#xu zhimo

[mournfulroses]

Xu Zhimo, from a poem titled "Build A Wall," featured in Modern Chinese Poetry: An Anthology

[undinesea]

I am a cloud in the sky, A chance shadow on the wave of your heart. Don’t be surprised, Or too elated; In an instant I shall vanish without trace. We meet on the sea of dark night, You on your way, I on mine. Remember if you will, Or, better still, forget The light exchanged in this encounter.

Xu Zhimo, "By Chance," from Selected Poems

[creatediana]

"This is a Coward's World" (1925) by Chinese poet Xu Zhimo (1897–1931), translated by Dorothy Trench Bonett in Broad Sea and Empty Sky: China’s Greatest Modern Poet, Xu Zhimo (2021)

[britneyshakespeare]

What she says: I'm fine

What she means: Dorothy Trench Bonett's first expansive English translation of the works of Xu Zhimo had its release date pushed back from 10/31 to 12/23

[sinetheta]

一掠颜色飞上了树。 “看，一只黄鹂！”有人说。 翘着尾尖，它不作声， 艳异照亮了浓密—— 像是春光，火焰，像是热情。 等候它唱，我们静着望，怕惊了它。 但它一展翅，冲破浓密，化一朵彩云； 它飞了，不见了，没了—— 像是春光，火焰，像是热情。                                                                          A colourful figure flew to a tree, ‘look, a yellow oriole!“ someone says, Curling up its tail, it remains silent. bright colours lit up the bushy leaves– like a ray of light in spring, like fire, like passion itself. We look up to the bird in quite waiting, afraid to frighten it, instead, it spreads it wings, breaks away from the leaves and disappears into a rainbow cloud. it flew away, not to be seen again, gone– like a ray of light in spring, like fire, like passion itself.

from Yellow Oriole (黄鹂). by Xu Zhimo (徐志摩). 1930.

Xu Zhimo (January 15, 1897 – November 19, 1931) was an early 20th-century Chinese poet. Xu Zhimo, original name Xu Yousen, pseudonyms Nanhu and Shizhe (b. 1896, Xiashi, Zhejiang province, China—d. Nov. 19, 1931, Jinan, Shandong province), was a free-thinking Chinese poet who strove to loosen Chinese poetry from its traditional forms, and to reshape it under the influences of Western poetry and the vernacular Chinese language. One of the most renowned romantic poets of 20th-century Chinese literature, he is known for his promotion of modern Chinese poetry and made contributions to modern Chinese literature.

Follow sinθ magazine for more daily posts about Sino arts and culture.

[forsoothsayer]

Saying Good-Bye To Cambridge Again by Xu Zhimo

Very quietly I take my leave, As quietly as I came here; Quietly I wave good-bye, To the rosy clouds in the western sky. The golden willows by the riverside, Are young brides in the setting sun; Their reflections on the shimmering waves, Always linger in the depth of my heart. The floating heart growing in the sludge, Sways leisurely under the water; In the gentle waves of Cambridge, I would be a water plant! That pool under the shade of elm trees, Holds not water but the rainbow from the sky; Shattered to pieces among the duckweeds, Is the sediment of a rainbow-like dream. To seek a dream? Just to pole a boat upstream, To where the green grass is more verdant; Or to have the boat fully loaded with starlight, And sing aloud in the splendor of starlight. But I cannot sing aloud, Quietness is my farewell music; Even summer insects keep silence for me, Silent is Cambridge tonight! Very quietly I take my leave, As quietly as I came here; Gently I flick my sleeves, Not even a wisp of cloud will I bring away.

[queenslibrary]

 Today for  National Poetry Month we honor Xu Zhimo:  http://qnslib.org/zqvG30aQeS2

[zhugeliangs]

Don't worry. I take courage with me. I won't grieve. The treacherous road won't daunt me.

Xu Zhimo (徐志摩), from “Go”, The Flowering of Modern Chinese Poetry: An Anthology of Verse from the Republican Period, tr. Herbert Batt and Sheldon Zittner