A Seed

Name: A Seed
ISBN: 9787559498410

杨键Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaJul 2026

4.0

Word count: 22K words
Chapters: 149
ISBN: 9787559498410

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Summary

Yang Jian is a renowned contemporary poet, and a distinctive one with strong representativeness and high recognizability. His work has drawn considerable attention in poetry and critical circles, and is held in high esteem by leading poets such as Bei Dao, Yu Jian, and Han Dong; Han Dong calls him the most essential, most Chinese, and most transcendently oriented contemporary Chinese-language poet. Yang Jian's work is plain and remote in feeling, full of emotion, and in it one can read a vast and endlessly continuing vitality. This book is a collection of poems Yang Jian wrote over the past few years: with long rivers and green mountains the poet sketches boundless imaginings of a universal realm of life; with the heart of a child he builds a linguistic path for modern Chinese poetry; standing amid ruins yet at the source, endlessly compassionate yet vast and far-reaching, both honest and sharp. The collection shows the latest fruits of the poet's diligent exploration of his craft.

Editor's review

Yang Jian's poetry collection *A Seed* is noteworthy for continuing the poet's plain, distant, emotionally rich tone while presenting a new cross-section of his poetic exploration in recent years. Sources indicate his work is admired by poets such as Bei Dao, Yu Jian, and Han Dong; Han Dong calls him "the most essential, most Chinese, and most transcendentally inclined contemporary Chinese-language poet." This signals to readers that Yang Jian's writing relies not on rhetorical display but on inward language and the density of lived feeling. The poems sketch an imagination of life's ultimate passage through long rivers and green mountains; compassion and vastness coexist, and gentleness carries a keen edge, facing ruins while standing at the source. Readers should not rush to extract quotable lines; it is better to read slowly, poem by poem, in a quiet setting, feeling the breath and rhythm of the words. Readers familiar with contemporary Chinese poetry can place it within Yang Jian's personal trajectory to see how he has changed; general readers can begin with shorter poems, not forcing a "meaning" from each one, but first experiencing sound and image. The collection suits keeping on one's desk for frequent browsing, reading a few poems at a time and leaving space for aftertaste.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Poetry readers who enjoy contemporary Chinese-language poetry and follow poets' new work
Literary lovers who appreciate plain, distant language and prefer slow, attentive reading
Researchers and critics who want to understand Yang Jian's recent creative profile
General readers who need to settle their minds through quiet reading

Not a good fit for

Narrative readers who prefer plot-driven stories with clear storylines
People who hope to extract straightforward lessons or practical methods from poetry
Readers impatient with modern poetic language experiments and accustomed to rapid browsing

Reading tips

Read only three to five poems a day, pausing briefly after each to let images and rhythm settle naturally.
Read through once without marking, then on the second pass underline the words and lines that move you, comparing the two experiences.
Read several poems aloud, paying attention to pace and pauses, experiencing the sound texture of the plain, distant language.
After reading, choose one poem and write a short hundred-word comment on just one specific image or one mood; there is no need to be comprehensive.

About the publisher

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1958

Jiangsu Phoenix Literature and Art Publishing House focuses on literary publishing while also covering the humanities, social sciences, and books on art and daily life. Its approximately 1,535 titles in the database span social novels, world history, design, science fiction, classic works, and film and television: they include modern Chinese literary classics by Lu Xun such as A Madman's Diary: The Complete Short Stories of Lu Xun, Call to Arms, Four Generations Under One Roof, and Teahouse, as well as foreign literary memoirs like Stefan Zweig's The World of Yesterday. In science fiction it offers Asimov's Galactic Empire series, while in architecture and art it publishes Liu Dunzhen's Classical Gardens of Suzhou and design titles from Phoenix Space. Its authors are concentrated among classic writers such as Lu Xun, Zweig, and Asimov, with translators including Liang Xijiang, Zhong Haonan, and Ye Lihua. Its overall character is built on classic works while embracing genre fiction and visual culture. Public information is limited, and this introduction is based on the titles in the database.

版权信息
卷一播种（2021诗辑）
天心
你在哪里呢？
繁星
火车站
两张水墨画——给葛亚平
有一只青蛙
在我家的条案上
一把扇子
石头心
圆口布鞋
背影
跳皮筋
听西村虚空尺八有感——给淑亚
灰尘不知道
陀螺
妈妈
农民的样子
所见
蘑菇
喜字罐
这些都是很老旧的事情了
雨声
卷二珍贵的山路（2022诗辑）
公园里
自孩提时代
我只想忘掉你
捉柳絮
神秘的墓园
青苔
珍贵的山路
北魏佛像
一次迷失
耷拉
在村里
小时候
告别
卷三美妙的声音（2023诗辑）
变与不变
荒地——悼阳关
两棵树
美妙的声音
写给妈妈的一首诗
梦见儿子背《道德经》的一次哭泣
五十岁读《中庸》的一次哭泣
观孔夫子像的一次哭泣
读北宋画家许道宁《渔父图》一哭
读《好大王碑》的一次哭泣
为悄悄来临的秋声而哭
为野生的荠菜一哭
站台
墓碑
画中树
黑沉沉和绿油油的空白
你的盐袋子又凉了吗？
遗憾
一个圆
她和他
一只猫
枯枝
座位儿空空
一粒种子
没有来过
一片乌桕树林
只是草稿
发生在宋代的事情
金黄的暮色
舅舅
一千五百米的道路——赠冷杉
17号
公园里
一粒种子
一碗菠菜汤
一次经历
他
从此
星星的光
雨夜
一粒种子
一粒种子
卷四旧火车与旧货轮（2024诗辑）
一首空空的诗
一潭水
窗外
月亮
芦苇根
山顶上只有灰雾
回巢的声音
在我回家的路上
母与子
在天之灵
一个人
新镜子
屋顶
每一粒都是我的爸爸
石灰
一个夏天
云
很久以来
米
古老的渔父
微弱的烟
几滴水
对清澈的纪念
日常的景象
旧道
九月闻蟋蟀
海豚
读奥古斯特·桑德的一幅摄影作品
刚刚出生
六人记
宝石兰
一个字
他和她
一个小小的圣地
一个无情绪的老人
失去的眼球
一面灰中带白的墙
墨染的
牛身影
有一个深夜
崭新的供奉
两条鱼
旧火车与旧货轮
一缸腌好的咸菜
“精神在毫厘之间”——给水墨画家张浩
嵩山月——给一了
卷五无数种子（2025诗辑）
儿时白粥
一粒种子
开天虎
一棵老柳树
路人
是这样吗？
半平米的房间
树叶在晃
垂钓
洗衣服
幼小的灰
拜谒言子墓
你是最可爱的
小鱼儿
很小
老狗和小狗
清流
无数种子
我记得
四年

FAQ

Is this poetry collection suitable for beginners to poetry?

You can try it, but adjust your expectations. Yang Jian's language is plain and inward, not relying on direct lyricism; beginners can start with shorter poems and read slowly, emphasizing feeling over analysis, without needing to understand every poem.

What are the themes and style of the collection roughly like?

According to the introduction, the works use images such as long rivers and green mountains to imagine life's ultimate passage; the style is plain and distant, emotionally rich, with compassion and vastness coexisting with gentleness and keenness, reflecting his poetic exploration in recent years.

Why emphasize slow reading?

Because his poems do not rely on dense rhetoric or strong plot; their value lies in the rhythm of language, layers of imagery, and emotional density. Fast reading easily catches only scattered lines; slow reading allows you to feel the overall atmosphere.

If I haven't read Yang Jian's earlier poems, can I read this directly?

Yes. This is a collection of poems from recent years, standing independently, with no prior reading required; if you want to understand how his writing has changed, you can look up his early work for comparison after finishing.

Comments

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About the author

杨键 Author

Yang Jian: publicly available information about his identity, background, and life remains limited. This entry offers only a brief account of his writing based on the work held in this database. The collection includes his work "A Single Seed," commonly classified as modern poetry, which indicates that Yang Jian enters readers' view primarily as a poet writing in the modern poetic mode rather than in prose, fiction, or other genres. On the available evidence, his creative focus lies in modern poetry, and with only one work in this database, it is not yet possible to present a full picture of his writing trajectory or stylistic development. Readers wishing to understand his poetic language, thematic orientation, and artistic characteristics may turn to the text of "A Single Seed" itself, discerning his writing temperament through its rhythm, imagery, and emotional expression. His nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background, and writing career lack reliable public sources and are therefore not speculated upon here, to be supplemented when more works and materials become available.