AI, Qing.

£750 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Fan faxisi ("Oppose Fascism"). First Dushu edition, first printing, the second overall following the scarce 1943 Huabei shudian edition. The father of Ai Weiwei and one of modern China's defining poets, "Ai Qing created a poetical world in which he set in opposition to each other the forces of light and darkness, truth and falsehood, humanity and cruelty" (Haft, p. 31). The present anthology exhibits the spirit of resistance for which Ai's son is now internationally famous. Returning to China after three years spent studying in Paris (1929-32), Ai believed that literature and poetry should stoke nationalist sentiment in the face of grave threats from abroad. This collection includes many of his famous lyrics written during the late 1930s and early 1940s. "Fan qinlüe" (In Opposition to the Invasion), the opening work here, exposes the cruelty of the Japanese invasion. "Ai Bali" (Grief for Paris), written in the wake of the German capture of the city, powerfully draws on his own experiences - "he visualises Hitler's atrocity as the ravaging of famous paintings and the demolition of culture" (Haft, p. 40). "Xin de Yidian" (A New Eden), penned shortly before he departed for the Communist base area of Yan'an, expresses his yearning for a Soviet-style utopia and his fondness for the countryside.As well as enjoying a considerable domestic reputation, Ai was close to several foreign contemporary poets, notably hosting Pablo Neruda during his visit to China in the 1950s.

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