SELECTED SHORT POEMS
BY HU FENG
Translated by
Chen Yulin
Hu Feng (1902-985), contemporary critic of literary
theory, poet and translator. He was born in Qichun
County, Hubei Province. In 1925 he was admitted into
the pre-liminary course of Peking University. A year
later, he entered Qinghua University. In 1929 he studied
in Japan. He organized progressive groups among the
Chinese students studying in that country. For this
he was arrested and deported by the Japanese authorities.
Back in China, he joined the left-wing literary movement.
During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression,
he was in charge of the editing and publishing of
progressive literary per-iodicals "July"and
"Hope" exerting great influence. In 1955
his literary theories and propositions were reputed
in an abnormal way and he was put into prison. Ever
since he spent long years of imprisonment until he
was released in 1979. The unjust case of Hu Feng Reactionary
Clique was rehabilitated in 1980-1988.
Hu Feng was a literary fighter in contemporary China.
His poetics, poetic creation and the organizational
work in the field were an important part of his contribution
to the revolutionary literature in China. The July
School of poets brought about great influence in the
poetical history in China. Hu Feng, an organizer of
the school, was its soul. Hu Feng once said: "First
of all I am a poet." His whole life was a life
of patriotism, love for the motherland and the people
and a life of utter devotion to the literary cause
of the people. Hu Feng's poetic creation was the externalization
of this innermost of his feelings, the symbol of the
force ofhis personality. There was the unity of his
being and his poetic creation. There is proof of this
with his new-styled poems, classic-styled poems, his
poetics and his translated poems. In his twenty five
years of imprisonment, he wrote down with painstaking
efforts "poems in the Prison Cell" which
provides powerful evidence.
