Chinese Literature - Li-hua Ying 2010

AN QI (1969— ), PEN NAME OF HUANG JIANGPIN
The Dictionary

AN QI (1969— ), PEN NAME OF HUANG JIANGPIN. Poet. Born in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province, and graduated from Zhangzhou Teachers’ College, An Qi earned her reputation with several collections of poetry, including Ge: shui shang hong yue (Songs: Red Moon on Water), Benpao de zhalan (Running Railings), and Xiang Dulasi yiyang shenghuo (Living in the Manner of Duras). Her poems tend to focus on how to tear down the conventional boundaries of poetic language in order to create a sense of freedom without having to make sense of the random fragments contained within the lines. The world in her poems lacks structure, which reflects her perception of reality. The unbridled words and imageries, especially in the poems written since 1998, are a testament to the poet’s vivid imagination. An Qi acknowledges her debt in particular to Ezra Pound, to whom she pays homage with the poem “Pound or the Rib of Poetry,” and to the Chinese classical novel Hong lou meng (A Dream of Red Mansions), whose fatalist worldview inspired her to write “Zai Da Guan Yuan li xiangqi de Zhongjian dai” (The Middle Generation Reminded in the Grand View Garden) and “Gei Cao Xueqin” (To Cao Xueqin). In addition to her own creative work, An Qi is known as a spokesperson for the so-called Zhongjian dai (Middle Generation), a term coined to promote poets neglected by Generation III proponents, giving them a distinct identity. She coedited, with Yuan Cun and Huang Lihai, the anthology entitled Zhongjian dai shi quan ji (Complete Works by the Middle Generation Poets). An Qi currently lives in Beijing and edits Poetry Monthly.