The Complete Prose of Xu Zhimo (Volumes 1 and 2)

Author: Han Shishan
Publisher:
Publishing Time: Not available
Features: Xu Zhimo (1897–1931) was a modern poet and essayist. His given name was Zhang Xu, and his pen names included Nanhu and Yunzhonghe. He was from Haining, Zhejiang. He graduated from Hangzhou First High School in 1915 and studied successively at Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tianjin Beiyang University, and Peking University. In 1918, he went to the United States to study banking. In 1921, he went to the United Kingdom for further studies, enrolling as a special student at the University of Cambridge to study political economy. During his two years at Cambridge, he was deeply influenced by Western education as well as the romanticism and aestheticism of Western and Chinese poets. In 1921, he began writing new poetry. Upon returning to China in 1922, he published a large number of poems and essays in newspapers and magazines. In 1923, he participated in founding the Crescent Society and joined the Literary Research Association. In 1924, he co-founded the weekly magazine Modern Review with Hu Shi and Chen Xilin, and served as a professor at Peking University. He served as the translator for the visit of the great Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore to China. In 1925, he traveled to Europe, visiting countries such as the Soviet Union, Germany, Italy, and France. In 1926, he edited the literary supplement Shijing for the Morning News in Beijing, collaborating with Wen Yiduo, Zhu Xiang, and others to promote the regularization of new poetry, which had a significant impact on the development of new poetic art. That same year, he moved to Shanghai and served as a professor at Guanghua University, Da Xia University, and Nanjing Central University. In 1927, he participated in founding the Crescent Bookstore. After the monthly magazine Crescent was launched the following year, he became its editor-in-chief. He also traveled abroad to the United Kingdom, the United States, Japan, and India. In 1930, he became a member of the China Committee of the China Cultural Foundation and was elected a member of the British Poetry Society. That winter, he taught at Peking University and Beijing Women's University. In early 1931, he co-founded the quarterly Poetry magazine with Chen Mengjia and Fang Weide, and was elected as a council member of the Chinese branch of the Writers' Association. On November 19 of the same year, he took a flight from Nanjing to Beijing but crashed near Jinan due to fog, killing himself. His works include poetry collections such as Zhimo's Poems, A Night in, The Tiger Collection, and Cloud Travel, prose collections such as Fallen Leaves, Claws of Paris, Self-Analysis, and Autumn, the novel and prose collection The Wheel, the play Bian Kun Gang (co-written with Lu Xiaoman), diaries such as Love Notes to Mei and Zhimo's Diary, and translations such as The Collected Stories of Mabel (Sylvia Plath). His works have been compiled into The Collected Works of Xu Zhimo. Xu's poetry is characterized by fresh wording, harmonious rhythms, novel metaphors, rich imagination, beautiful imagery, ethereal spirit, and dynamic variation. He pursued artistic formality and elegance, showcasing a distinct artistic personality and becoming a representative poet of the Crescent Society. His prose also has a unique style and achieved accomplishments comparable to his poetry. Notable works include Self-Analysis, Wishing to Fly, What I Know of, and Leisurely Talks at Mountain, all of which are celebrated masterpieces.