《家》是巴金的代表作,同时也是中国现代文学经典之一。但是这部作品自1931年连载开始,社会反响便呈现出了两级分化:持赞同态度者认为,《家》暴露了大家庭的罪恶,揭示了新旧势力的殊死搏击,是一部反封建思想启蒙的成功之作;持否定态度者则认为,《家》题材陈旧脱离现实,艺术上又去机械地模仿《红楼梦》,毫无可取之处。在1940年以前,《家》的社会影响力并不是太大,然而经过电影和话剧改编,《家》才逐渐为广大读者所知道。因此,全面考察《家》在民国时期的接受与传播,可以使我们真正了解中国现代文学经典形成的复杂过程。

Family is the representative work of Ba Jin and it is also one of the Chinese modern literary classics. But since the work was serialized in 1931, the social response has shown two levels of differentiation: Those who agree with approval insist that it is a successful masterpiece full of enlightenment of anti-feudal thought. And they believe that Family exposes the sins of the big family which revealed the death fighting between the old and new forces; Yet those who hold a negative attitude think that the theme of Family is out of touch with reality and there is nothing meritorious because it parodies A Dream of Red Mansions in art. The social influence of Family is not too great before 1940. However, Family gradually became known to readers after the film and drama adaptations. Therefore, it enables us to truly understand the complex process of the formation of modern Chinese literature classics through a comprehensive inspection of the acceptance and dissemination of Family during the period of the Republic of China.