Editor's Note:
Yangpu International Container Terminal, Yangpu Economic Development Zone, Hainan. Photo by Pu Xiaoxu, Xinhua News Agency
On February 13, 2022, at the mouth of Sanya Bay in Hainan, hundreds of yacht cruise ships returned to port after their sea trip. Photo by Yuan Yongdong (People's Photo)
On April 13, 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech at the conference celebrating the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Hainan Provincial Special Economic Zone: Hainan's green mountains, green waters, blue seas and blue skies have been praised by literati and scholars since ancient times. Su Dongpo's "not like the end of the world, rolling up the Yang flowers like snowflakes"; Qiu Jun's "five peaks are connected like finger green, supporting the hot and desolate half of the sky." At night, the Milky Way picks up the stars and clouds and smokes in the direction of the exploration of the blue"; Yang Weizhen's "Green clothes sing and dance without moving the dust, and the sea fairy rides the fish and waves", all depict the moving scene of Hainan like a fairyland.
The beautiful poems born between the mountains and the sea, after the influence of the poetry of Dongpo, and mellowed in the rhyme of Coconut Wind Island for thousands of years, make Hainan poetry like an old wine, and you can smell its rich aroma across the strait. In a tropical scenery, leisurely human feelings are intertwined with unique winds and objects, and the sound of the sea and the colors of spring are engraved on the poet's heart. As the saying goes, "the vicissitudes of the sea and the mulberry fields", in the new era, the poetry in Hainan poetry has been rejuvenated by major events such as the construction of the Hainan free trade port and the establishment of Sansha City.
Ancient relics and Dongpo poetry rhymes
The earliest poems in Hainan are folk songs, and the ancient style and rhyme of folk songs are still widely circulated in Hainan today, influencing the creation of contemporary literary and artistic works. Many of the repertoire in the famous modern ballet "Red Detachment of Women" have the shadow of Hainan folk songs, and the classic "Wanquan River Water Is Clear and Clear" is based on the lyrics of the Li folk song "Five Finger Mountain Song", and the melody of Hainan local drama can also be heard in the majestic and powerful "Red Lady Scout Song". Chen Guangzhou's "The People's Liberation Army Came to Formula Li Zhai", Xie Qing's "Beauty But The Li Family March 3", and "Long Time No See Long Time" that is widely circulated in China are all masterpieces produced by the combination of Hainan folk songs and contemporary art.
It is no exaggeration to say that in Hainan, nothing can be included in poetry, and lotte, daguan, no dispute with the world, and harmonious coexistence with nature are the background colors of Hainan folk songs. Because of this, when Su Shi, who was frustrated in his career, came to Hainan, he unexpectedly ushered in the peak period of creation. In the face of the vigorous and upward life everywhere on Hainan Island, what reason does Dongpo, who is already born with a great nature, not to let go?
"The vicissitudes of the sea have broken the veins of the earth, and the white robe has broken the heavens." Under the influence of Dongpo poetry, the first person in Hainan was born, and the Thousand Years of Hainan Dongpo Culture was born, and the literati of all generations of writers and writers responded to and sang with this great lyricist of the Song Dynasty. Of course, the influence of culture is mutual, and when Su Dongpo brought the Central Plains culture to Hainan, Hainan culture also influenced Su Dongpo. And look at the sentence "But looking for cattle to find the way home, home in the cattle pen west and west", there are also some shadows of Li family mountain songs between the lines. The collision and fusion of cultures have brought Hainan a richer and more diverse poetry.
Poetry creation under the trend of the times
The poetry of Hainan is fiery. The ups and downs of the 20th century stirred up the original poetic meaning of Hainan poetry, awakening Hainan poets to plunge into the fiery era with practical actions.
In the history of the development of modern poetry in Hainan, the conscription is a memorable name. Born in Hainan in 1913, Zhengjun, whose original name was Shi Jishi, was the most influential left-wing poet in Hainan at that time. In that era when the nation was devastated, the army used his poems to inspire the sons and daughters of Qiongya to struggle against strong enemies, and the indisputable island boiled in his pen: "Hainan Island, / My mother! / Your children have fanned red flames again in the midst of hardship, actively singing the tune of loving the land." When the waves of the Pacific Ocean roll up the storm, you will be bathed in new sunshine on this wave! You will always be the beautiful island of South China. ("Hainan Island, My Mother") In the poem, Hainan is transformed into a maritime outpost to resist foreign enemies, and the island bathed in the baptism of war resolutely shoulders the arduous heavy responsibility of the times and the historical mission.
When the spring breeze of reform and opening up blew to Hainan, Hainan poetry took on a new look under the tide of the times. In the vastness of 100,000 talents in Hainan, the spirit of daring to break through and dare to work has given Hainan a new poetry, and the interweaving of passion and poetry has made Hainan an island of poetry. Whether qiongyuan or not, most of the people on this island are willing to write some poems to capture the inner throbbing under the pulse of society, which has almost become the norm of life in Hainan at this time.
Ideal for looking back and contemplating
The poetry of Hainan is profound. The needs of the times bring passion to Hainan poetry, and also make Hainan poets often look back, think about the past and present lives of this island, and pay attention to the living conditions of all beings on the qiongya land. They take life as their starting point and use poetry to expand the boundaries of their own cognition.
The "breaking into the sea" that influenced the spirit of a generation of People in Hainan is not only a historical event, but also a spiritual event, which has brought ideals and passions to Hainan poetry and become an important part of Hainan's spirit. Li Shaojun's long poem "Song of Breaking into the Sea" is a review of this history, the teenager who "believes that the ocean is the place where epics, heroes and miracles occur", and insists on "building a palace or some kind of mirage on the sea". From Haikou to Sanya, from the South China Sea Fishing Port to the emerald town of Wuzhishan, he witnessed the history and present of Hainan, imagined the future of Hainan, and finally proudly sang "I am a person with the sea".
Hainan's nature and humanities can be contemplative. Zhang Weidong explains what Hainan means to a poet: "There is the sea in the body, and the sea water engulfs us over and over again/ And the plane in the body / is carrying us to the sky" (Poetry of the Senses). Hainan, with its abundance, beckons poets to infuse the sound of the waves into every line of poetry. Jiang Fei is good at writing about the sandbars and woods at the junction of rivers and seas, and about those who are obsessed with throwing fishing nets at the mouth of the sea. He saw a pebble sleeping on the river beach and found that "it was as quiet as gold when it had not yet been separated from the ancient earth" (The River Under the Setting Sun). Of course, it is not only the ocean and the rivers that inspire poetry, but also the high mountains that stand in the middle of Hainan, and young poets are looking for the source of Hainan Island culture between the mountains and the sea. For example, li ethnic poet Li Xingqing uses his love and poetry to write about the moonlight, spring and hopeful next generation of Li Village.
Sail to the new azure
Hainan's poetry is advancing with the times. The construction of Hainan Free Trade Port has pushed Hainan to the forefront of history, and Hainan poetry has also gained new vitality and vitality in the new era.
In recent years, under the impetus of the Poetry Journal, the Hainan Writers Association and other organizations, poets have begun to march towards the ocean with a collective attitude, they are no longer satisfied with exploring the land area of this island, but to the vast open sea to find their spiritual homeland, especially the vast South China Sea and the beautiful City of Sansha, which has become the source of poetry.
The most eye-catching are the officers and men of the People's Liberation Army who stick to the islands. After visiting Sansha, the military poet Wang Dengping lamented that "your peace touches the nerves of your relatives; / Your beauty will no longer allow others to intrude" ("Xisha Xing"), and the poet Su Jixiong, who once wrote lyrics for the famous song "Xisha, My Lovely Hometown", once again sang for Sansha: "To the south to the south, caressing thousands of reefs and hundreds of islands, / to the south, the atmosphere runs through the vast sea and sky, / to the south, interpreting the wonderful life, / to the south to the south, writing a new chapter of Sansha." ("To the South") In front of the stone carving of "Long Live the Motherland" in Xisha, Liu Xiaowei saw generations of soldiers "the most secret kind of red in the loyal blood / the most regretless kind of red / the kind of red purified from beads of sweat and blood / the kind of red smelted by loyalty and great love" ("Depicting Red"). It is precisely because of these heroes who guard the South China Sea that poets can find greater poetry in this piece of blue - Zhang Dinghao "distinguishes blue in blue" and "looks for islands on islands" ("In Sansha"), Yang Zhangchi sees "three sands, three groups of white and crystal clear sand / hugging together in the blue yearning" ("Three sands, the bloom of azure"). Poets from all over the world use their poems to build the Great Wall of Maritime Culture, guarding the sea frontier of the motherland, and calling on more people to join this blue team, carrying the Chinese dream on the ideal ship and sailing to the new blue. Nowadays, whether they grew up in this land or not, more and more poets have begun to pay attention to the ocean in their own way, gathering the "ocean of poetry" with "ocean poetry" and expanding the space for the expression of poetry in the new era.
With the acceleration of the construction of the free trade port, Hainan's poetry will be more abundant, magnificent and wonderful, and Hainan's poetry will also shoulder a more important historical mission, as Le Bing wrote in the poem "I Sing Hainan Free Trade Port": "Time will tell the people of the future / The glory of Hainan / With our sweat to create / with our responsibility and responsibility."
(The author is Vice Dean and Associate Professor of the College of Literature, Hainan Normal University)