Gu Cheng – A Generation

This week we have a poem by Gu Cheng 顧城, one of the wonderboys to come out of the 1980’s. He left China, immigrating to New Zealand, got a teaching job and then murdered his wife with an ax. His poetry was as sharp and succinct as his ax. Check out the debate between Rob and Lee:

Here is Lee’s translation of Gu Cheng’s short poem:

A Generation 

The Dark night gave the blackness of my eyes

But I use them to find the brightness

And here is the original:

一代人 

黑夜给了我黑色的眼睛

我却用它寻找光明