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21st Century Chinese Poetry, No.3: Bilingual Chinese-English
21st Century Chinese Poetry No3 Bilingual ChineseEnglish Author:Rong Rong et al. These are unusual times. These poets are tale-tellers of their world. Their poems are for real people. — The quarterly journal of 21st Century Chinese Poetry was founded with the intention of introducing modern Chinese poetry to readers worldwide. Please enjoy with us the evolution and revolution of the making of modern Chinese poetry. — Moder... more »n Chinese poetry was born from the broader intellectual movement that took place in China in the early part of the 20th century, known as the May-Fourth Movement (1917-1921); for the first time in history, vernacular Chinese was accepted as a legitimate poetic voice. Since then, nearly a century has passed by and this poetic experiment hasn't stopped evolving but only accelerated recently because of the easy exchange of styles and ideas over cyberspace. This is an eye-opening, exciting and even confounding experience for both the poets and the readers.
The editor-and-translator team of 21st Century Chinese Poetry selects some of the best poems written in Chinese by today's poets from all geographical areas. This issue includes 24 poems by 9 poets.
From 21st Century Chinese Poetry, No. 3
Those days there always seemed to be
chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs under the flower trellises
and, as always in this world, the lonely and unexplained
outbursts of drinking, crying, and women complaining.
--by Li Shangyu, Unsightly Scenes
The bells are benevolent hands, offering the poor a reason to smile
and bestowing on the rich a few ethereal thoughts.
-- by Ren Xianqing, Bell Chime at Dusk
The bricks are blind, the nails are naive,
the shingles are impulsive, and love is crystal clear.His skinny body sways as he sings.
-- by Rong Rong, A Old Song
Going into December,
the whole country becomes a maze of conveyor belts for shipping spring.
-- by Chen Yanqiang, January (or An Evening of Reading)
---This is me in the same dream with the plum flower
and I asked her "With everyone to choose from,
why did you marry the spring zephyr?"
-- by Song Huiyuan, In the Same Dream with the Plum Flower
Farther away there is nothing but fog,
maybe near a wide river,
as to where the river is,
no one knows and
no one cares.
-- by Li Wei, For the Heck of It
Neither the city nor its rough outskirts are desirable to me,
but I've long since given up writing; now I wear a sword, sell medicine,
do whatever it takes.
-- by Chen Guiliang, The Emperor's City
Tell us,
Ancestors, we are here to make our offerings, what do you want?
Tell us. But He looks down from above and sees only long slender hookshanging down from the oil lamp.
-- by Yan Hen, A Night of Nihilism
The hawk flies into the clouds,
then comes to land on his hand.
Genghis Khan trusts him more than any man.
-- by Liu Congmei, Genghis Khan and His Hawk« less