This week we have a poem by Gu Cheng 顧城, one of the wonderboys to come out of the 1980’s. He left China, immigrating to New Zealand, got a teaching job and then murdered his wife with an ax. His poetry was as sharp and succinct as his ax. Check out the debate between Rob […]
This week looks a poem by Mao Zedong celebrating the communist defeat of a tiny parasite. “Shooing Away the God of Epidemics” was written in 1956 upon Mao hearing that a county in Jiangxi had eliminated all their blood flukes. #1 China’s green waters and the blue mountains are so numerous but even the great […]
Today, we take a look at a poet who, astonishingly, was writing interesting poetry during the height of the Maoist era. His is the most underground of the underground poets, and today we look at one of the poems by Shi Zhi, “The Ocean and the Wave.” Rob’s Translation The Ocean – A Song in […]
One San Francisco poet, writing in the early 20th century, wrote something that no other poet ever said in the history of Chinese literature (probably): having money is more important than having sons! This is a huge statement that runs against much of traditional Chinese thinking. But, this anonymous poet, though writing in a mixture […]
This week, we look at one of the most famous writers in modern China. It is surprising that we have not tackled Shen Congwen before…he was in contention for China’s first Nobel Prize for Literature until his death in 1988. The reason we have not discussed him is, despite his importance to Chinese literature, neither […]
This week, we take a look at on of the great writers from Shanghai’s 1930’s modernist moment. Shi Zhecun is one of the New Sensationalist (新感觉派), and his story, “One Evening in the Rainy Season” follows the story of a man who is following a woman one rainy Shanghai night. Is he a creeper? Is […]
This is it, this is the end of our decade-by-decade exploration of Chinese Literature in the 20th Century. Lee explores Mo Yan, while Rob chooses Xi Chuan. Join them for the final episode in this series.
At last! Out of the Maoist wilderness and into what may be the single most riveting decade for literature and the arts of the entire 20th century in China.
The dark night lifts at last! 1976 marks the end of both the Cultural Revolution and the Maoist era. It also marks the beginning of one of the most remarkable periods of literature of Taiwan. Today we look at an underground poet in China and a Taiwanese short story writer. Join us to find out […]
You want a hard period for a good literary discussion? Then this is your port of call. The 1960’s wasn’t just a bleak literary landscape in China; it was practically nonexistent. We got around the problem by going across the Straits or underground. Join us to find out more!