enduring beauty and value of Classical Poetry as China’s unique
contribution to the world.
In contrast, Modern Poetry may seem “impure” and “un-Chinese.”
Born in the Literary Revolution 文革in 1917, Modern Poetry is
such a radical departure from Classical Poetry that it looks “foreign”
to many Chinese readers even today. Historically, the origin of Modern
Poetry was embedded in foreign settings and poets drew on foreign
resources freely and eclectically. Hu Shi 適(1891–1962), the archi-
tect of the Literary Revolution, developed his theory of Modern Poetry
while he was studying in the United States in 1910–17, especially
1916–17. As a student at Cornell and Columbia Universities, he was
widely exposed to Anglo-American poetry, such as Shakespeare,
Tennyson, Robert Browning, Longfellow, Thomas Campbell, and Sara
Teasdale. Hu’s situation was not unique. Many modern poets in the
1920s–1940s studied abroad and quite a few wrote their representative
works there: for example, Zhou Zuoren 周(1885–1967) and Guo
Moruo (1892–1978) in Japan; Wen Yiduo
(1899–1946), Bing Xin !(1900–99), Mu Dan "#(1918–77), and
Zheng Min (b. 1920) in the United States; Xu Zhimo $%摩
(1896–1931) in England; Zong Baihua '( (1897–1986) and
Feng Zhi )* (1905–93) in Germany; Wang Duqing +獨-
(1898–1940), Li Jinfa ./0 (1900–76), Liang Zongdai 梁'2
(1903–83), Dai Wangshu 戴4舒 (1905–50), Luo Dagang 6大8
(1909–98), and Ai Qing 9青(1910–96) in France. This has become a
common phenomenon in Modern Chinese Poetry, with the exception
of mainland China in 1949–1979 due to the political situation in
that country. Today, a fair number of Chinese poets have settled
permanently in North America, Europe, or Australia and continue to
write and publish in Chinese.
Also significant is the fact that many poets translate world poetry
into Chinese, a distinct feature of Modern Poetry not found in Classical
Poetry. Regardless of their educational background, the majority of
Chinese poets are avid readers of world poetry in translation.^2 Broad
exposure to world literature also means that non-Chinese images,
symbols, myths, allusions, and the like find their way into Modern
Poetry, clearly distinguishing it from its traditional counterpart. The
cross-fertilization between native and foreign, original and translated
literatures is inevitable and profound. We may say that, from its
very beginning, Modern Poetry has been a “hybrid” of Chinese and
non-Chinese elements.
In itself, cultural hybridity should not be cause for concern.
After all, Westernization of material culture—housing, clothing,Modern Chinese Poetry 159781403976079ts03.qxp:Layout 1 11/9/07 11:08 AM Page 15