This is an abridged version of the first of the trilogy The Torrents: Family.Spring.Autumn, masterpiece of Ba Jin, one of the great writers of modern Chinese literature. The trilogy recounts the decline of a large feudal family following the May Fourth Movement of 1919.
The Gao family, a stronghold of feudal ethics, is shaken by an awakening new generation. Shuying, once so weak, has escaped from a doomed marriage; Juexin becomes a radical. These are signs of spring, a spring full of life, full of joy.