21st Century Chinese Poetry, No.3: Bilingual Chinese-English

The quarterly journal of 21st Century Chinese Poetry was founded with the intention of introducing modern Chinese poetry to readers worldwide.  

Modern Chinese poetry was born from the broader intellectual movement that took place in China in the early part of the 20th century, known as the May-Fourth Movement (1917-1921); for the first time in history, vernacular Chinese was accepted as a legitimate poetic voice. Since then, nearly a century has passed by and this poetic experiment hasn't stopped evolving but only accelerated recently because of the easy exchange of styles and ideas over cyberspace. This is an eye-opening, exciting and even confounding experience for both the poets and the readers.  

The editor-and-translator team of 21st Century Chinese Poetry selects some of the best poems written in Chinese by today's poets from all geographical areas.  This issue includes 24 poems by 9 poets, in the order of their appearance in this issue: Li Shangyu, Ren Xianqing, Rong Rong, Chen Yanqiang, Song Huiyuan, Li Wei, Chen Guiliang, Yan Hen, and Liu Congmei.

   

Clichéby Rong Rong
 
A man and a woman--
it's like a traffic accident
between an old car and an even older car.
The old street had been rerouted,
so one day they met at the new freeway exchange.
During a traffic jam, they collided-- he and she --
like two vehicles
 
Their promises are the first to be broken,
but lies will live another day with growing disappointments.
The sky looks shattered through the windshield,
and dealing with loss will devour half of the spring.
In the dark, secret details and pangs of desire all come to surface.
Who knows how to navigate the maze of traffic regulations?
 
It hurts because of their commitment,
but once again it proves the weakness of the will.
After one bloody injury: from the nerve ends to the brain,
even the flesh contracted anxiety disorder.
Speeding, red lights, one-way streets, traffic tickets--
a love affair has become a mad maneuver--
no ambulance but time can come to their rescue.


South of Yangtzeby Li Shangyu
 
Who knows why we fall in love with the late Tang Dynasty;
we are drawn to it like a fantasy pavilion
or the sight of elusive spring rain.
 
It's not a day for roaming, nor does it feel like spring,
but from upriver the water rushes down
and all the flowers will be in bloom tomorrow.
 
If only I could talk to you about my old dreams,
about where I used to live and the streets I walked on as a child!
Nowadays dark clouds permeate the city, and doomsday is on our minds.
 
But death is no longer a stranger to us;
while blue moonlight drapes over
south of Yangtze, the river of wrath flows on.
 
Yangzhou and Zhengjiang* are dear to me
like snowflakes over the Yangtze in the late Tang Dynasty. 
This March, as we stroll on, do you see that they are almost smiling?
 
* Yangzhou and Zhengjiang are river towns along the Yangtze River.


In the Same Dream with the Plum Flowerby Song Huiyuan
 
Once I saw you in red;
that's when you were getting married.
The wind came to dress you up with snowflakes;
you looked even more radiant in them.
 
Then I saw you in pink,
and I thought perhaps you had fallen ill?
Enduring the frigid spring winds,
you looked feeble and thin.
 
Ah, plum flower, we had better not marry except to the finest.
 
But some time ago
your rosy cheeks began to turn pale
until finally looking gossamer and green
like a floral spirit awaiting burial,
tattered like shadows under the moon.
 
---This is me
in the same dream with the plum flower
and I told her
"With everyone to choose from, why did you marry the spring zephyr？"