[2][4] The first word of his pen name may have been taken from Ba Embo, his classmate who committed suicide in Paris, which was admitted by himself,[5][6] or from the first syllable of the surname of the Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin;[7][1] and the last character of which is the Chinese equivalent of the last syllable of Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin (克鲁泡特金, Ke-lu-pao-te-jin).

[11][12] In 1919, Ba read Kropotkin's An Appeal to the Young and converted to anarchism.

[13] It was partly owing to boredom that Ba Jin began to write his first novel, Miewang 灭亡 (“Destruction”).

[16] The Shantou Cultural Revolution Museum referenced the influence of Ba Jin on its establishment through displaying a depiction of his at the entrance[17] as well as a quote of his, "Every town in China should establish a museum about the Cultural Revolution.

"[18] Ba Jin's works were heavily influenced by foreign writers, including Émile Zola, Ivan Turgenev, Alexander Herzen, Anton Chekhov, and Emma Goldman.