The Bloom of Poetry: Xu Chicheng's Poetry

The blooming of Xu Chicheng's poetry: Xu Chicheng's poetry selection [Chinese and English]. Zhang Zhizhong translated. Chongqing: Earth Culture Press [USA], 2012. Page 382. The price is 50.00 yuan, 25.00 dollars. ISBN 978-0-9637599-6-2 / E.009

"Xu Chicheng's Selected Poems" aims to show his poetic excellence, or, as the poet said, his "new starting point" in his post-70s life. Xu Chicheng has been writing poetry for the past 50 years to celebrate nature and humanity: his poetry depicts the native landscape of Chinese tradition and culture, pastoral life and human values:

" - I am determined to devote myself to human beings
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And I don't care if you eat my meat or drink my blood. "[p. 361]
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"The fire of power will never die.
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And will burn wildly..." [p. 359]

Since I don't know Chinese, I can't say whether he also follows the traditional Chinese poetry form and style, but his point of view is modern and in line with his personal experience and vision. As he said in his preparation:

"My work uses blood, not ink. Humanism is the basic point of my writing; it is usually the theme of rural, landscape and nature, singing the sunshine of human life, stimulating people to move forward, and finally bringing to my readers. Benefits... In the past 50 years, Taiwan's poetry forum has been an animated scene: various styles and various poetry. But I don't go to any other school than my own pastor school. I go I cultivate my own land in my own way, plant my own seeds, grow my own crops..." [p. 13]

Obviously, Xu Chicheng wrote a promise. His poetic feelings are rooted in nature, oceans and mountains, hills and mountains, wind and rain, fields and agricultural activities, docile livestock and animals, the sincerity and simplicity of the rural people, their honesty and tolerance, he also realized in his actions Teachers, journalists, military judges, and poets, translators and editors of post-retirement pursuits of the transitions experienced in different periods of their careers. His poetic imagination exudes a sense of history.

Although he encountered various social and political natures and ups and downs in his own life, his vision and vision were still "self" despite the disappointing political and economic environment outside. The warrior among him said: "Keep the will / never give up the goal / fear no bitterness / fear no loneliness / he will walk his own path / even step on the sturdy / eliminate the haze / walk without wind and rain / hug the sun" p. 357], as happy as the meditator in his heart: "Sit in silence / Quietude is here / Quietude accompany me / only two: she and me" [p. 369]. Hsu longs for peace and enjoys it "in the middle of the night" through inner peace. In fact, poetry is his spiritual desire and realization.

At the age of 73, Hsu is full of hope and faith:

"Retirement is nothing bad.
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Nothing bad at dusk
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I can draw
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- Although it is drawing afterglow
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It can draw better" [p. 165]

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"Now the dusk! The twilight is gathering
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What is the length of the long lane ahead?
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Is the driveway stable or difficult to walk?
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Not sure
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Despite fatigue and difficulty walking
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Did not stop, no rest
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One's courage must be in the hands
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Appreciate and draw a colorful sunset" [p. 475]

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"He still has not given up his hopes.
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He is desperate to seek help
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... [p. 367]

Hsu likes brightness [p. 355] and sees hope in the winter, "Never lose faith/wait patiently" [p. 353], as he said. For him, aging is a happy, a new opportunity:

"This time is more stable and more determined
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In spirit, you must completely reinvent
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Overcoming physical aging
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Bear the burden of many years
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Walking in the hot, cold, wind and rain
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Beyond countless hills and creeks, and road bumps..."
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[' as the seventy years of spring ', p. 351]

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"We look up and ignore, look forward to another world
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We looked up and ignored, looking forward to another spring"
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['Reproduction ', page 347]
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Hsu Chicheng, as a sensitive observer of himself, others and nature, expresses a spirit of freedom, aware of the changes in childhood, growth and aging and the cycle of memory. His poems are as real as his silver hair, and they burn the flames of hope and faith [see pages 333, 299, 271, p. 257].

The poet editor Zhang Zhizhong's literal translation, in my opinion, successfully demonstrated the growth of Xu's thought and personality, making him at the forefront of contemporary Chinese poetry. He collaborated with several other translator poets, Yang Zongze, Yang Xu and Xu Chicheng, who translated some of the best poems. I also think that when they read Xu's poetry text carefully and/or their performance in the real world, Zhang Zhizhong and others helped open up a new space for Chinese poetry, whether from mainland China or from Hong Kong and Taiwan. Translators deserve to congratulate their experts for presenting an inspiring and refreshing text and background.

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