ABSTRACT
This paper is a comparative study of texts. As is known, Ba Jin regarded Rousseau as his spiritual mentor and said that he was influenced by Rousseau many times. Ba Jin might have read Rousseau's The New Heloise in all likelihood, although there is no direct evidence to prove it. The author points out that although there are great differences between Garden of Repose and New Heloise in plots, they are obviously consistent with each other in the sin of money, female status, and father-son relations. Moreover, the return of characters is described in Part II of The New Heloise and Garden of Repose. In addition, the author compares the contents and themes of the two works, and indicates that no matter whether Ba Jin read New Heloise, his creations were deeply influenced by the spirits of “telling the truth” and seeking the truth of Rousseau.
