Author ｜
Wei-kang Ho
Abstract ｜
Yao Cong (1889-1977) has been writing classical poetry since he was 23. As a high-ranking officer in Kuomintang, he served in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War. After relocating to Taiwan at the age of 60, his life experiences and poetry have created a unique style which has a place in Taiwan’s classical poetry circle during 1950s and 1960s. Yao Cong’s Wei Sun Zhai Shi Chao 《味筍齋詩鈔》 had been published three times in Taiwan. By delving into the multiple revisions and rewriting of his poems, readers could analyze the aesthetic transformation in his later years. After residing in Taiwan, Yao had been in identity crisis as he faced global turbulence, shift of identity and old age, influencing the imagery, themes and perspectives of his classical poetry greatly. The writing of classical poetry has become the cultural frame for him to face the new world and new era by writing about nostalgia, Taiwan experiences and his dedication to poetry. The cultural heritage as well as lyricism of classical poetry have guided Yao Cong to reconstruct his self-identity and connect his past self with his current life on the peripheral island.
keywords ｜
classical poetry, Wei Sun Zhai Shi Chao, Yao Cong, poets relocating to Taiwan, diaspora