Miracle of Chinese

Author: Zhang Yuanshan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-05-01
Features: In September 1980, I entered East China Normal University. Six months later, I began writing poems and subsequently read a vast amount of Chinese and foreign poetry and theoretical works. At the same time, my poetic creation effectively heightened my sensitivity to language forms, expressive forms, and cognitive forms. Gradually, a poetic ideal took shape in my heart. This poetic ideal may not be attainable by my own abilities, but whenever I stumbled upon a poem in my reading that aligned with my ideal, my joy was no less than if I had written it myself. The Miracle of Chinese perfectly embodies my poetic ideal, which is the true driving force behind my writing this monograph and the compelling reason I recommend it to readers. Every poem included in this book deserves the title. The poems selected for this collection were chosen under a conscious bias, namely, the perfect language form, especially structural form, as the sole criterion. This seemingly one-sided selection standard is clearly unfavorable to certain poets who rely on self-proclaimed genius while disregarding form. The selected masterpieces share a common characteristic: highly pure and simple language, and highly pure and refined forms. This is almost a universal feature of all artistic masterpieces. The primary distinction between poetry and prose lies in form. A great poetic masterpiece possesses a unique, even an absolute form, often reaching the point where not a single word can be added, removed, or altered; whereas the form of prose is never unique. This is why I refer to the masterpieces of "free verse" that break free from the constraints of a priori metrics as "autonomous poems." A masterpiece's form is governed solely by its own needs for thought and expression—this is autonomy. The language style of poetry and prose also differs significantly. The beauty of prose lies in its lexical beauty, while the beauty of poetic language must discard all beautiful words, relying instead on original forms of thought and expression to imbue ordinary (but extremely pure) everyday words with unprecedented beauty. The beauty of poetry is the beauty of form; without it, it cannot be considered poetry. However, prose does not, and cannot, depend so heavily on formal beauty. In this sense, there has never been, and will never be, a "free verse" that lacks formal norms. The so-called "free verse" refers to a poem that no longer accepts the constraints of a priori metrical forms that existed before its birth. It accepts nothing but its own norms for thought and expression—this is an autonomous poem. A completed "free verse" that succeeds is an "autonomous poem"; if it fails, it is not poetry but merely a lineated, punctuation-free piece of writing. Call it what you will—quasi-narrative, pop song lyrics, recitation poetry, or prose poetry—whatever it is, it is not poetry. At the pinnacle of language, there is no compromise—only a life-or-death judgment: either you reach the summit or you plummet into the abyss. The distinction between poetic and prose language can also be seen in the contrast between the grandiose Han Dynasty rhymepoems and the famous Tang and Song Dynasty poems. The ancient Han Dynasty rhymepoems piled up numerous beautiful but unfamiliar words, while the Tang and Song poems used everyday words familiar even to elementary school students and semi-literate individuals. In reality, writing a masterpiece does not require a vast vocabulary but rather a special sensitivity to language and unique techniques—the alchemy of language. In terms of linguistic purity and simplicity and formal refinement, great poetry is very similar to great philosophy: every great philosopher possesses a simple worldview, using unified terminology and straightforward propositions to explain all things. The terms and propositions of great philosophers are equally new creations from existing language and are equally endowed with original forms. Similar to the grandiose Han Dynasty rhymepoems, mediocre philosophers are accustomed to using cumbersome, numerous terms and a multitude of contradictory propositions to explain the world in a roundabout way. The difference between poetry and philosophy lies in this: the basic form of philosophy is once-and-for-all completed, and the rest of a philosopher's life is spent using this "form"—the basic proposition—to explain all things in all fields. The form of an autonomous poet, however, is never once-and-for-all completed; each time a poem is completed, he must forever bid farewell to this unique form. Therefore, a poet's formal genius must surpass that of a philosopher. Among numerous works with roughly equal emotional intensity and intellectual depth, only the masterpieces of form will ultimately endure. Each masterpiece that endures increases the total wealth of human spiritual heritage and expands the boundaries of the human spirit. A poet is, by definition, an undeniable master of language. Any numbness or disdain for form is a sign of a lack of artistic sensitivity. The poverty of art is the poverty of form, and the poverty of poetry is the poverty of linguistic form. Without profound thought and great passion, there can be no immortal form; and all thoughts and emotions can only enter the temple of art through the support of original forms. Formalism is the inevitable destination of art once it achieves self-awareness. Borges once said, "Every generation writes the same content over and over again." "What is in everyone's heart, no one can write" is a well-worn cliché even for the most uninitiated in the arts. "What is in everyone's heart" is the timeless content (the landscape of existence); while "what no one can write" is the original perfect form. Therefore, those who cannot create original forms cannot have original thoughts. Mediocre forms can only carry mediocre thoughts. The originality of art is the originality of form, and the perfection of art is the perfection of form. Art is a field where victory is decided by form. I apologize to the poets whose masterpieces I failed to read and include, and I hope to supplement them at the appropriate time. The poet Chen Dongdong said, "Contemporary new poetry is currently in an era comparable to the Book of Songs. Contemporary Chinese poetry may not truly establish and flourish until one or several anthologies that belong to it appear." Gentlemen, this anthology has arrived. This anthology awaits the reader, and the second anthology awaits the author.