'This is a wonderfully eclectic collection of the work of known and unknown contemporary Chinese poets which marks a sea-change in the form. Lyrical, political, and yet down-to-earth, this new poetry exhibits a liberating, existential dimension previously constricted by propaganda and self-censorship. The rise of women poets is a further sign of this change. Take Lu Ye’s confident and assured words – like her free-ranging ducks – “believing only in the poetry of life”, which lends a profound voice to a profound change. Ouyang Yu’s method of “direct translation” serves this new freedom perfectly, rendering immediacy with supreme intimacy in a brief stretching of wind.' (Publisher's blurb)
'Modern Chinese poetry begins with its turn away from classical Chinese poetry in the early twentieth century. This turn saw the adoption of the vernacular and the move away from classical forms. Yet the history of modern Chinese poetry does not mimic the trajectory of Western modernist and post-modernist experimentations. In particular, the years between the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 represent a hiatus in the development of modern poetry in mainland China. The death of Mao and the ensuing end of the Cultural Revolution saw the resurgence of poetry away from the officially sanctioned poetry of the Mao era.' (Introduction)
'Modern Chinese poetry begins with its turn away from classical Chinese poetry in the early twentieth century. This turn saw the adoption of the vernacular and the move away from classical forms. Yet the history of modern Chinese poetry does not mimic the trajectory of Western modernist and post-modernist experimentations. In particular, the years between the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949 and the death of Mao Zedong in 1976 represent a hiatus in the development of modern poetry in mainland China. The death of Mao and the ensuing end of the Cultural Revolution saw the resurgence of poetry away from the officially sanctioned poetry of the Mao era.' (Introduction)
