the lower body 343Different from their predecessors, the Lower Body poets and authors
like Yan Jun forgo claims to poethood as a means of speaking for others
and something that confers high status. At the same time they pursue
personal publicity and fame, or at least they don’t eschew these things.
Their glamor is that of being hip and disaffected but still making a
difference in terms of social engagement. Any easy dismissal of this
duality in their work turns a blind eye to fascinating relations between
social change and cultural development in China today.