patients. The contrast with the patients in the first class wards, who do not have to share a room, is made stark when on a stroll on his first night at the hospital, Mr Lu wanders by accident into the first class ward area and sees the richly dressed patients lounging around in their well-appointed rooms while back at the ward he has just left, with twelve squeezed into a room, patients suffer the smells of illness, feces and urine as well as the continual moans and whimpers of their fellow ward residents.

Lack of money, not sickness, is the main killer as Mr Lu's doctor herself bitterly says to Mr Lu in an unguarded moment of frankness. Patients must buy and pay for their own medicines before they can be treated. Even toilet paper must be purchased. A lack of money means no treatment, and even no proper food. All the third class patients get at the hospital is a thin gruel, barely enough to feed them, much less nourish their bodies in need of healing. A waiter from an outside restaurant comes in to take orders of food from patients that can afford to be better fed. And the single overworked medical orderly that attends to the patients bases the amount of attention he gives them on the amount of tips a patient can afford to give him.

A moment of supreme irony occurs when, in a short vignette, the nurses coo over a chick fallen from the eaves of the ward and give it more attention than the patients in their care. One of them happily decides to keep it as a pet and names it 琳黛 (pronounced Lin Dai). Now, here I might well be reading too much into the novel, but to me the name "Lin Dai" (琳黛) is an echo of the character Lin Dai Yu (林黛玉) in one of China's greatest and most well-known works, The Story of Stone or the Dream of the Red Chamber. The hero of that novel is in love with the poor Lin Dai Yu and wants to marry her, but his family have chosen the far wealthier Xue Bao Chai as the more socially appropriate wife. Lin Dai Yu dies of consumption and heartbreak at the end of the novel. The fate of the poverty stricken heroine of that novel finds its ironic echo in the name of the chick and a reminder that the poor have always throughout time borne the brunt of suffering.

An excellent novel that was well worth reading.

[Wkgunadasa]

Good Book about China and Russian Cultures

[Carlos Rene · Rating 3 out of 5]

It would have really sucked to have been stuck at a third-rate hospital in KMT-controlled China during World War II. Ward Four follows a single patient and his experience of being cooped up in a hospital for a couple weeks waiting for his surgery and then recovery. While in care, the narrator makes a lot of observations that can lead one to make greater reflections on the state of health care, inequalities, and basic human empathy. There was a lot lacking during that time.

To really understand what was going on around that time and where the author’s experiences fit in the greater picture, I would highly highly recommend reading a book on China’s WWII experience for background. One great book that comes to mind is Forgotten Ally by Rana Mitter. With a little bit more context, the events in this book become a little more fleshed out. There’s a reason why there seems to be a lack of empathy by many of the patients, doctors, and hospital staff. Furthermore, there are several more reasons why hospitals were understaffed, underfunded, and underequipped.

The personal experiences of the author drive home the sense of desperation that was widely felt during the WWII years in China. Even though this book provides a valuable window into one particular story of the time period, its style and story often fall flat. Without any context, this book is pretty average and un compelling. On the other hand, I bet the story comes off a lot better if I had read it in Chinese.

In all, worth the quick read if interested in 20th century China, especially the pre-revolutionary period.

[Daniel Burton-Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

A minor work by a major author.