Xu Zhimo
Xu Zhimo | |
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Jinan, Shandong, Republic of China | |
Alma mater |
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Spouses | |
Relatives | Jin Yong (cousin) |
Xu Zhimo (徐志摩, Wu Chinese pronunciation: [ʑi tsɿ mu], Mandarin: [ɕy̌ ʈʂî mwǒ], 15 January 1897 – 19 November 1931) was a Chinese romantic poet and writer of modern Chinese poetry who strove to loosen Chinese poetry from its traditional forms and to reshape it under the influences of Western poetry and the vernacular Chinese language.[1] He died in a plane crash.[2]
Biography
Xu Zhimo has several names. He is most known as Xú Zhìmó (徐志摩;
Xu was born in
Shortly afterward, he enrolled at
He was also influenced by the French romantic and
When the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore visited China, Xu Zhimo served as one of his oral interpreters. Xu used vernacular Chinese and translated Western romantic forms into modern Chinese poetry. He worked as an editor and professor at several schools before his death on 19 November 1931, dying in a plane crash near Jinan and Tai'an, Shandong[2] while flying on a Stinson Detroiter from Nanjing to Beijing. He left behind four collections of verse and several volumes of translations from various languages.
Love affairs
Xu Zhimo's various love affairs with Zhang Youyi,
Xu was also romantically linked to American author Pearl S. Buck and American journalist Agnes Smedley.[7]
In an obituary, writer Wen Yuan-ning commented that Xu's "relations with women are exactly like Shelley's. Let no woman flatter herself that Tse-mo has ever loved her; he has only loved his own inner version of Ideal Beauty."[8]
Airplane crash
On 19 November 1931, Xu prepared to leave
The accident was attributed to both pilots' misjudgement of the flight's altitude as well as their failure to recognize the terrain. However, it was rumoured that Xu was murdered,[15][16] although this was confirmed to be untrue.
Cambridge poem
Xu Zhimo's wrote Zaibie Kangqiao (simplified Chinese: 再别康桥; traditional Chinese: 再別康橋; pinyin: Zài Bié Kāngqiáo; lit. 'again [or "once more"] leave Cambridge'), variously translated into English as "On Leaving Cambridge", "Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again", "Goodbye Again, Cambridge", "Leaving the Revisited Cambridge" etc.[17][18] To commemorate Xu, in July 2008, a stone of white Beijing marble was installed at the Backs of King's College, Cambridge (near the bridge over the River Cam).
The one used here (by permission) was translated by Guohua Chen and published in the University of Cambridge's 800th anniversary book,[19] and differs from the one quoted in the carvings of the Xu Zhimo Friendship Garden added around the Memorial stone by King's College in 2018.[20][21]
再别康橋 |
Taking Leave of Cambridge Again |
Between 1980 and 2023 this poem has been set to music at least three times[22]
- 1989 by Taiwanese singer Stella Chang’s 张清芳[23]
- 2018 composed by English composer John Rutter, performed by Bo Wang 王博[24]
- 2018 On Taiwanese singer Yoga Lin’s 林宥嘉 debut album, Mystery Guest (神秘嘉宾 shénmì jiābīn)[25]
References
- ^ "Xu Zhimo." Encyclopædia Britannica (2014): Research Starters. Web. 27 Jan. 2016.
- ^ a b c "Xu Zhimo." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2011.
- ^ "语言点浏览: 浙江省海宁市" [Language Record Browse: Haining City, Zhejiang Province]. 复旦大学东亚语言数据中心 [East Asian Languages Data Center of Fudan University]. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
- ^ Study at King's: Asian and Middle Eastern Studies
- ISBN 978-0-521-24338-4. to excerpt
- ^ a b Reminiscences of Xu Zhimo
- ISBN 0-521-63989-1.
- ^ "The Late Mr. Hsu Tse-mo, A Child," in Wen Yuan-ning, "Imperfect Understanding: Intimate Portraits of Modern Chinese Celebrities," edited by Christopher Rea (Amherst, MA: Cambria Press, 2018), p. 45.
- ^ "Liang Sicheng and Lin Huiyin, CNTV English, CCTV News".
- ^ "Stinson Detroiter". 12 December 2010.
- ^ "CNAC History".
- ^ "Lin Huiyin & Xu Zhimo".
- ^ 齐鲁晚报. "Poet Xu Zhimo killed in air crash".
- ^ "徐志摩济南开山坠机始末 – 百度文库".
- ^ "徐志摩的死是意外吗_百度知道".
- ^ "镶嵌在心底的美丽(2015)34·悄悄的我走了_胖企鹅杨_新浪博客".
- ^ Andy Cartwright et al. (30 June 2012). "Saying Goodbye Again and Again". Between the Ears. BBC Radio 3. Retrieved 1 July 2012.
- ISBN 9787313128072.
- ^ Peter Pagnamenta (ed.) The University of Cambridge: an 800th Anniversary Portrait, London: Third Millennium Publishing, 2008, page 29. Guohua Chen retained the right to republish, and contributed the translation to Wikipedia.
- ISBN 978-1-912603-27-5.
- ^ Xu, Zhimo (Spring 2009). "On Leaving Cambridge". Once a Caian. No. 9. Translated by Liang, Yao; Liang, Choo; Le Moignan, Mick. Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge. p. 37. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
- ^ Chelsea Cheng, "Friday Song: ‘Second Farewell to Cambridge,’ Xu Zhimo’s poem that inspired multiple songs" The China Project, April 19, 2019.
- ^ "Stella Chang-再别康橋-zài Bié Kāngqiáo- Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again-Farewell again, Cambridge". YouTube.
- ^ "Xu Zhimo | Second Farewell to Cambridge | John Rutter". YouTube.
- ^ "【字幕】再別康橋-林宥嘉". YouTube.
Further reading
- "Cambridge college love letter tree cuttings sent to China", BBC News September 2018
- Encyclopædia Britannica 2004, 2005 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD, article – "Hsü Chih-mo", now available online as Xu Zhimo
- Chen, Shan, "Xu Zhimo". Encyclopedia of China, first ed.
- "The Late Mr. Hsu Tse-mo: A Child," Wen Yuan-ning and others, Imperfect Understanding: Intimate Portraits of Modern Chinese Celebrities (Amherst, NY: Cambria Press, 2018), pp. 45–47.
External links
- Xu Zhimo. A Portrait by Kong Kai Ming at Portrait Gallery of Chinese Writers (Hong Kong Baptist University Library).