premodern vernacular, modern vernacular, Japanese and European
loan words, neologism, various Chinese regionalisms, translated
words and phrases, Europeanized syntax, and modern Western
punctuation. Sometimes, even foreign words are directly incorporated
into a poem. The eclectic elements offer modern poets new resources
not necessarily available in Classical Poetry and also partly accounts
for the difficulty that readers encounter in Modern Poetry.
Modern poets have at their disposal a greatly enlarged repertoire of
linguistic devices that, coupled with freedom in form and a treasure
trove of images and ideas both indigenous and imported, enable them
to engage in robust experimentation. A modern poem may be as
condensed as a classical poem; it can also be purposely prosaic and syn-
tactically complex. A modern poem may be an imagist “ideogram”; it
can also be highly abstract. It is no wonder that a number of poets,
such as Luo Zhicheng 6F成 (b. 1955), Zheng Chouyu 愁I
(b. 1933), and Yu Jian J堅(b. 1954) speak of poetry as “wizardry.”
To illustrate some of the new possibilities in syntax, semantics, tone,
and cadence that the hybrid modern Chinese brings, I would like to look
at two early examples of Modern Poetry. The first is Wang Duqing’s “I
Come Out of a Café”我MCaféNOP, written in the 1920s:I come out of a café, 我MCaféNOP,
my body QRST
fatigued N酒的
from inebriation, VW,
I have no idea 我XY道
which way I am going, to find 向\ 處^_, bc我d
a temporary home.... e時的gh....
oh, streets cold and quiet, i, jk的街衢,
twilight, fine rain! no, pq！I come out of a café, 我MCaféNOP,
sodden 在t著醉
speechless 無x地
walking alone, 獨^,
in my heart, 我地!内,
I feel the sadness of a drifter, who’s z著 {, 要失T故的
about to lose his homeland ...... d愁......
oh, streets cold and quiet, i,jk的街衢,
twilight, fine rain! no, pq！
(Wang 1974)Several immediately noticeable registers distinguish the poem from
Classical Poetry: the sentences each begin with the first personal18 Michelle Yeh9781403976079ts03.qxp:Layout 1 11/9/07 11:08 AM Page 18