MODERN POETRY TEXTS
VII. Coexistent Structure: The Interweaving of the Classical and the Modern
It refers to “borrowing fragments from ancient works and introducing them into modern poetry, so that past works and present works coexist together.”33 This mode of expression is the integration of classical poetry and modern poetry into a single structure, a transformed use of the rhetorical device of “quotation.” Quotation refers to “inserting others’ words, poems, sayings, or proverbs into discourse in order to verify, supplement, or contrast the author’s original intention, thereby strengthening the persuasiveness and emotional impact of writing or speech.”34 For example, poets such as Luo Zhicheng, Lin Yaode, Xia Yu, Zeng Shumei, and Lin Ting’s new interpretations of Shang Xie involve embedding each line of the Ancient Yuefu poem Shang Xie as initiating phrases for each section.
Luo Qing’s Tianjingsha and Luo Fu’s Reading Du Fu on the Bus also employ the same method, dismantling Ma Zhiyuan’s Tianjingsha and Du Fu’s Wen Guanjun Shou Henan Hebei and embedding them word by word and line by line into each section.
Luo Fu “Reading Du Fu on the Bus”35
Beyond the sword, news suddenly arrives of the recapture of Jibei
In the swaying motion / the bus passes West Chang’an Road and suddenly sees / dust and smoke scattering like the panic of An Lushan’s defeated army / on the journey when Emperor Xuanzong returned from Shu to the capital, he once looked back / yet could not help remaining silent and sorrowful at / a silk ribbon lifted by the wind beneath Mawei Slope / and now upon hearing sudden victory news, you must also have thoughts of returning home / may I take your boat back home?
At first hearing, tears soak the clothes
Tears accumulated over many years / finally flood and soak through the entire history / raising a torn sleeve to wipe the face full of lines / followed by a long sigh / startling the dust on all four walls to fall / casually gather up unfinished drafts on the desk / problems of rhythm mismatch, imagery inadequacy, etc. / wait until wine is warmed before carefully revising
But looking at wife and children, where is sorrow
Eight years of turmoil / under the lamp husband and wife face sorrow, perhaps for the last time / sorrow that news comes too suddenly and may not be accurate / sorrow that life is too long yet now feels too short / sorrow that the vast years leave no place to return tomorrow / sorrow that travel funds for returning home are temporarily unavailable / yet at this moment the wife’s smile is warm as a stove / outside the window snow is falling
Sweeping poetry books in sudden joy and madness
The carriage suddenly stops on Heping East Road / in the jolting motion it is discovered that the entire carriage is filled with costumes of the mid-Tang dynasty / in the ears a burst of cheering is heard / a Confucian scholar in the back seat is hurriedly packing his luggage / books, poems, old garments scattered everywhere / seventy percent ecstasy, thirty percent lament / sometimes looking up in contemplation, sometimes lowering the gaze in thought / the post-disaster heart is fire, and also ashes
On a bright day singing loudly, one must drink freely
Let me get drunk once / all further sobriety / is nothing but displacement / nothing but a shallow step and deep step in mud / all further poetry / is nothing but blood stains / nothing but bruises of blue and purple / wine is the only road that carries me home
Youth as companion, good to return home
One stretch of mountains, one stretch of water / embracing sunlight, embracing flowers / embracing sky, embracing birds / embracing spring and drunken hiccups on the road / one stretch of rain, one stretch of snow / embracing rivers, embracing boats / embracing paths, embracing carriages / embracing the fear of nearing home on the road
From Baxia through Wuxia
The bus has left Chengdu Road / still hearing endlessly the chanting from Caotang where flowers are watered / further on is Baidi City, is the monkey cries on both banks / from Baxia to Wuxia, thoughts surge like rushing water / half upon the river / the other half already in Luoyang / in those years hauling boats into Shu was such panic and despair / now calmly sitting at the bow reading the sunset on the cliffs
Then descend from Xiangyang toward Luoyang
Entering Shu, leaving Shu / from Chang’an of spring gazes / through hardship to Kuizhou of autumn reflections / now you finally return again to Luoyang full of peonies / while I get off halfway on Hangzhou South Road / plunging into the vast mortal world / unable to see where is the misty West Lake / where is my riverside homeland
This kind of fusion of classical and modern is mostly a re-interpretation of classical poetry from a modern perspective. There is creativity, yet the “framework” of the classical text still exists simultaneously. Modern poets, under the framework of “classical poetry” or “archetypal narrative structures,” carry out integration and innovation, whose psychological basis lies in “reconstructive imagination.” This “coexistence structure” is formally constrained by a framework; in content, however, it often extends rather than overturns or subverts the original classical poem or archetypal story. Otherwise, it would belong to the category of “parody.”
VIII. Parody: The Subversion and Transformation of Texts
Parody (parody) derives from imitation (imitation), with the addition of an ironic tone (irony). It refers to a mock imitation of an original work; the motive of satire is not necessarily conscious or explicit.36 The premise of parody, similar to rhetorical “imitation with irony,” is that an original form must first exist. Then, based on the “spirit” of the original, the author reinterprets it from a personal perspective, rather than, as in simple imitation, merely reshaping it under formal constraints. Parodic works—the “new imitated text”—not only possess their own innovative form but often intentionally stand in opposition to the “original text” in spirit.
Hong Hong “Fairy Tale Poems Written for Nono”37
Little Red Riding Hood
I knocked on grandmother’s door / the big bad wolf was lying in bed / wearing grandmother’s nightgown / what to do / he had a stomachache / only the little wolf was taking care of him
The little wolf is really cute / I played with him
The Sheep Who Guard the House
The visitor put her foot into the crack of the door / “That’s not right, mother’s feet don’t have claws” / but she began to tell how she met a witch / who turned her into a wolf-like form / old age always brings unexpected changes and sorrow / complaints and nagging / just like our mother / so we let her in
Snow White
We prayed and guarded her day and night / willing to exchange our lives for her happiness / still unable to bring her back to life, and as long as / any prince riding a white horse comes / he can kiss her and take her away
Every girl when she marries / her parents will recall Snow White again / and the story of the seven dwarfs
Cinderella
Do not regret what you have lost / those flowers and years / do not regret your golden carriage turning into a pumpkin / there are always things constantly saying farewell to you
Do not fear ugliness and perfection transforming into each other / what has vanished will not be forgotten forever / when one day someone holds a glass slipper to search for you / that is your prince—he will bring back your cherished past
The Tortoise and the Hare
When I rise from the grass / and set off / you are already asleep in the shade at the finish line
Anyway, in every race / someone always runs fast / someone runs slowly / someone always arrives first and someone must sleep
And I fell asleep first / I like to sleep well before continuing to run / this is just a way of living / no matter fast or slow / early or late / one will always arrive / and when you are asleep / dreaming what I have just dreamed / I have already quietly arrived
Sleeping Beauty
I long ago understood the meaning of imprisonment / long ago understood / a century of sleep / what I wait for is you
I watched you be born / grow up / watched how you heard the legend / and resolutely came to seek it
I carefully watched all of this / how difficult it was
But I finally waited for you
Although we have never met / although my clothing and manners / are already out of time
When you gently kiss me / no barrier can remain
I thank the curse of fate / the poisonous spindle thorn / everything will pass through the test of time / and become the golden thread shining into the castle at this moment / making our meeting / a testimony for all watchers of the world
This poem integrates several well-known fairy tales into a sequence. Based on the “archetypal narrative structure” of fairy tales, it reinterprets them from a more worldly perspective. However, the author does not attempt to overturn or negate the values of the original narratives. Works such as Snow White, Cinderella, and Sleeping Beauty merely “review” the original stories again without critical or ironic intent. Therefore, they cannot be considered parody.
Luo Renling “I Met Snow White in the Vegetable Market”38
That was this morning. I met Snow White in the vegetable market. She looked aged and melancholic, busy bargaining with a green apple.
“But weren’t you poisoned…”
Who said that? She twisted her bulky waist.
“From the fairy tale book when I was little!” I replied loudly.
When I was little? I stopped believing in fairy tales long ago.
She moved her thick fingers, continuing to bargain with a peach.
“But weren’t you awakened by the prince’s kiss, and then…” I persisted.
And then? You mean the prince?
He went into stock investment and lost thirty million.
“But the book said you lived happily ever after…” I murmured.
I said, that was just a fairy tale.
But… I really did once play Snow White.
She held the apples and peaches, as if lost in deep thought.
After being awakened by the prince’s kiss, Snow White must age in reality, becoming a “waist-heavy, wrinkled, clawed old woman” bargaining in the vegetable market. The prince has also grown old, ruined by stock market failure, becoming a broke old man. Through dialogue between a princess and a young girl, the princess declares she “no longer believes in fairy tales.” This statement pierces through the girl’s fantasy, acting as a critique and negation of fairy tales, using reality to puncture dreams—like telling readers that there are no fairy tales in this world, no carefree happiness or romantic ideal marriage. The critical and ironic meaning is strong; this poem is a typical parody.
Luo Qing “A Letter of Farewell to a Farewell Letter”39
My dear:
Upon taking up the pen
I want to write to you
Grabbing a sheet of paper
Line by line, three or two lines
I wrote all the way to
here
Since it has reached
here
it can only stop
here
Thus I stop
Wishing you
peace and happiness
Postscript:
What is written in this letter
is absolutely unrelated to
anything
that is not written in this letter
Also:
If this letter
should by chance be seen by
historians
archaeologists
critics
editors
or voyeurs
please do not read it
please be magnanimous
This poem fully realizes a postmodern conception. The letter contains no content and conveys no information; it deconstructs both the “letter” itself and the function of language. It reads as a mere letter form, but is empty in substance and meaningless in content. Because of this, it connects with the postmodern notion of “the collapse of theme.” It uses a form of parody with some ironic tone, but it does not truly criticize or negate the original model text, Lin Juemin’s “Letter of Farewell to My Wife.” It can thus be regarded as parody only in form and imagery.
IX. Game Text
When some avant-garde modern poets become aware that the functions of language and written words, beyond “expressing emotion and conveying meaning,” can also possess an additional value of “play,” they therefore begin to experiment with entirely new forms of expression: sometimes deliberately setting traps and leaving blanks to challenge readers’ reading habits and comprehension abilities; sometimes attempting to find various kinds of “interest” through deconstructing line breaks and punctuation relations in poetry; and even breaking down the barriers between modern poetry and practical writing genres, so that poetry may also acquire the function of practical notices. The local “language game poetry” roughly emerged in the mid-1980s, what Luo Qing called the arrival of the “postmodern wave.” As far as the author’s memory goes, several youth poetry magazines with an “avant-garde experimental spirit,” such as Elephant Herd, Fourth Dimension, and Horizon, successively launched new forms such as “fill-in-the-blank poetry,” “connect-the-lines poetry,” “computer programming language poetry,” “meta-language poetry,” “practical genre poetry,” and “collage poetry,” creating a brief period of great excitement. The author will briefly introduce the first five categories.
From the early modernist poetic movement’s “visual poetry” of Lin Heng-tai and Zhan Bing, to the postmodern “language games” of Xia Yu, Lin Yao-de, Huang Zhi-rong, Lin Qun-sheng, Qiu Huan, Hong Hong and others, readers have witnessed a kind of “exhausted literature” after “straining language to its limits,” which has shifted from subverting linguistic meaning toward “symbol game” development. Essentially, this is no longer the realm of “poetry,” but rather the field of “semiotics.” Its characteristics are, as theorist Meng Fan states: “In postmodern poetry, one can clearly see the regret that the signifier of linguistic symbols cannot reach the signified… because the signified is continuously deferred backward until it becomes untraceable, resulting in the loss of meaning of the linguistic symbol itself. Once meaning is extracted, the linguistic symbols in poetry become a game of arrangement and combination; and if it is a game, then it does not necessarily need to have a purpose.”40
(1) Fill-in-the-Blank Poetry
It is said that one of the Four Great Talents, Tang Bohu, once walked in Hangzhou and arrived at Broken Bridge, where he found an unfinished fill-in poem engraved on the railing: □ see □□ color, □ hear □□ sound. □ go □□ remain, □ come □□ alarm. After reading it, Tang Bohu spontaneously filled in the blanks and completed a superb poem: “From afar, one sees the mountains with color; up close, one hears the water without sound. When spring departs, flowers still remain; when people arrive, birds are not startled.” Tang Bohu thus completed an excellent “painting poem,” yet it contains no character meaning “painting,” which is truly thought-provoking. Although this five-character regulated verse is formally constrained by the written blanks, its content is in fact quite free and could have thousands of possible fillings, and thus thousands of different artistic conceptions.
In local modern poetry, riding the “postmodern wave” of the 1980s, some poets introduced “fill-in-the-blank modern poetry,” such as female poet Xia Yu’s “Rhyme”41 (excerpt):
I can only, ah, only can
you know
write a poem
like this □
useless words paired with
smooth rhythm □ like this
generous and unhurried
taking rhyme
as an excuse
In this passage, two “blanks” are deliberately placed, intentionally creating a “language obstruction” that forces readers to pause and reflect. In fact, what words should be filled in these blanks to connect the context may vary from person to person; readers may try to infer the author’s intention, or may simply fill in words based on their own understanding; or these blanks may merely be insignificant “white space.” If the blanks serve as key connectors between contextual meanings—such as content words or verbs—then such deliberate blanking may be meaningful in allowing readers to participate. However, if they are merely function words or sentence-final particles that do not significantly affect meaning, then such blanking is unnecessary.
Twenty years later, emerging female poet Yu Zhi’s “Coded Letter”42 shows a significant “evolution,” having learned to leave blanks at key lexical points:
Write down with gain and loss
a language requiring recognition
with secret and timid
fingers and palms
crushing some mildness
bits of shadows
scattered desires and embraces
I □ you were once a sequence
requiring logic and accumulation
I □ you have long been barren
□□ departure wringing out an entire season of spring
you □ me sometimes without medicine
and we need to numb some □□
all because of fear of pain
dare not leave □□
like ancient silence migrating from distant centuries
The author states that “□□ are codes within the text—words too afraid to be revealed for filling in the blanks; the implicit relations and estimation are what this letter primarily intends to express.” The author also notes that the form was inspired by Xia Yu’s similar works. Netizen Bo Yi Dian Pi offers a sharp observation: “The poetic foundation of non-textual poetry is weak; if viewed from semiotics, one must ask why seeing blanks between lines triggers the impulse to fill them in? Because it is a universal sign: alone it has only extension, but attached to text it gains intension.”
(2) Connect-the-Lines Poetry
Xia Yu, “Connect-the-Lines”43
envelope thumbtack
freedom magnet
sidewalk fifth floor
flashlight drum
method laughter
lead type □ □
writing innocent
ultramarine dig
“Looking carefully up and down, and across left and right, this poem ‘Connect-the-Lines’ has no clues to connect; that is, there is no correct answer, because meaning has been stripped away.”44 This form borrows from primary-school test formats, but in this poem the author deliberately removes all “associative links,” so readers cannot find sufficient signifiers to connect meanings. It is a “false proposition” version of connect-the-lines: since it is not truly poetry, it can only be regarded as pure “language game,” making readers eventually realize they themselves have been played by the author.
(3) Computer Programming Language Poetry
Lin Qun-sheng, “Silence (POETRY-BASIC)”45
1Φ CLS
2Φ GOTO 1Φ
3Φ f END
RUN
This is a “work” written in BASIC programming language. Its structure is very simple and reflects how computer programming is composed of “0” and “1.” Essentially, this is not poetic language but programming language; it is different from merely inserting a few lines of code into poetic lines.
(4) Meta-language Poetry
In linguistics, “meta-language” is opposed to “object language.” Object language refers to a language that describes or discusses certain objects or states of affairs; meta-language is a language that takes language itself as its object of description and discussion.46 This reveals the hierarchical relationship between languages: when explaining the meaning or nature of a certain level of language, one must use a higher-level language; one cannot use the same level of language to explain itself.47
The brilliant dialectical dialogue between Hui Shi and Zhuangzi in the Zhuangzi is precisely meta-language:
Zhuangzi and Hui Shi were traveling on the Hao Bridge.
Zhuangzi said: The fish swim out freely; this is the happiness of fish.
Hui Shi said: You are not a fish; how do you know the happiness of fish?
Zhuangzi said: You are not me; how do you know I do not know the happiness of fish?
Hui Shi said: I am not you; I certainly do not know you; you are certainly not a fish, so your not knowing the happiness of fish is complete.
Zhuangzi said: Let us return to the beginning. When you said “how do you know the happiness of fish,” you already knew that I knew it and still asked me; I know it from above the Hao River.
Hui Shi’s third question is meta-language, while Zhuangzi’s reply becomes a meta-meta-language, forming layers of questioning.
In modern poetry, similar meta-language appears when poets insert evaluative comments as if stepping outside the poem itself, creating comedic effects, such as Xia Yu’s “Love” and Qiu Huan’s “Cooking Night”48:
The days of buying flowers have come
I obediently bought flowers
and placed them
in a pair of eyes
(omitted)
(sorry)
(please continue reading)
The days of buying seawater have come
I obediently bought seawater
(very sorry)
The bracketed final lines are meta-language, functioning as interpretation and commentary on the preceding object language.
Likewise, in Ya Xian’s “Actress”49, bracketed lines serve only as supplementary explanation rather than meta-level judgment; they remain within object language rather than stepping outside it.
End Nine. Word Play
When some avant-garde modern poets become conscious that the function of language is not only to “express emotion and convey meaning,” but can also carry an additional value of “play,” they begin to experiment with entirely new forms of expression. They either deliberately set up riddles and leave blank spaces, challenging readers’ habits of reading and comprehension; or they attempt to deconstruct line breaks and punctuation relations in poetry to discover various kinds of “interest”; they even break down the boundary between poetry and applied writing styles, allowing poetry to function as practical notices or announcements. Local “word-play poetry” appeared roughly in the mid-1980s, during what Luo Qing called the “arrival of the postmodern trend.” As far as I recall, several young poetry journals with an “avant-garde experimental spirit,” such as Elephant Herds, Fourth Dimension, and Horizon, successively published new forms such as “fill-in-the-blank poetry,” “connect-the-lines poetry,” “computer programming language poetry,” “meta-language poetry,” “applied writing poetry,” and “collage poetry,” creating a highly lively scene for a time. I will briefly introduce the first five types.
From the earlier modernist poetic movement, represented by poets such as Lin Heng-tai and Zhan Bing, whose “visual poetry” explored spatial arrangement, to the postmodern wave represented by Xia Yu, Lin Yaode, Huang Zhiyong, Lin Qunsheng, Qiu Huan, and Hong Hong’s “word play,” readers can observe a shift from the exhaustion of linguistic meaning after “straining language to its limits,” toward a development in the direction of “code games.” Fundamentally, this is no longer the domain of “poetic form” but has entered the field of “semiotics.” Its characteristics are well described by poet-critic Meng Fan: “In postmodern poetry, one can clearly observe the regret that linguistic signifiers fail to reach their signifieds… because meaning is constantly deferred backward and ultimately becomes untraceable, the linguistic sign itself loses meaning. Once meaning is detached, poetic language becomes a game of permutation and combination. As a game, it does not necessarily need a purpose.”40
(1) Fill-in-the-Blank Poetry
Legend says that Tang Bohu, one of the Four Great Talents, once walked in Hangzhou and reached Broken Bridge, where he found a blank verse engraved on the railing: □看□□色，□聽□□聲。□去□□在，□來□□驚。Tang Bohu improvised and filled in the blanks to complete a wonderful poem: “From afar one sees mountain colors; up close one hears no water sound. When spring departs flowers still remain; when people arrive birds are not startled.” Tang Bohu thus completed an excellent “painting poem,” yet not a single character of “painting” appears in it, which is thought-provoking. This quatrain, while formally constrained at the level of written characters, is in fact highly free in content, allowing countless possible completions and therefore countless possible poetic realms.
Modern poetry in Taiwan, riding the “postmodern trend” of the 1980s, saw poets introducing “fill-in-the-blank poetry,” such as Xia Yu’s “Rhyme”41 (excerpt):
I can only ah can only
you know
write a poem
like this □
meaningless words paired with
smooth rhythm □ like this
generous and unhurried
taking rhyme
as an excuse
In this passage, two blank spaces are deliberately placed, intentionally creating a “linguistic obstruction” that forces the reader to pause and reflect. What exactly should be filled in these blanks to connect the context varies from reader to reader; readers may attempt to infer the author’s intention or simply fill them according to their own understanding. It is even possible that these blanks are merely meaningless “gaps.” If the blanks function as crucial links in meaning—such as concrete nouns or verbs—then leaving them open for reader participation may be meaningful. However, if they are merely function words or sentence-ending particles that do not significantly affect meaning, then such blankness is unnecessary.
Twenty years later, the young poet Yu Zhi’s “Cipher Letter”42 shows a clear evolution, leaving blanks at key lexical points:
written in ambivalence
a language awaiting decoding
with secrecy and timidity
fingers and palms
crushing some lukewarmness
several shadows
scattered desires and embraces
I □ you were once a sequence
requiring logic and accumulation
I □ you have long been barren
□□ departure wringing out an entire spring season
you □ me sometimes lack medicinal effect
and we need numbness of □□
all because of fear of pain
afraid to step out of □□
like ancient silence migrating from distant centuries
The author herself explains: “□□ is the cipher in the text—words too timid to be revealed, implicit relations and conjectures are what this letter mainly wishes to express.” She also states that the form was inspired by Xia Yu’s similar works. As one online commentator insightfully notes: “The poetic foundation of non-verbal poetry is weak. If viewed from a semiotic perspective, one must ask: why does seeing blanks between lines trigger the impulse to fill them? Because it is a universal sign—when alone it has only extension; when attached to words, it gains intension.”
(2) Connect-the-Lines Poetry
Xia Yu “Connect-the-Lines”43
envelope thumbtack
freedom magnet
sidewalk fifth floor
flashlight drum
method smile
movable type □ □
to innocent
ultramarine dig
Upon careful inspection of the lines above and across, this poem “Connect-the-Lines” offers no clues to connect, in other words, no correct answer, because meaning has been stripped away.44 This form borrows the format of elementary-school matching exercises, but the author deliberately removes any semantic relation, preventing readers from establishing connections. It is a “pseudo-problem” version of connect-the-lines: it is not really poetry, but purely a word game designed to make readers eventually realize they themselves have been “played” by the author.
(3) Computer Programming Language Poetry
Lin Qunsheng “Silence (POETRY-BASIC)”45
1Φ CLS
2ΦGOTO 1Φ
3Φf END
RUN
This is a “work” written in BASIC programming language. Its structure is extremely simple and reflects the composition of computer code through “0” and “1.” Fundamentally, this is not poetic language but programming language. It is different from merely inserting a few lines of code into poetic lines.
(4) Meta-language Poetry
In linguistics, “meta-language” is distinguished from “object language.” Object language refers to a language that describes or talks about certain things or states of affairs. Meta-language refers to a language that uses language itself as its object of description and discussion.46 This reveals a hierarchical relation between languages: when explaining the meaning or nature of a certain level of language, a higher-level language must be used; one cannot use the same level of language to explain itself.47
The famous dialogue between Hui Shi and Zhuangzi in the Zhuangzi is precisely an example of meta-language:
Zhuangzi and Hui Shi were strolling on the bridge over the Hao River.
Zhuangzi said: “The fish swim leisurely; this is the fish’s happiness.”
Hui Shi said: “You are not a fish; how do you know the fish’s happiness?”
Zhuangzi said: “You are not me; how do you know I do not know the fish’s happiness?”
Hui Shi said: “I am not you, so I certainly do not know you; you are certainly not a fish, so your not knowing the fish’s happiness is complete.”
Zhuangzi said: “Let us return to the original point…”
Hui Shi’s third question is meta-language, while Zhuangzi’s response becomes a second-order meta-language, generating successive layers of questioning.
In modern Taiwanese poetry, similar insertions of meta-language appear, as if the author steps outside the poem to comment upon it, producing a comic effect. For example, Xia Yu’s “Love” and Qiu Huan’s “Boiling Night”48:
The day of buying flowers has come
I obediently bought flowers
and placed them
in a pair of eyes
(omitted)
(sorry)
(please continue reading)
The day of buying seawater has come
I obediently bought seawater
(sincerely sorry)
The final bracketed lines are meta-language, functioning as interpretation and commentary on the preceding object language. This differs from ordinary parenthetical explanation inserted within poetry, which remains part of the object language rather than standing outside it.
For instance, Ya Xian’s “Actress”49:
At sixteen her name had already drifted through the city
a kind of sorrowful rhythm
those apricot-colored arms should be guarded by eunuchs
the small bun—ah, Qing dynasty people were heartbroken by it
is it Yutangchun?
(every night the faces in the courtyard cracking sunflower seeds!)
“Cry…”
with her hands in shackles
someone said
in Jiamusi she once had an affair with a White Russian officer
a kind of sorrowful rhythm
every woman curses her in every city
The bracketed lines here are merely supplementary commentary on the preceding text, not a meta-level evaluation that steps outside the poem to judge truth, morality, or value. They function only as parenthetical additions that expand meaning rather than transcend the discourse.
(5) Applied Writing Style Poetry
Xia Yu, “Social Page”50
Unidentified male corpse notice for claim
Name: unknown
Age: about forty years old
Native place: unknown
Characteristics: about 175 cm, long face
extremely thin, mole on right side of nose
Clothing: white underwear
black outer trousers, beige short-sleeved
top, brown leather shoes
Date: October 5, death by train impact
Location: Zhonghua Road
Remarks: please claim at Zhongzheng Precinct
Modern poetry borrows the expressive form of “applied writing,” and even attempts to “hybridize” the function of applied writing: transmission and communication of information, public announcements, declarations of administrative orders, etc., inevitably raising suspicions of causing cognitive confusion among readers. After “exhausting language and words,” modern poets, through painstaking invention, attempt to borrow forms from different genres in order to give readers a “novel experience” and even amusement; however, this can only be done “occasionally” and should not be deepened, because different genres have different functions and effects. Merely borrowing form and putting on the external garment of form cannot truly cross the boundaries between genres.
Notes
1 Jiao Tong, “On the Formal Games of Avant-Garde Poetry,” in Collected Essays on Modern Poetics (II), Department of Chinese Literature, National Changhua University of Education, 1995, p. 178.
2 Wang Dechun, Chen Chen, Modern Rhetoric, Nanchang: Jiangxi Education Press, 1989, pp. 308–309.
3 Jiao Tong, “On the Formal Games of Avant-Garde Poetry,” p. 178, same as note 1.
4 Meng Fan (Chen Junrong), Contemporary Taiwanese Modern Poetry Theory, Taipei: Yangzhi Culture, 1998, p. 222.
5 Reprinted from Chen Kehua, Beautiful and Profound Asia, Taipei: Bookman, 1997, pp. 9–10.
6 Jian Zhengzhen, “Poetry and Montage,” in The Momentary Ecstasy of Poetry, Taipei: China Times Publishing, 1991, p. 52.
7 Reprinted from Luo Men, Selected Poems of Luo Men, Taipei: Hongfan, 1984, p. 185.
8 Reprinted from Shang Qin, Dream or Dawn and Others, Taipei: Bookman, 1988, p. 77.
9 Reprinted from Xin Yu et al. (eds.), How Do They Play Poetry?, Taipei: Er Yu, 2004, p. 234.
10 Meng Fan, Contemporary Taiwanese Modern Poetry Theory, Taipei: Yangzhi Culture, 1998, p. 272.
11 Same as note 10, p. 272.
12 Reprinted from Luo Fu, The Injury of Time, Taipei: China Times Publishing, 1981, pp. 105–107.
13 Reprinted from Luo Fu, The Injury of Time, Taipei: China Times Publishing, 1981, pp. 215–216.
14 You Huan, Xu Huazhong (eds.), Selected Readings of Modern Poetry, Taipei: Wunan, 2004, pp. 318–324.
15 Reprinted from Luo Fu, Snow Falls Silently, Taipei: Elyon, 1999, pp. 122–123.
16 Reprinted from Shang Qin, Thinking with the Feet, Taipei: Han Guang, 1988, pp. 116–117.
17 Reprinted from Luo Fu, Magic Song, Taipei: Penglai, 1981, pp. 25–26.
18 Reprinted from Xu Wenwei et al. (eds.), Online Modern Poetry Chronicle: Poetry Anthology 2000, Taipei: Future Bookstore, 2001, pp. 100–102.
19 Reprinted from Yu Guangzhong, Selected Poems of Yu Guangzhong I, Taipei: Hongfan, 1981, pp. 236–240.
20 From Performance Workshop: http://www.pwshop.com/html/article/godot-0003.html
21 Wang Shide (ed.), Dictionary of Aesthetics, Taipei: Muduo, 1987, p. 523.
22 André Breton, translated by Ding Shizhong, “Second Manifesto of Surrealism,” in Liu Mingjiu (ed.), Futurism, Surrealism, Magical Realism, Taipei: Shuxin, 1999, p. 304.
23 Sigmund Freud, translated by Lü Jun et al., The Interpretation of Dreams, Taipei: Minabel, 2000, p. 342.
24 Reprinted from Bi Guo, Body Consciousness, Taipei: Elyon, 2007, p. 98.
25 Reprinted from Su Shaolian, Shocking Prose Poetry, Taipei: Elyon, 1990, p. 11.
26 Reprinted from Du Shisan, The Language of Fire, Taipei: China Times Publishing, 1994, p. 63.
27 Yan Yuan-shu, On National Literature, Taipei: Student Book Company, 1984, p. 259.
28 Xiao Shushun, “The Meaning of Spatial Layering in Ye Weilian’s Poetry,” in Zhang Hanliang, Xiao Xiao (eds.), Modern Poetry: Introductory Criticism, Taipei: Hometown Publishing, 1979, pp. 377–390.
29 Reprinted from Guan Guan, Selected Poems of Guan Guan, Taipei: Hongfan, 1986, p. 108.
30 Yan Yuan-shu, On National Literature, Taipei: Student Book Company, 1984, p. 277.
31 Reprinted from Yang Mu, Collected Poems of Yang Mu II, Taipei: Hongfan, 1995, pp. 152–153.
32 Reprinted from Yang Mu, Collected Poems of Yang Mu I, Taipei: Hongfan, 1983, pp. 490–495.
33 Yan Yuan-shu, On National Literature, Taipei: Student Book Company, 1984, p. 270.
34 Huang Qingxuan, Rhetoric, Taipei: Sanmin, 2002, p. 125.
35 Reprinted from Luo Fu, Because of the Wind, Taipei: Jiu Ge, 1997, pp. 296–301.
36 Meng Fan (Chen Junrong), Contemporary Taiwanese Modern Poetry Theory, Taipei: Yangzhi, 1998, p. 276.
37 Reprinted from Hong Hong, The Door of Dreamwalking: Selected Works of Hong Hong, Tainan County Government Cultural Bureau, 2007, pp. 26–29.
38 Reprinted from Luo Renling, Code, Taipei: Mandala Creative Studio, 1990, pp. 84–85.
39 Reprinted from Luo Qing, Videographic Poetics, Taipei: Bookman, 1988, pp. 254–257.
40 Same as note 36, p. 270.
41 Reprinted from Xia Yu, Memorandum, online download: http://n5end.blogbus.com/logs/27298518.html
42 From Xihan Literature Forum: http://forum.pon99.net/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=46912
43 Reprinted from Xia Yu, Memorandum, online download: http://n5end.blogbus.com/logs/27298518.html
44 Same as note 36, p. 271.
45 Cited from Meng Fan, “Postmodern Poetics,” p. 266, same as note 36.
46 Yang Shiyi, Logic and Life, Taipei: Bookman, 1987, p. 123.
47 Same as note 46, p. 124.
48 Cited from Meng Fan, “Postmodern Poetics,” p. 266, same as note 36; also see: http://hermes.hrc.ntu.edu.tw/lctd/asp/theory/theories/4/concept_2_1_1.htm#river
49 Reprinted from Ya Xian, Collected Poems of Ya Xian, Taipei: Jiu Ge, 1986, pp. 149–150.
50 Reprinted from Xia Yu, Memorandum, online download: http://n5end.blogbus.com/logs/27298518.html
