The Book of Destiny – To Chang Yao
In 1995, I carried the care of fate
Join the ranks of young students of Peking University
Early winter of that year
A red-covered book of poems, The Book of Destiny
Something abruptly floated down on the desk of my youth
The neat signature of "Chang Yao" on the title page of the collection of poems
Like a lonely lightning bolt
The instant hit my young soul
Pass through your vicissitudes like a plateau face
I am behind your glorious name
Read the ups and downs and hardships of the poet's fate
Years later
I have insight into the mystery of your destiny
The cover of that book of poems was bright red
Tell the tragic background of your life
It also predicts the glorious prospects of the fate of your poetry
Just as the sun has been calling you in the sky:
Come, go forward!
Do not hesitate,
Behind and at the end of the fate of human suffering,
There will be a soul of poetry that burns endlessly,
In the depths of time, the flag blooms like a brilliant one!
Note: On March 23, 2022, the 22nd anniversary of Mr. Chang Yao's death.
Chang Yao (1936.6.27 - 2000.3.23), formerly known as Wang Changyao, was a native of Taoyuan County, Hunan Province. One of the representative poets of the Neo-Pyenthic poetry school, he published poems such as "Changyao Lyric Poems" (1986), "Book of Destiny" (1994), "A Challenging Traveler Walking in God's Sandbox" (1996), "Changyao's Poems" (1998) and so on.
Tan Wuchang, Jiangxi Yongxin. Doctor of Literature, Peking University. A poetry critic with wide influence at home and abroad. He is currently the director of the Research Center for Contemporary Chinese New Poetry at Beijing Normal University, and a visiting professor at Guizhou University for Nationalities, Southwest University for Nationalities, Nanchang Hangkong University and other universities. He has published more than 30 kinds of academic works and poetry compilations, such as "The Imagination of Death in Chinese New Poetry in the Twentieth Century", "List of New Chinese Poetry", "Youth Poetry Yearbook", "Research on Our Prose Poetry Group", "Speaking Poetry in the Classroom of Beijing Normal University" (five volumes). In recent years, he has served as a judge and person in charge of important domestic poetry awards such as the Xu Zhimo Poetry Award, the Wen Yiduo Poetry Award, the Haizi Poetry Award, and the Changyao Poetry Award. He has been invited to give poetry lectures and academic lectures at dozens of universities and scientific research institutions in China, such as Peking University, Tsinghua University, Chinese Min University, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Museum of Modern Chinese Literature, Lu Xun College of Literature, etc.