Rhymes and reason

"Poetry is like a mysterious gift in my life, and which has brought me almost everything I have," Huang Canran told the Global Times. "And the more I write poetry, the stronger the sensation I have that it is not me who is creating the poem; it is the poem that is creating my life and is shaping me piece by piece." The Hong Kong-based writer began to write and translate poetry when he was 20.

Because of translations of works by poets such as W.H. Auden (England, 1907-1973) and the Nobel Laureate Pablo Neruda (Chile, 1904-1973), Huang secured a job at Ta Kung Pao in 1990 as a news translator. The paper, based in Hong Kong, is the oldest Chinese-language daily newspaper in the world. To date, Huang has published 13 books of poetry, three of which are all his own work, while the rest are Chinese translations of international poets such as Neruda, César Vallejo (Peru, 1892-1938) and C.P. Cavafy (Greece, 1863-1933). Huang has also written a book of essays about poetry and translating.

Huang, 50, was recently in Shanghai to promote his new book, Qiji Ji (literally meaning "collection of miracles"), which is an anthology of his original poetry created between 2006 and 2008 and which was published earlier this year. The event is part of the Changning Book Festival organized by Changning district which will run until the end of November. The Global Times spoke with Huang about his work.

GT: Who are the poets you like?

Huang: Naturally, the poets I have translated are the ones whose work I most admire. Saying that, in common with many Chinese people, I like William Blake, W.B. Yeats and Thomas Hardy, but I haven't translated any of their works yet. One reason is that their works have already been translated into Chinese on many occasions; and to be frank I don't know if I have enough courage to translate them. I also plan to translate the Italian poet, Giacomo Leopardi. His work is very profound and reveals a sense of utter dejection. However, I think there are two poets who deserve to be called "epic" poets, and they are the ancient Chinese poet, Du Fu, and the French writer, Victor Hugo.

GT: Your two occupations - that of a poet and a news translator - would seem to require very different skills and feelings. Have you ever found it difficult to reconcile these very different pursuits?　

Huang: There is no conflict in the jobs themselves; the only conflict comes from life. It may sound counterintuitive, but as a poet I still need to be rational, and as a news translator, I believe I have to be sensitive and even emotional at times. I think accuracy is very important, whether you are writing poetry or translating news. And accuracy in news translation requires not only a direct understanding of the text you are working on, but also the background and context in which this news is occurring and being reported. I'm a very cautious man and I work at translation with great care. I have a need to refine every word and sentence repeatedly, and because of this I don't work very fast. My editor at Ta Kung Pao jokes with me, saying, "you can be a little faster, because you don't need to be so 'perfect' all the time!"

GT: What is your opinion of the development of poetry in China?

Huang: We need to split this issue into two parts: one is ancient Chinese poetry; and the other is modern poetry. Ancient Chinese poetry is great and profoundly influenced Western poetry during the 20th century, especially after the English orientalist and sinologist, Arthur David Waley (1889-1966) translated a lot of Chinese poetry into English. From The Book of Songs (Shi Jing, the earliest poetry collection in China) to the works of Li Bai, Du Fu and Bai Juyi, who are all great poets during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), I believe that these poets' concern and passion for daily life and nature, and also their quest for peacefulness, is why their works found such an appreciative audience in the West.

So-called modern poetry in China has been around for less than 100 years, and I don't think we have had a golden age, or even a silver one, with respect to this poetry. Its influence certainly hasn't been felt in the West. However, I still feel honored that I am one such contemporary Chinese poet and I hope I am contributing to the development of poetry in China.

GT: Are you concerned that when ancient Chinese poetry is translated into English, it loses something of its meaning, and even of its "spirit?"

Huang: This is a common problem, and doesn't solely concern translations between Chinese and English. Every nation imagines that their language is the most beautiful in the world and I believe that in every translation a work gains something, but also loses something. This loss is unavoidable, but at the same time, the original text can also gain a new vitality.

GT: How would you assess the general attitude in China today towards poets and poetry?

Huang: I think in today's China we probably have more poetry readers than ever, because people have greater access to these works, whether in Chinese or foreign languages. In truth I would say the position of poetry, from ancient times until now, has altered little. It hasn't been marginalized, nor has it been particularly extolled in the way other literary genres have. I don't think it will ever be described as "popular culture," but it will always have its own loyal readers.