unhappiness” (Ya 1981b: 239). Ya’s work frequently references
Christian religious symbolism including Jesus Christ, angels, minis-
ters, crosses, and other Christian imagery—that appear powerless in a
world devoid of faith and human feeling, in which meaning seems to
derive more from the mundane realities of everyday life than from
transcendent beliefs.
Given his military background, his interest in recent history, and his
search for meaning in a mechanized and depersonalized world, Ya
Xian’s interest in war is not surprising. As noted at the outset, the years
from 1954 to 1965, during which Ya Xian wrote most of his work, were
marked by the possibility of imminent war with China due to the
Nationalist government’s aim of retaking mainland China and the
ongoing disputes with the PRC over offshore island territories.
References to war occur throughout Ya’s work. One of the section
headings in his collected poems is entitled “In Time of War” 戰時,
named after a poem he penned in 1962 by the same name. Of the eighty-
eight poems in the collection, at least six take war as their theme and
another twelve make at least passing reference to war. Thus, nearly
one-fifth of his works touch on war directly or indirectly.^2
Images of War
Perhaps the best way to appreciate the depiction of war in Ya Xian’s
poetry is through close readings of five of his best-known war poems.
I will demonstrate how Ya focuses on the victims of war, particularly
civilians, and the absence of the enemy in his works. His ironic and
understated use of the beautiful to represent the horrific amplifies the
trauma he finds characteristic of battle. He stresses the transnational
nature of war and its universal impact through his use of imagery, set-
tings, and allusions to Asian as well as Western culture. I will examine
the significance of the buckwheat field as a site of war and symbol of
death. Finally, I will explore how Ya tends to trivialize rather than glo-
rify war, most often by focusing on the quotidian and ordinary rather
than on the heroic and the extraordinary.
Ya Xian’s war poetry eschews the image of the courageous soldier
in favor of the suffering civilian. In “The God of War” 戰Qhe offers
a bleak look at the tragedy wrought by battle:
Only death, black victory R有T, U色的X利
this is a year of famine. Many 這[荒 。^_`a在cd
mothers cry for souls ef們的hi, 十k的l3m
Capturing War in the Poetry of Ya Xian 51