Public put off by poetry?
Tian Ya magazines Photos: CFP
Last month, various activities commemorated Chinese poet Hai Zi (1964-89), who committed suicide on his birthday, March 26, by lying on railroad tracks. During Qingming Festival, several websites held memorials to remind the public of the great Chinese poets of the 1970 and 1980s, like Gu Cheng.
Chinese people who endured revolutionary movements decades ago forever remember the poets once adored by a nation. Poets were regarded as spiritual idols, spearheading trends and ideas. When a poet spoke at an event, the venues were as crowded as a concert hall featuring a contemporary pop star.
This zeal does not exist on the scale it used to, as modern poets have been relegated to the corner. People joke that there are more people writing poems than people reading them. The poetry field seems less influential as before, attributed to changes in the social environment.
1970s and 1980s
"The popularity of poems in the 1970 and 1980s was unusual," said poet Wang Jianzhao, a professor at Beijing Foreign Studies University and researcher at Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.
"At that time, poems were regarded as more than just an art form. Poems reflected the society, politics, ethics, and even religion. Many readers at that time focused on the social context of a poem, as opposed to the verses themselves," Wang said.
Zhao Siyun, a poet and staff member at Zhejiang University of Media and Communications agrees.
"Poems are usually not that popular, but poems in the 1970s and 1980s took the responsibility of speculating on the country's history and its rapid development," said Zhao.
Often, a poem would touch sensitive aspects of society, causing social turmoil. "Nowadays, poems function less as an ideological tool," Zhao told the Global Times.
Another factor for the decline of poetry is because people do not have the same monotonous life anymore.
"Back then, people's cultural and social lives were limited, or even poor, and literature was one of the few ways to explore ideas. This was the main reason for the popularity of poems, in the 1970s and 1980s," said Wu Wenjian, a professor at Xi'an International Studies University. Wu also writes poetry under the pen name, Yi Sha.
As new media has developed rapidly and information channels like the Internet are available at the click of a mouse, there are different ways for artists and audiences to express themselves. According to Li Shaojun, the chief editor of Tian Ya magazine, a bimonthly literary publication, there are actually more poets today then there were in the 1980s.
"It's just that the readers are decentralized, as the field is diversified." Li told the Global Times.
Part-time occupation
There are few full-time poets. "I've thought of being a full-time poet, but the economic situation didn't allow it. We have to make a living and take care of our families," said Yang Bo, founder of the She Hong Web Poem Club, a voluntary organization founded by poetry lovers.
"If I only wrote poems, I would be unable to make a living," Che Qianzi, a poet, told the Global Times.
But the poets interviewed by the Global Times dismissed the idea that the decline of poetry should be blamed for the situation.
"Artists and poets have always struggled with making a living," Wang Jianzhao told the Global Times. "In historical times, poets who didn't have a job supported themselves with other occupations, or were sponsored by the nobility."
Today, there are few full-time poets. According to poet Shen Haobo, founder of Motie Publishing Co., one of the biggest private publishing companies in China, Western countries allocate funds to talented poets. Some poets are paid by universities. There are special funds and grants to support poets.
"We don't have these support systems in China, so Chinese poets must have other jobs," said Shen.
"In China, if there are any full-time poets, they are probably with the Writer's Union. However, I was told that the lifelong tenure system of the union is in transition, so this full-time gig will probably no longer exist. I don't encourage people to write poems full-time anyway, unless your job prevents you from writing," said Wu Wenjian.
Modern approaches
Modern poets often hold positions in other vocations, as they believe work experience is a must in creating thoughtful poetry.
"Poetry is an art form that has little to do with money. Poets always need other jobs to feed themselves. I have another job, though I would rather call myself a poet. Among other poets I know, there are teachers, government officials, businessmen, and etc., but when they sit together, their social identities are ignored," said Shen.
"The quality of poems is not affected by whether or not poets devote all of their attention to writing. After all, what kind of poetry can someone create, if his only of make a living is writing?" Shu Ziyuan, a poet, asked.
"People should have outside jobs in order to better understand the society, to experience the immense diversity of human nature, and to make contributions to society," said Feng Zhou, the chief editor of the Overseas Chinese Poetry magazine.