transportation, and other elements of daily life—is not only taken for
granted but actively sought after in China. Even when we look at
“intangible culture,” debates over Chineseness in modern fiction
and drama are few and far in between. But because Classical Poetry
is inextricable from and emblematic of China, Modern Poetry is
perceived by many Chinese readers as a challenge to the very cultural
identity of China. Here lies another dimension to the paradox of
Modern Chinese Poetry: it is both “legitimate”—as the representative
form of poetry in modern China—and “illegitimate”—as the inferior
successor or, worse still, the “unfilial son,” of Classical Poetry. In
comparison with the quintessential Chinese poetry, the modern
hybrid pales.
Once we understand the fetishization of Classical Poetry as a supe-
rior embodiment of cultural identity and national pride, the question
of Chineseness seems misplaced, even irrelevant, and the obsession
with Chineseness stands as a barrier to a full appreciation of Modern
Poetry. After all, we do not question the “Americanness” of American
poetry or the “Frenchness” of French poetry. Moreover, we do not
question their identity just because they have been influenced by
literary traditions other than their own. Therefore, instead of asking
“What is Chinese about Modern Chinese Poetry?” a more meaningful
and constructive question is: What is modern about Modern Chinese
Poetry?
The above discussion has highlighted two important aspects of the
modernity of Modern Chinese Poetry: first, its international and
hybrid nature, and, second, its iconoclastic and experimental spirit.
The first suggests a new model for self-renewal. Traditionally, poets
usually looked to an earlier master, school, or style to emulate. While
periodically there were reactions against this neoclassicist or revivalist
model by emphasizing individuality and spontaneity, for example, the
dominant trend from the Song to the late Qing was to turn to the
indigenous past for resources. The second characteristic of Modern
Poetry is manifest in both form and content, both aesthetic orientation
and artistic experimentation. As I have discussed elsewhere (Yeh
1991b), the rethinking of the ontology of poetry in Modern Chinese
Poetry is crystallized in these questions: what is poetry? whom is
poetry for? and why poetry?
If one had to choose one word to describe Modern Chinese Poetry,
it would be “revolution.” The first time the word “revolution” was
used in connection with poetry was in 1898, when the young intellec-
tual Liang Qichao declared a revolution in the Poetry Domain
;革. The goals of the revolution, according to Liang, were to16 Michelle Yeh9781403976079ts03.qxp:Layout 1 11/9/07 11:08 AM Page 16