Selected Poems of Wen Yiduo

Name: Selected Poems of Wen Yiduo
ISBN: 9787555292883

Wen YiduoQingdao Publishing House · ChinaJan 2022

4.5

Word count: 29K words
Chapters: 93
ISBN: 9787555292883

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Summary

Wen Yiduo was a prolific author throughout his life, and his talent and intellect continually shaped him into a master of poetry, prose, essays, and literary criticism. This book includes selected fine works from his famous poetry collections such as Red Candle and Great River, and reflects his advocacy of metrical regularity and musicality in Chinese new poetry. In technique, the poems emphasize fantasy and the rendering of subjective emotion, with a great deal of lyricism embedded in them. They present Wen Yiduo's talent, learning, cultivation, and sincerity to readers in a more concrete and delicate way. He loved reading ancient Chinese poetry collections, poetry talks, histories, and notes. When he entered school, his name was Wen Duo; at that time, Wen Yiduo's revolutionary idea was to abolish surnames, and friends called him directly by his given name, so Pan Guangdan suggested he change his name to Yiduo, and he readily agreed. He studied hard, achieved excellent results, had wide interests, and loved reading ancient Chinese poetry collections, poetry talks, histories, and notes.

Editor's review

"Selected Poems of Wen Yiduo" is not only a collection by a poet but also a precious document condensing the exploration of Chinese new poetry and the spiritual journey of intellectuals. This edition from Qingdao Publishing House is well selected and finely produced, offering a clear window into Wen Yiduo's poetic world. His poetic creation spans a transition from romantic lyricism to deep realism: early works such as Red Candle are full of aestheticism and fervent emotion, with harmonious sounds and gorgeous imagery, while his later style turns to profound concern for and criticism of social reality. Dead Water, for example, with its somber, forceful strokes, symbolically reveals the decay of the old world and shows the poet's journey from the "ivory tower" to the "street corner." His poetic experiments, especially in meter (he proposed the "three beauties" of music, painting, and architecture), had a profound influence on the formal construction of Chinese new poetry. Reading this selection, we can appreciate both the artistic charm of Chinese new poetry in its formative period and the spiritual tremors and ideal pursuits of a patriotic intellectual in turbulent times. It transcends the meaning of an ordinary lyric collection and is a reader with the value of a literary-historical landmark.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers interested in modern Chinese literary history and the development of new poetry
Researchers and literature lovers who hope to understand Wen Yiduo and his poetry in depth
Writers and learners seeking the beauty of poetic form and meter
Readers eager to draw spiritual strength and historical reflection from classic poetry

Not a good fit for

Readers seeking light entertainment or purely recreational reading
Readers completely unfamiliar with modern poetic form and historical background who have no interest in learning about them

Reading tips

Read alongside a chronology of Wen Yiduo's life and the historical background to better understand the deeper reasons for the shifts in his poetic style
Focus on representative works such as Red Candle, Dead Water, Song of the Sun, and One Sentence, examining their imagery, rhythm, and emotional tension
Try reading aloud to experience the "musical beauty" and "architectural beauty" Wen Yiduo advocated in both sound and visual form

About the publisher

Qingdao Publishing House China · Founded in 1987

Founded in 1987, Qingdao Publishing House has long focused on education, science and technology, children's books, and lifestyle titles, while steadily publishing classical and foreign literature. Its 827 titles in the catalog reflect a balance between making classics widely accessible and serving young readers. They include the four great classics of Chinese literature—Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Dream of the Red Chamber, and Journey to the West—as well as foreign literary translations such as Sei Shōnagon's The Pillow Book, works associated with Zhou Zuoren, and Victor Hugo's Les Misérables. The press also offers a color-illustrated series of recommended classics for primary and secondary school Chinese curriculum reading, using pictures and text to support student readers. Its common categories cover classical literature, essays and miscellaneous writings, folk literature, and foreign literature, with authors including Luo Guanzhong, Shi Nai'an, Cao Xueqin, Gao E, Wu Cheng'en, Sei Shōnagon, Zhou Zuoren, and Victor Hugo. Public information is limited, so this profile emphasizes the publishing directions shown by the catalog.

版权信息
上篇红烛
序诗红烛
李白之死
剑匣
西岸
雨夜
雪
二月庐
睡者
黄昏
时间底教训
快乐
美与爱
印象
风波
诗人
回顾
幻中之邂逅
失败
志愿
贡臣
游戏之祸
花儿开过了
十一年一月二日作
死
深夜底泪
青春
宇宙
国手
香篆
春寒
钟声
春之首章
春之末章
爱之神
谢罪以后
忏悔
黄鸟
艺术底忠臣
初夏一夜底印象
诗债
红荷之魂
别后
孤雁
太平洋舟中见一明星
火柴
玄思
我是一个流囚
寄怀实秋
晴朝
记忆
太阳吟
忆菊
秋色
秋深了
秋之末日
废园
小溪
稚松
烂果
色彩
梦者
红豆（四十二首）
下篇死水
口供
收回
『你指着太阳起誓』
什么梦？
大鼓师
狼狈
你莫怨我
你看
也许
忘掉她
泪雨
末日
春光
死水
黄昏
我要回来
夜歌
一个观念
静夜
发现
祈祷
一句话
荒村
罪过
天安门
飞毛腿
洗衣歌
闻一多先生的书桌

FAQ

What are the features of this edition of Selected Poems of Wen Yiduo?

This edition is published by Qingdao Publishing House, ISBN 9787555292883. Its features generally lie in a classic selection covering representative works from different periods of Wen Yiduo's career, possibly with brief notes or an introduction to help readers understand the background and meaning of the poems. The edition is reliable and suitable for collection and study.

What exactly do Wen Yiduo's "three beauties" refer to?

These are the core theories Wen Yiduo proposed for the metricalization of new poetry: "musical beauty" (harmony of syllables and rhythm), "painting beauty" (diction that gives visual imagery), and "architectural beauty" (symmetry of stanzas and evenness of lines). His collection Dead Water is a model of this principle.

What historical background is needed to read Wen Yiduo's poetry?

It is essential to understand the May Fourth New Culture Movement, the War of Resistance Against Japan, and the social conditions in China from the 1920s to the 1940s. Wen Yiduo's creation is closely connected with his study abroad, his academic career (especially his research on classical literature), and his later identity as a democratic fighter; these backgrounds together shaped the distinctive character and spiritual core of his poetry.

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About the author

Wen Yiduo Author · China · 1899–1946

Wen Yiduo, originally named Wen Jiahua, was a native of Xishui, Hubei, and a modern Chinese poet, scholar, and democratic fighter, as well as a representative poet of the Crescent Moon School. He studied at Tsinghua in his early years and later went to the United States to study fine arts. In 1923 he published the poetry collection Red Candle, and he also wrote Dead Water. He taught successively at Wuhan University, Qingdao University, Tsinghua University, and Southwest Associated University, devoting himself to research on the Songs of Chu, the Book of Songs, and Tang poetry. His scholarly works, including New Interpretations of the Classics and Miscellaneous Discussions on Tang Poetry, combine textual scholarship with literary grace, and lecture notes compiled from his teaching also circulated widely. His poems are marked by attention to meter and imagery and by deep feeling, and they have had a profound influence on the history of modern Chinese poetry. On July 15, 1946, he was assassinated by Kuomintang agents in Kunming at the age of forty-seven.