Winter Sun: Chinese Literature Today Books, cartea 01

Born as Guo Lusheng in 1948, at the height of the Chinese Civil War, Shi Zhi joined the People s Liberation Army at the age of twenty-three. Discharged early, he entered into a period of severe depression and spent much of the next three decades living in mental hospitals under harsh conditions. Taking the pen name of Shi Zhi, meaning index finger, to evoke the image of people pointing at his back, he continued to write poetry through these tumultuous years, chronicling his journey from the heights of fame to the depths of institutionalism and ultimately to a final redemptive return to society in 2005. The voice of this besieged poet, burdened with exile and illness, captured the spirit of his generation and now inspires young readers.

By presenting Shi Zhi s poems in chronological order, "Winter Sun" allows readers to appreciate the evolution of his poetry from his earliest work to his most recent poems. Masterfully translated by Jonathan Stalling, and with an introduction by leading poetry critic Zhang Qinqua, this landmark collection ensures that Shi Zhi s poetry so important to Chinese readers during the most challenging of times will engage the hearts and minds of new readers the world over for years to come.

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