The Rose of Time

Author: Bei Dao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-08-01
Features: What kind of book is this, and how should we read it? In this era of "living in haste, with no time to feel" (Pushkin), we rarely immerse ourselves in memories, but in the spring of 2005 (this year is not insignificant, although Huang Renyu once said the 15th year of the Wanli era was insignificant), Bei Dao's book opened the floodgates of my memories. By the way! I really want to say, this is a book that can rejuvenate us! It will rejuvenate us to enter our personal memories, which is also a memory of an era—the 1970s or 1980s. We once lived, wrote, and translated in a legendary way. Although some people have died, such as Zhao Yifan, Gu Cheng, Hai Zi, and Luo Yihuo, but as Bei Dao says in this book: "Artists will die, but the happiness of the life they experienced is eternal." (Quoted from Pasternak's essay in the book). Indeed, in Bei Dao's memories, the 1970s and 1980s are eternal. It is Bei Dao's book that brought me back to those long-dead years and allowed the dead to be resurrected, to shine once again. My past life and writing seem to let me experience it all again through this book. Everything is present, truly tangible. It immersed me in memories, the years when I first encountered poetry, the moments when I met outstanding translated poems. It is also through Bei Dao's book that a mission has been fulfilled. It guided us to recall, to recall the unique context of an era; at the same time, it also told us how the modernity of Western poetry, through translation, has occurred in China. But most importantly, we must understand that the modernity of Chinese writing is carried out through dialogue with these Western poets. We are so closely connected that we are completely unfamiliar with each other, of course, with absolutely no sense of difference. Let us open this book page and enter the memories together with the author, into the translation and writing of an era!
In the 1970s and 1980s, the fierce influx of foreign literature, the explosive revival of local literature, and the extreme spiritual impoverishment of people gave rise to a group of writers. Gradually, readers became authors, and foreign authors were also established in our hearts. Some foreign poets have had a profound influence on China's new poetry. The 20th century was undoubtedly the most brilliant golden age in the history of human poetry. During this time, poetry, as a highly esteemed literary form, broke through the boundaries of nations, races, and languages, gaining unprecedented international perspectives and corresponding international influence. It is in this sense that the term "international poetry" exists. This book begins with the 20th century, and the author Bei Dao, using the technique of "poetic biography," narrates to us the most glorious poetry era of the 20th century—the "golden age," featuring representative figures such as Lorca, Mandelshtam, Rilke, Trakl, Celan, Pasternak, Transtr?mer, Eleg, and Dylan Thomas. However, these poets are also those whom Bei Dao loves and admires the most. With an equal and rational perspective, he sculpts the "golden age" of the 20th century. A perspective that is entirely personal yet completely transcends personal thought, a rational reflection on poetry and history. In terms of technique, the author powerfully integrates poetry, the poetic, and the era together. At the same time, he also discusses literary theory creation. Throughout the process, Bei Dao recreates the lives and times of the poets. "I adopt a complex style that is difficult to classify. In my view, it aligns with the complexity of modern poetry, the complexity of the individual and their works, and also analyzes the dilemmas and absurdities faced by the translation of foreign poetry. It forces readers to confront the possibilities and impossibilities of cultural crossover, as well as the complexities between time, experience, form, suffering, and imagination."