Yu Kwang-chung
Yu Kwang-chung | |
|---|---|
 Yu Kwang-chung in 2011 | |
| Native name | Dư quang trung |
| Born | 21 October 1928 Nanking,Republic of China |
| Died | 14 December 2017(aged 89) Sanmin,Kaohsiung,Taiwan |
| Language | Mandarin and English |
| Nationality | Republic of China |
| Education | MFAat the University of Iowa |
| Alma mater | National Taiwan University University of Iowa |
| Period | 1952–2017 |
| Notable works | Blue Feather Cold War Years Tug-of-war with Eternity |
| Notable awards | Order of Brilliant Star |
Yu Kwang-chung,also romanised asYu Guangzhong(Chinese:Dư quang trung;21 October 1928 – 14 December 2017) was aTaiwanesewriter, poet, educator and critic.
Life
[edit]Yu was born in 1928 inNankingto Yu Chaoying and Sun Xiujun, but fled with his family during theJapanese invasion.[1]After returning to Nanjing many years later, he again was forced to flee due to the Communist victory in theChinese Civil War.Yu and his family fled to Taiwan viaBritish Hong Kongin 1950 with theKuomintang-led Government. Yu entered theUniversity of Nankingfor English Major in 1947, and then transferred toAmoy University.He enrolled atNational Taiwan Universityand was one of the first students to graduate with a degree in foreign languages. He held a master of fine arts degree from theUniversity of Iowa.
After graduation, he began his career as a university teacher in 1956. Yu became a reader within the Department of Chinese Language and Literature atThe Chinese University of Hong Kongin 1974.[2][3]He joined the faculty ofNational Sun Yat-sen Universityin 1985 as dean of arts.[3][4]He taught in the United States, including atGettysburg College.[5]He was awarded a National Award for Arts in 1989 and a National Cultural Award in 2014.[6]
Yu died on 14 December 2017 frompneumonia,atChung-Ho Memorial HospitalinKaohsiung.[7][8]He was married to Fan Wo-tsun from 1956 until his death.[9]
Works
[edit]He published 17 poetry collections and 12 prose collections. Yu's poetry since the 1970s had focused on the theme of longing for China felt by many Mainland Chinese soldiers and Nationalist Government workers who fled to Taiwan after theChinese Civil War.[10]
Yu's works often focused on four fundamental aspects of literature; namely poetry, prose, translation, and commentary. Among writers using Chinese, Yu Kwang-chung became well-received to readers by showing innovative humour in his essays, exhibiting wit in his appreciations, and evincing his understanding of humanistic culture in his poetry.
A former professor at the Chinese language and literature faculty at theChinese University of Hong Kong,Yu was internationally acclaimed for his command of traditional Chinese as well as modern literature. Besides his proficiency in the English language, for which he had been appointed professor at departments of English in Taiwan and the US, Yu was also an eager learner of languages, especially European ones. He spoke French, German, Spanish, and Italian, languages which he sometimes cited in his Chinese essays when juxtaposing the Chinese and Western cultures. He also learned Russian.
He targeted theTaiwanese literature movementin an August 1977 publication titled "The Wolf Is Coming", comparingnativist writingsto "worker-peasant-soldier arts and literature" and linking them withMao Zedong.Coupled with aPeng Keeditorial that appeared in theCentral Daily News,Yu's piece engendered heavy criticism of nativist literature that lasted until January 1978.[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^Qin, Amy."Yu Guangzhong, Exiled Poet Who Longed for China, Dies at 89".New York Times.Retrieved22 February2018.
- ^"Professor YU Kwang Chung".The Chinese University of Hong Kong.Retrieved11 August2019.
- ^abChou, Oliver (15 December 2017)."The poet whose works struck a chord with Chinese diaspora and Hong Kong youth in the 1960s".South China Morning Post.Retrieved11 August2019.
- ^Cheng, Chi-feng; Chang, S.C. (26 April 2018)."Poems read at remembrance service for Yu Kwang-chung in Kaohsiung".Central News Agency.Retrieved26 April2018.
- ^Land without ghosts: Chinese impressions of America from the mid-nineteenth
- ^"Yu Kwang-chung, titan of Taiwan literature, passes away at 89".Taiwan Today.15 December 2017.Retrieved22 February2018.
- ^Lo, Yuan-shao; Chang, Jung-hsiang; Yeh, Su-ping; Chang, Shu-ling; Kao, Evelyn (14 December 2017)."President Tsai expresses condolences over renowned poet's death".Central News Agency.Retrieved14 December2017.
- ^Gan, Nectar (14 December 2017)."Poet Yu Kwang-chung dies in Taiwan aged 89".South China Morning Post.Retrieved14 December2017.
- ^Huang, Hsu-lei; Chin, Jonathan (15 December 2017)."Poet Yu Kwang-chung, 90, dies in Kaohsiung".Taipei Times.Retrieved15 December2017.
- ^Eternal Youth Unbounded Passion. Sinorama 1/2010
- ^Han Cheung (11 August 2019)."Taiwan in Time: The great literature war".Taipei Times.Retrieved11 August2019.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
- 1928 births
- 2017 deaths
- Academic staff of the National Sun Yat-sen University
- Taiwanese poets
- 20th-century Chinese poets
- Writers from Nanjing
- National Taiwan University alumni
- University of Iowa alumni
- Poets from Jiangsu
- Recipients of the Order of Brilliant Star
- Chinese Civil War refugees
- Taiwanese people from Jiangsu
- Deaths from pneumonia in Taiwan
- Academic staff of the Chinese University of Hong Kong
- Gettysburg College faculty