Long and Short Lines

Name: Long and Short Lines
ISBN: 9787541142680

姚彬Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House · ChinaAug 2026

3.2

Word count: 24K words
Chapters: 107
ISBN: 9787541142680

Report an error Find this book

Summary

Long and Short Lines is a self-selected poetry collection by Chongqing poet Yao Bin. Through two forms—the expansive, unfolding "long lines" and the condensed, resonant "short lines"—it presents the poet's dynamic writing states. The book gathers carefully selected recent works, showcasing his distinctive style and aesthetic, blending everyday urban life with spiritual reflection.

Part One, "Long Lines": expansive and unfolding in style, focusing on narrative and the extended development of emotion.

Part Two, "Short Lines": condensed and resonant in style, focusing on the capture of imagery and the expression of momentary insight.

Editor's review

The most noteworthy aspect of Yao Bin's self-selected collection is how it renders the act of writing itself through two rhythms—"long lines" and "short lines." The long-line section is expansive and unfolding, giving narrative and emotion room to stretch out; reading it feels like walking along the river, with the everyday life of the city gradually opening up along the banks. The short-line section is condensed and resonant, driven by imagery and momentary insight—the lines are brief but leave a lingering aftertaste. Placing the two sections side by side is not a simple contrast in length but lets readers see how a poet mobilizes experience and settles thought at different speeds. The daily atmosphere of Chongqing and spiritual questioning permeate each other in these poems, neither floating above nor sticking to the ground. It suits reading the short lines on a commute and the long lines on a quiet weekend—or the reverse, to feel how the shift in rhythm affects understanding. For readers interested in contemporary Chinese poetry, especially writing from the southwest, this collection offers a distinctive sample.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who enjoy contemporary Chinese poetry and want to learn about regional writing from Chongqing
Writers interested in poetic rhythm and the formal difference between long and short lines
Office workers who need short poems for fragmented time and long poems for weekends
Literature lovers who hope to find spiritual reflection in everyday urban experience

Not a good fit for

Readers who only read tightly plotted novels may find the pace of poetry slow
Readers expecting systematic poetic theory or criticism—this is a collection of works, not a research monograph
Readers who prefer the rules and forms of classical poetry—this book is modern poetry

Reading tips

Start with the short-line section to feel the condensed imagery, then go back to the expansive long lines
Read three to five short poems a day and take a few minutes to reflect; no need to finish in one sitting
When reading the long lines, pay attention to narrative threads and emotional progression; simple annotations can help
Alternate between the two sections to compare the poet's concerns at different speeds

About the publisher

Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House China · Founded in 1984

Sichuan Literature and Art Publishing House is a professional literary and art publishing institution. It mainly publishes books on contemporary and modern literature, foreign literature, poetry and prose, music and art, and literary theory. Judging from the books in the database, the house places considerable emphasis on classic works and foreign literature. Representative titles include Lu Xun's Call to Arms and Dawn Blossoms Plucked at Dusk, Lao She's Camel Xiangzi, Xiao Hong's The Story of Hulan River, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, William Shakespeare's Hamlet, and Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha. Its translator resources include Deng Jiawan, Shi Zhongge, Du Yunci, and Zhu Shenghao. Common categories include social fiction, classic works, foreign literature, world classics, literary appreciation, and classical poetry, reflecting a publishing profile that balances Chinese and foreign literary classics with literary appreciation.

版权信息
第一辑长句
山水之诗
病中
情人节，七行感怀
考古谣
偏安曲
偏头痛
青菜谣
假想敌
梦
2012年1月1日，在石桥铺
废弃的汽车修理厂
四十岁
幻：成长
一只乌鸦和我称兄道弟
月光满地
八月的菜市场
妻子书
卑微
可以原谅
3月7日下午，在重庆观音桥步行街
朋友
致——（1）
致——（2）
致——（3）
忧郁
雨
致歉春天
碎碎念
光
潇洒之诗
对诗歌的理解
卑鄙的草叶
2012年春，一群同事游剑门关
来吧
给
还原
恍惚
悲伤不能说出来
旧时光
等你
归宿
想你
三月桃花天
圈子
春日书
六年
秦时谣
土地谣
2015年3月2日，补记
无题
在北海涠洲岛
从丽江到香格里拉
银川记事
周庄一日
第二辑短句
今夜
今夜写诗
今夜做梦
今夜睡觉
今夜洗脚
今夜醉酒
今夜赌博
今夜自杀
今夜休息
今夜，大器晚成
今夜，我把轻浮押上
爱情母本
算不算一个春天的下午
坏人
我不是你哥哥
热爱
展望明天
过关
一个枯燥的下午，生命学遭遇逻辑学
夏日诗
春日诗
失败诗
醉酒诗
清明诗
冬日诗
夏日之诗
生日之诗
中年之诗
中年之诗2
失眠
暮色来临……
恩人在哪
镜中
活错了命
大海一样辽阔
坚持
理解诗歌
写在第二届垫江牡丹诗会
纸上春天
妄
十四行：小偏执
阆中纪行
赞美
退
声声慢
静静的今夜
写诗的人
孤独
新绝句
旧时光

FAQ

Do "long lines" and "short lines" in this book refer to sentence length?

Not just literal length. According to the materials, the long-line section focuses on narrative and the extended development of emotion, expansive and unfolding in style; the short-line section focuses on capturing imagery and momentary insight, condensed and resonant in style. They are more like two writing states and rhythms, and readers can compare how the poet expresses himself at different speeds.

Can I read this collection without a background in poetry?

Yes. The short-line section is brief with concentrated imagery, suitable for beginners to start with; the long-line section is more narrative, and following the emotional thread makes it easy to enter. There is no need to parse every word—read for feeling first, then go back for a closer look. The threshold is not high.

What is the connection between this collection and Chongqing?

The author, Yao Bin, is a Chongqing poet, and the materials mention that the collection blends everyday urban life with spiritual reflection. Readers can look for passages where daily scenes, the atmosphere of the city, and personal experience intertwine, but specific descriptions of local features should be based on the text itself; it should not be presumed to be a work of urban geography.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

姚彬 Author

Yao Bin is an author about whom little public information is available. All that is known is that Yao Bin writes modern poetry, and that one work by this author, Changduanju (Long and Short Lines), is included in the collection. On the basis of the available material, Yao Bin's writing centers on modern poetry, with Changduanju as the representative work. The title itself carries a formal suggestion, perhaps pointing to an exploration of line length and shifts in rhythm, yet there is not enough public information to comment on the specific style or poetics of the text. Since the author's biography, nationality, dates of birth and death, and English name are not clearly recorded, this introduction makes no conjecture about personal experience, education, or awards. What can be stated is that Yao Bin's main creative direction is modern poetry, and the work is classified under modern poetry, offering readers a basic sense of this author's writing.