The Last Brilliant Poet in China: Wangguozhen
By admin on 2014-12-19

    The “last brilliant poet in China,” Wang Guozhen, made a rare public appearance at Beijing Bookstore on May 17 to promote a new book titled Niu Xiaomi's Work Experience at Foreign Enterprise by Hong Hulang.

    Poet Wang Guozhen, who received huge popularity with his first collection of poetry, Tide of the Youth, in April 1990, evokes little enthusiasm among young readers today. Yet the poet is unfazed and he does not mind promoting others' works.

The Last Brilliant Poet: Wangguozhen

     Of late, Wang is preoccupied with another creative effort. As many as 400 select traditional Chinese poems have been given a musical form by Wang, and 100 of them are scheduled to be published as albums this year.

    “The musical composition of poems has been my priority in the last few years and I believe this will take me to greater heights,” said Wang.

    Meanwhile, at the venue of the book promotion, Wang not only recommended Hong's work to the audience, but also made a brief introduction to his career as a poet and took questions from the audience and media present.

    Wang is one of the few poets of the past 50 years who strikes a chord among people born in the 1960s and the 70s.

    One of the most fascinating aspects of Wang's poems was that students and youngsters copied them by hand and treasured them for years.

    Wang's simple and unpretentious words carried a wealth of meaning about life and this was what made him famous among the youth. His poems were easy to comprehend, but embodied profound thoughts about life. Further, they also manifest an optimistic attitude toward life.

    Wang is adept at expressing complex notions through simple words. Friendship, love and moral values are his untiring topics.

    “In early 1990s, my poems were very popular for its simple yet powerful content especially among students, who usually picked up some catchy phrases from my poems as their mottos,” said Wang Guozhen to Global Times, adding, “and the various pirated editions of my poems shadowed all the other mainland poets, a reflection of its popularity.”

    It was the pinnacle of poetry in those years, ably represented by Wang's works, and Wang was elevated as “the prince of poetry” for his role and influence.

    Born in 1956 and graduated from Jinan University in Guangzhou, majoring in literature, Wang kicked off his poetry career in 1985, when his works were frequently posted in newspapers and magazines.

    Wang's Tide of Youth turned out to be a bestseller with an initial circulation of 150, 000 copies in the first year and some 600,000 copies sold in total.

    Enjoying several years of fame, Wang's poetry gradually faded out of the limelight, more so among the new generation. Wang tried a comeback in 2001 by launching his Wang Guozhen's Collections of Poems and Prose, but did not create a similar wave.

    “In the dynamic transformative years of early 1990s, my poems coincided with the minds and needs of the readers, and as time went by, it changed a lot, but I'm still confident of the prospect of Chinese poetry,” Wang said.

    “There is a dearth of good poems these days, and for good poetry we need to cater to the real needs of the people instead of resorting to mere word play,” Wang said when asked about the current status of poetry.

    However, Wang still remains in the memories of some readers. “I think it is a compliment for me that some readers continue to recognize my contribution to poetry in China,” said Wang.

    In the late 1990s, Wang devoted his time and energy to traditional Chinese calligraphy and the composing of ancient Chinese poems. His calligraphy was presented as national gifts to other countries and his composing works were selected as textbooks for students at schools of conservatory music.