Twentieth-Century Chinese Women's Poetry: An Anthology Book

"Chinese women's writing is rich and abundant, although not well known in the West. Despite the brutal wars and political upheavals that ravaged twentieth-century China, the ranks of women in the literary world increased dramatically." "This anthology introduces English-language readers to forty Chinese women poets from both the mainland and Taiwan. It spans the early 1920s and Republican China's literary renaissance, through the end of the twentieth century. Included are 245 poems in elegant English translations by Julia Lin, and an extensive introductory essay by Lin and Nicholas Kaldis that surveys the history of contemporary Chinese women's poetry. A brief biographical headnote introduces each poet in the collection, from Bin Xin, China's preeminent woman poet in the early Republican period, to Rong Zi, a leading poet of modem Taiwan." The diversity of the poets' backgrounds and life experiences gives this body of work a rare breadth and vitality. Their works often reflect the myriad social and cultural changes of modern China. The selections translated here are startling, moving, and wide-ranging in mood and tone. Taken together they represent an enticing palette of delightful, elegant, playful, lyric, tragic poetry.