Nie Gannu 聂绀弩 （1903-86）, essayist and poet, had begun his literary career as an avid advocate of the New Culture and New Literature Movement of the early twentieth century; but later in life, he became well-known...Nie Gannu 聂绀弩 （1903-86）, essayist and poet, had begun his literary career as an avid advocate of the New Culture and New Literature Movement of the early twentieth century; but later in life, he became well-known for his classical-style poetry. This paper examines the paradox of old and new in Nie Gannu＇s writings by juxtaposing classical-style with new-style poetry for a comparative analysis. In contrast to new-style poetry, classical-style poetry with its prosodic requirements and formal conventions has a strong technical aspect. Nie Gannu＇s preference for the regulated verse in the seven-syllable line is a deliberate embrace of this technical aspect of classical-style poetry： On the one hand, the absorption in poetic skills and craftsmanship was therapeutic for him in the traumatic years of the socialist revolution; on the other, the restraint of the form and the use of parallel couplet afforded him linguistic resources unavailable in the new-style poetry, so that he was able to express emotional complexity, ambivalence, and an irony that is, in his own words, ＂both there and not quite there.＂ Nie Gannu＇s case demonstrates the importance of understanding the new and old verse forms in each other＇s context. Rather than considering the mapping of modern Chinese poetry as following a linear line of progression from classical-style to new-style, this paper proposes a spatial model of configuring the relationship of the two major verse forms in modern times, as mutually defining and constricting.展开更多
Classical-style poetry is a neglected genre in the study of Chinese American literature. Except for the Angel Island Poetry and the Songs of Gold Mountain （Jinshan geji 金山歌集）, no substantial research has been do...Classical-style poetry is a neglected genre in the study of Chinese American literature. Except for the Angel Island Poetry and the Songs of Gold Mountain （Jinshan geji 金山歌集）, no substantial research has been done on the enormous amount of classical-style poems published in San Francisco and New York. This article attempts to explore this uncharted territory by examining the poetry of Tung Pok Chin 陈松柏 （1916-88, aka Lai Bing Chan 黎屏尘） and his story as a Chinese immigrant. Chin moved to the United States in 1934 as a paper son. He joined the American navy during World War II and eventually established his own laundry business in Brooklyn. Since the late 1940s, Chin published a significant amount of his classical-style poetry in the China Daily News （Meizhou huaqiao ribao 美洲华侨日报）, a left-wing newspaper operated by the pro-communist Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance. With the help of his daughter, he also wrote a memoir in English narrating his assimilation into American society. His poetry, though not particularly refined, similarly records his experiences and comments regarding American life and politics. Based on the source materials found in the Tung Pok Chin Papers archived in New York University, his memoir, and the poems he published in the China Daily News, herein I illuminate how Chin adopted a traditional form of poetry as his expressive vehicle and, with the narrative power of his English memoir, how he used his poems to construct a social identity. The article also relates Chin＇s work to the broader context of Asian American studies, as well as the classical poetry community and its development in New York, and ponders his significances in the history of Chinese American literature.展开更多
文摘Nie Gannu 聂绀弩 （1903-86）, essayist and poet, had begun his literary career as an avid advocate of the New Culture and New Literature Movement of the early twentieth century; but later in life, he became well-known for his classical-style poetry. This paper examines the paradox of old and new in Nie Gannu＇s writings by juxtaposing classical-style with new-style poetry for a comparative analysis. In contrast to new-style poetry, classical-style poetry with its prosodic requirements and formal conventions has a strong technical aspect. Nie Gannu＇s preference for the regulated verse in the seven-syllable line is a deliberate embrace of this technical aspect of classical-style poetry： On the one hand, the absorption in poetic skills and craftsmanship was therapeutic for him in the traumatic years of the socialist revolution; on the other, the restraint of the form and the use of parallel couplet afforded him linguistic resources unavailable in the new-style poetry, so that he was able to express emotional complexity, ambivalence, and an irony that is, in his own words, ＂both there and not quite there.＂ Nie Gannu＇s case demonstrates the importance of understanding the new and old verse forms in each other＇s context. Rather than considering the mapping of modern Chinese poetry as following a linear line of progression from classical-style to new-style, this paper proposes a spatial model of configuring the relationship of the two major verse forms in modern times, as mutually defining and constricting.
文摘Classical-style poetry is a neglected genre in the study of Chinese American literature. Except for the Angel Island Poetry and the Songs of Gold Mountain （Jinshan geji 金山歌集）, no substantial research has been done on the enormous amount of classical-style poems published in San Francisco and New York. This article attempts to explore this uncharted territory by examining the poetry of Tung Pok Chin 陈松柏 （1916-88, aka Lai Bing Chan 黎屏尘） and his story as a Chinese immigrant. Chin moved to the United States in 1934 as a paper son. He joined the American navy during World War II and eventually established his own laundry business in Brooklyn. Since the late 1940s, Chin published a significant amount of his classical-style poetry in the China Daily News （Meizhou huaqiao ribao 美洲华侨日报）, a left-wing newspaper operated by the pro-communist Chinese Hand Laundry Alliance. With the help of his daughter, he also wrote a memoir in English narrating his assimilation into American society. His poetry, though not particularly refined, similarly records his experiences and comments regarding American life and politics. Based on the source materials found in the Tung Pok Chin Papers archived in New York University, his memoir, and the poems he published in the China Daily News, herein I illuminate how Chin adopted a traditional form of poetry as his expressive vehicle and, with the narrative power of his English memoir, how he used his poems to construct a social identity. The article also relates Chin＇s work to the broader context of Asian American studies, as well as the classical poetry community and its development in New York, and ponders his significances in the history of Chinese American literature.
